parkrun Safeguarding Principles
We believe that participants of parkrun should be able to enjoy themselves in a safe environment, and be safeguarded from harm through a duty of care.
parkrun acknowledges that children and some adults can be particularly vulnerable to abuse and we accept responsibility to take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure their safety and welfare.
We acknowledge our duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults at risk. We are committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, relevant local government guidance, and complies with best practice. parkrun is committed to collaborating with law enforcement, social services, local services, and other relevant agencies, in accordance with their procedures.
The Safeguarding Policy recognises that the welfare and interests of children and adults at risk are paramount in all circumstances. Whilst for the vast majority of participants, parkrun is an incredibly safe environment, unfortunately, incidents can occur that impact this and therefore we must have procedures in place that allow us to take appropriate and proportionate action to safeguard our parkrun community.
Ultimately throughout this process the paramount consideration will be the safeguarding of our communities and in particular those who are most vulnerable.
Concerns
A concern may be brought to light in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, through contact from an external agency, an incident at an event, or a report made directly to the parkrun safeguarding team.
Safeguarding concerns exist on a scale. At one end of this scale are low-level concerns, this is when small rules are broken. An example of a low-level concern could be a one-off incident where a policy was not fully followed or when someone acted in a manner that was not appropriate but was inadvertent.
At the opposite end of the scale is persistent poor practice or serious breaches of the code of conduct and illegal situations such as abuse.
Safeguarding concerns may include, but are not limited to:
- the behaviour of an adult towards a child or an adult who is at risk of harm
- the behaviour of a child towards another child, or an adult
- risks identified through criminal records checking processes, such as criminal records information
- information about an individual provided by statutory agencies, other organisations (such as UK Athletics, Athletics Ireland, Scouts, the police etc.) or identified through the press
- allegations of abuse
- concerns about harms that have occurred outside of parkrun
2.6.1 Reporting concerns
The parkrun reporting process is available on the Safeguarding Hub . An individual can also report a concern to the parkrun Safeguarding Team directly by emailing safeguarding@parkrun.com.
Low-level concerns
A lower-level concern is any concern, doubt, or sense of unease, no matter how small, that someone may have acted in a way that is inappropriate. This can include inappropriate behaviour outside of the parkrun environment. These concerns are often not considered serious enough to refer to a statutory service such as the police or children’s services.
It's important that we challenge all concerns, including those thought of as lower-level, as it can prevent unwanted behaviour from escalating into more harmful and potentially abusive incidents. Addressing lower-level concerns early can help us create a more positive community experience at parkrun.
When reviewing a report the Safeguarding Team – sometimes with support from statutory services – may decide that a concern constitutes a lower-level concern.
Lower-level concerns may require investigation or subsequent management at a local level. Persistent lower-level concerns, or investigations that reveal serious concerns, will be referred to the parkrun Sanctions Panel for a decision about further action. This might include consultation with – or referral to – statutory agencies.
Concerns from outside of parkrun
Concerns raised about incidents that have occurred outside of parkrun may still be relevant for the parkrun Sanctions Panel to consider as they may have a bearing on whether it is felt that it remains suitable for an individual to continue to participate.
2.6.2 The parkrun Sanctions Panel
Who constitutes the parkrun Sanctions Panel?
The internal parkrun Safeguarding Team and relevant country lead.
When would a Sanctions Panel take place?
A Sanctions Panel may take place if the internal parkrun Safeguarding Team or relevant country lead believe that there is significant concern regarding an individual’s participation which could put themselves or others at risk.
Examples* of these situations include:
- when the Safeguarding Team and relevant country lead have decided that mutually agreed restrictions are not appropriate
- when an allegation of a serious criminal offence is made against an individual or there has been a criminal conviction that has taken place and there are restrictions imposed as a result of this
- where the deliberate action or inaction of a connected person could lead to harm to others or serious reputational harm
- where the action of an individual may cause concern but does not reach the threshold of a criminal act
- Where an individual has not acted within the rules or expected behaviour either at a parkrun event or elsewhere but where that behaviour could have an impact on a parkrun event or other individuals who attend
- Where an individual who volunteers and is perceived to be in a position of authority and representing parkrun, is deemed to be a risk of harm to others or reputational risk, due to this conferred status
*This is not an exhaustive list and a panel can be convened in other situations.
The Sanctions Panel is in addition to and runs alongside the parkrun terms and conditions and the parkrun Safeguarding Policy Statement.
Where there is an immediate safeguarding concern, parkrun reserves the right to impose an interim sanction on an individual prior to a Sanctions Panel taking place, which will remain in place until the incident has been fully investigated.
If parkrun are informed by external services such as law enforcement agencies that an individual should not attend, restrictions can be put in place without the need for a Sanctions Panel.
In some circumstances there may be an opportunity to mutually agree with an individual about limitations to their participation - for example they might agree not to attend a specific event. These discussions can be held without the need for a Sanctions panel.
Sanctions Panel process:
If it is decided that a Sanctions panel should be held, the following process will be followed:
- The Safeguarding Team will take reasonable steps to review and collate any relevant evidence or information pertinent to the incident or concern.
- The Safeguarding Team will take reasonable steps to investigate the incident/ concern. parkrun is a charity with limited resources and therefore will allocate reasonable time and effort to address any issues pertaining to individual parkrunners. Where possible, parkrun will take careful consideration before making any decision and carry out an investigation if appropriate. This may involve gathering any further relevant information and also communication with anyone else involved/impacted.
- If appropriate, the Safeguarding Team will inform the individual about the panel and give them opportunity to submit evidence or perspective. In deciding this the panel will consider whether contacting the individual would put themselves or others at further risk of harm.
- All information gathered will be summarised in a Safeguarding Panel review document which will be held securely and only accessible to those with a need to access it.
- The panel will meet and consider the information available and use a Risk Analysis Matrix to make a recommendation for outcome.
- Whenever necessary, the Safeguarding Team will share concerns with appropriate external bodies, for example the police or social services.
- The individual concerned will be notified, in writing by email, of the outcome and of the Appeal process.
2.6.3 Persons Under 18
Special consideration will be given to incidents where anyone involved is a child under the age of 18. In these situations the panel may speak to the parent or carer of the child or to the child themselves depending on the circumstances. At all times the safeguarding and best interests of the child will be paramount and any communication or decisions made will be done so with a view to minimise any risks that may arise for them.
If there are any reasons that the panel believes a child is at risk of harm, they will report to the relevant statutory authorities.
2.6.4 Investigation and Risk Assessment
Investigation process:
Investigations will vary widely in their scale and complexity and may involve:
- direct communication with the alleged victim
- direct communication with witnesses
- direct communication with the individual the concern has been raised about
- examination of documents and reports
- new criminal records check
- contact with statutory agencies, designated officer and other sports bodies
- review of submitted references
As an organisation we have a duty of care to our employees and volunteers and therefore reserve the right to assess the appropriate form of communication or contact with anyone involved in this process. At no point will a face to face meeting be arranged with any member of parkrun staff.
Communications with known or alleged offenders will only be conducted by those with suitable training or experience as assessed by the Global Safeguarding Lead.
The investigation will be conducted within the reasonable scope and resources available to parkrun as a charitable organisation. We also reserve the right not to investigate any claims which appear to be malicious or vexatious.
Risk assessment may be part of the investigation or be used to inform future decisions about this case or individual. The parkrun Sanctions Panel will meet and consider the information available and using a Risk Analysis Matrix will make a recommendation for outcome.
Persistent and Vexatious Complaints
parkrun expects its employees and participants, which includes volunteers, to be treated with courtesy and respect at all times and will protect them from unacceptable behaviour at any point in the sanctions or appeals process.
Unacceptable behaviour may include:
- abusive, threatening or inappropriate language, either verbally or in writing;
- sending multiple emails, especially over a short timescale
- making multiple calls / leaving multiple voicemails
- otherwise unreasonably pursuing a complaint
Where an individual is raising a legitimate query or criticism of a complaints procedure as it progresses, such as time scales not being met, this would not normally, on its own, be regarded as vexatious or unreasonable.
A vexatious complainant is an individual who:
- is raising a complaint contentiously, without reasonable grounds or with little merit or substance, and with the purpose of causing annoyance or disruption
or
- is pursuing a complaint to an unreasonable degree
or
- is continuing to pursue a complaint after appropriate procedures have been followed and exhausted.
Handling Persistent Complaints or Vexatious Complaints
parkrun will consider the nature of any complaints against the above criteria to enable them to confirm the complaint is considered to be vexatious or persistent and will determine a course of action.
parkrun will try to resolve the issue by contacting the individual in writing to explain the difficulties and to set out a preferred method of behaviour for the parties involved. parkrun may decline further contact with the complainant or restrict contact to a specific format.
parkrun will notify the complainant in writing that the complaint has been fully responded to and there is nothing further to add; continuing contact will serve no useful purpose and that further correspondence will be acknowledged but not answered.
2.6.5 Decision Making
The parkrun Sanctions Panel will seek to make defensible decisions which would withstand subsequent scrutiny.
A defensible decision is when:
- all reasonable steps have been taken to gather as much relevant information as possible within the scope of the resources available to the organisation
- an assessment has been made which addresses risk factors
- information is collected from within and outside the organisation and evaluated
- decisions and rationale are recorded
- there are transparent and consistent processes
The parkrun Sanctions Panel will make their decision subject to the civil standard of proof, in that they must be satisfied that on the balance of probabilities the actions or incidents relating to the panel took place.
They might also consider:
- If there has been a breach of the law
- If the individual has broken a parkrun policy or process or Code of Conduct
- Whether they have acknowledged any potential harm caused or attempted to amend their actions
- Whether the individual has complied and co-operated with any restrictions or requests made to them
- The panel will also consider the potential impact on others if the individual continues to attend.
2.6.6 Outcomes
Potential sanctions include restricting an individual’s participation:
- By volunteering
- By completing the course
- By volunteering and completing the course
- At a named event
- At all 5k events
- At all junior events
- At all parkrun events
These sanctions may be subject to a period of time, or may be indefinite depending on the circumstances. The Sanctions Panel will communicate the outcome to the individuals directly involved on completion of the panel. If the sanction is subject to a period of time, for example six months, when that period is 28 days away from completion, an individual may contact the Sanction Panel via the Appeals Form, stating their grounds as to why they believe the sanction should be lifted.
2.6.7 Appeals
Once the decision has been communicated to the individual, they will also be informed of their right to appeal the decision. An individual has a right to appeal if:
- There has been a failure to follow the process outlined above;
- The decision made is one that no reasonable person could have arrived at; or
- There is evidence that the Sanctions Panel, any member of it, or any person involved in making the relevant decision, lacked the required independence and has demonstrated bias or bad faith when making the decision.
An individual can only appeal whether the proper process has been followed or if they have additional information that has come to light that could influence the outcome of the original decision, not because they disagree with the decision made by parkrun.
The appeal must be:
- Made by the online Appeals Form;
- Sent within 28 days of receiving the decision
The appeal will be reviewed by either the Global Head of Event Delivery, the Global Head of People & Culture or an appointed trustee, who are independent of the parkrun Sanctions panel. The appeal decision will be made within 28 days of receipt of the form and the individual will be informed of the outcome by email. There will be no further right of appeal.
Any sanctions applied to the individual will stand from the date of receiving the initial sanction from the Safeguarding Lead, or from the date of the panel decision, whichever is sooner. If the individual does run / walk / volunteer at 5k / junior parkrun events, their results / credits will be removed (in accordance with their sanction). Where appropriate, local law enforcement agencies will be informed.
The decision made will be final and following the initial appeal period there is no subsequent period in which to appeal the decision, and it will only be reviewed further if a time-limited sanction was agreed.
This appeals process is separate to the complaints procedure which can be found here.