 Children on walks |
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From: Brett Davis To: info@shoalhavenbushwalkers.com Subject: Children on walks Date sent: April 7, 2025 |
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Hi SBW committee, I have a few concerns about the some of the items listed in the SBW Child Safety Policy and Guidelines ... There is nothing in the SBW Child Safety Policy and Guidelines that says that children on a club walk must be related to a SBW member, so apparently it is totally okay for a member to ask to bring along his neighbour’s kids providing the neighbours have signed the Parental Permission Form. Does the committee agree that it is a bizarre policy that allows a member’s neighbours kids to go on a SBW walk, but doesn’t allow a member’s adult neighbours to go on the walk? The SBW Child Safety Policy and Guidelines state that the leader of an activity determines the maximum number of children that can attend an activity. Let’s assume that one SBW member is a schoolteacher who decides to lead a walk for the club and bring along the twenty 7-year-olds in his class (after first getting their parents to sign the Parental Permission Form) because it gets the kids out into nature, shows them the joys of bushwalking, and provides them with excellent exercise at the same time. The leader informs the members who ring in for the walk that a child will be part of the group, because the leader apparently does not have to mention that there will be more than one child on the walk. Members then arrive at the walk to find that they will be walking with 20 kids. I realize that this is a highly unlikely scenario, but does the committee agree that it is a bizarre policy that would allow this to happen? Does the committee further agree that for safety reasons alone it is a bizarre policy that allows a leader to decide the maximum number of children on a walk rather than following maximum safe numbers set by the club? What comeback would the club have is a child died on a club walk and the authorities asked us why we left the safe maximum number of children on a walk up to the discretion of a leader? Now consider this situation - a member looks at a newly produced program and sees a walk scheduled in three months’ time that he would really like to do. The member contacts the leader and puts his name down for the walk. He looks forward to the walk for three months – and re-arranges holiday plans or work commitments - only to be informed by the leader the night before the walk – as the leader is required to do - that there will be children on the walk. The member didn’t join the club to walk with children, and doesn’t want to walk with children, so he drops out of the walk. Does the committee agree that it is a bizarre policy that allows a member’s plans to be upset at the last minute by allowing non-members to attend a walk? As mentioned in a previous email, what happens when a leader does allow a child on his or her walk and the child's supervising adult is incapacitated and taken to hospital? Responsibility for the child obviously falls to the leader, who tries to get in touch with the child's father who is listed as the emergency contact on the waiver form. The child's parents have flown to Melbourne, and can't return until the following day. What does the leader do then? There is nothing in the SBW Child Safety Policy and Guidelines to cover the contingency where a supervising adult is incapacitated, nor in the Leader’s Responsibilities document where children are not mentioned at all. Item number 7 in the SBW Child Safety Policy and Guidelines states that “Adult participants in the activity are expected to be positive role models in the presence of the child.” This probably should be changed to “… must be positive role models ...” as an expectation is not enforceable. In addition, item number 7 in the SBW Child Safety Policy and Guidelines should also be included in the Walker Responsibilities document where children are currently not mentioned at all. A responsible walker who looks up what he is expected to do on a walk is unlikely to look at a document about child safety. Item number 8 in the SBW Child Safety Policy and Guidelines states that “At the end of the child’s first activity the leader and supervising adult should discuss the child’s suitability to participate in further activities.” Does the committee agree that it is a bizarre policy that only evaluates a child’s suitability for further activities after their first activity? Shouldn’t this be changed to “At the end of all of a child’s activities ...”? Also, could the committee supply me with statistics on how many children have been on club walks since the SBW Child Safety Policy and Guidelines was introduced? If the answer is zero or close to zero, I would suggest that the club nor its leaders or members does not need to allow children on walks and therefore the policy should be scrapped. The committee might want to put discussion of the contents of this email on hold until it receives a future email from me about the legalities of having children on club walks. I will try to get that email to you prior to the next committee meeting on April 15th. Also, could Clare provide me with the details of the upcoming committee meeting on April 15th? Thanks! Regards, Brett |
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