MoB and Young People

[Mike Chambers]

Cards on the table, I think it's a pity that the club hasn't engaged with young people over the the years. People tokk me canoeing when I was in my teens - and if they hadn't I doubt I would have discovered anything of the outdoors. I worked as a child care solicitor for a few years and I currently work as a volunteer with young people through Bury Youth Service. There is some scary stuff around - but we do need to get it in proportion.

 

I think there are 3 major worries in working with young people:

 

1. They may get injured - accidents happen when we underake risky activities

 

2. They may cause injury to others and adults may be held responsibe

and

 

3 We need to be conscious of "child protection" issues.

 

In dealing with 1 this is really an extension of the relationship we have with each other. We take care to follow appropriate procedures and to operate safe systems to manage the risks of crags and mountains. We are all BMC members and we therefore have insurance cover against claims arising from our negligence. I am comfortable with this risk and struggle to understand why anyone would not be - if they are climbing with club-mates now.

 

2. Does require some thinking. Liability will only arise if we failed to come up to the standard of a rasonable parent. Once again this is an insurable risk - but the best protection is to vet carefully any youngsters who are keen to join, not entertain anyone under 16 years of age unless their family are also members, and limit the numbers to ensure we are not overrun.

 

3. The BMC policy is a daunting read. There are 3 important stipulations:

First - We need to be able to respond appropriately to any of our young members stating that they have suffered abuse (in or out of the club) or shwing signs of having sufered. I would undertake to extend my CRB registration and brief the club on th appropriate practices. Such disclosures are highly unusual.

Second - we may need to place most hut meets out of limits as our sleeping arrangements would be outside BMC's good practice. I would offer to provide advice on particular cases.

Third - we would need to take care on a few practical points - not being alone and out of sight with a young member. The BMC guidance only worries about behaviours that I am sure we would all find unacceptable anyway.

 

I think we have some choices:

 

A Say no to all mnors

B Say no to all minors except members of the families of adult members

C Impose a minimum age limit of (say) 16

D Carefully vet membership applications to ensure we are satisfied the applicant understands what would be expected of them

E Limit the numbers - say to six initially

F Recognse that not every meet would be suitable for minors unless accompanied by a parent

G get briefed on BMC policy by myself or another volunteer.

 

Why do it?

Because people will have helped some of us

The young people will enjoy it and will strengthen the club in future

Because we have something valuable to share

and the risks are manageable.

[Brian Knowles]

Thanks ,Mike.

Your notes are a model of  brevity and clarity.The choices you set out are there to be discussed.They are not mutually exclusive and several choices could be combined to form  the basis of a club policy(apart from the outright choice of excluding all minors).Like you I favour the involvement of minors at some level and for similar reasons .It seems sad to me that a whole generation is lost to climbing because of the "no entry "policy of many clubs.At Bury ,we have several climbers who have taken up climbing in their mid to late twenties.I'm sure, given the opportunity ,several would have started a lot sooner..Unless children in their teens have very keen parents or schools ,climbing locally is pretty much lost to them and they are unlikely to find out about climbing because they will be straight into work(what work there is at present for this generation) or leave for further education.I think many of us find climbing brings many personal benefits beyond the purely physical .They are social and psychological. Growth in self confidence ,personal discipline ,responsibility for others etc .And these developmental years seem to me the best to acquire them.And I can think of no better sport or environment in which to acquire them than a climbing club