CLUB POLICIES GUIDANCE PACK CLUB POLICIES GUIDANCE PACK 1 Introduction A modern thinking club will have implemented an appropriate set of policies and will review them on a regular basis. Such a club is keenly aware of the duty of care that they have for their members, their visiting friends, family and guests and for members of the public that are either visiting the club, or affected by the club’s activities. They know that policies are important and that having a variety of policies and strategy statements in place is important for effective governance and management of their voluntary organisation. In times of duress, these documents outline acceptable processes and modes of behaviour. Our gliding clubs matter a great deal to club members. Unfortunately times of duress are often times of great emotion so having documents to turn to that offer guidance will save a great deal of time and energy that would be better expended on the situation in question. Yet, for the most part, policies should form an almost invisible scaffolding; normal activity, such as enjoyable flying, should not be hampered by the development, implementation and review of the club’s policies. By the very nature of gliding, each club already has a great deal of unwritten rules and norms of behaviour. These have developed, in some cases over upwards of 70 years, because we all need to operate in a safe environment and, first and foremost, we need to be able to trust one another. In short, we each have a duty of care to look out for one another. Formalising many of these arrangements into written policies is often simply the next step. Doing so will help newcomers to the club to understand their new environment. In fact there are many benefits. Going through the process will shed new light on issues and lead to a greater appreciation and understanding of them; being able to show external parties that you have a suite of policies speaks volumes about what sort of organisation your club is. We have already seen that clubs that have implemented a full set of policies enjoy greater membership recruitment and retention, have higher numbers of pre-solo pilots, and are more successful in attracting external grant funding. The development of this pack has emerged from the BGA’s duty of care for gliding in the UK, as can be seen from the BGA’s mission statement: “To provide effective leadership and continuity of UK gliding and soaring” And the BGA's vision: "To facilitate the development of UK gliding and soaring, providing an environment and framework for gliding in which a wide variety of individuals can excel and realise their ambitions and potential, including winning world championships. For gliding to be recognised as a challenging, rewarding and accessible sport available to all." Although they are members of the BGA, individual clubs are separate legal entities, each with its own governing documents, systems and management. The BGA aims to advise clubs and make suggestions and recommendations on good systems, management and operational procedures. The majority of the contents of this pack are of an advisory rather than a mandatory nature. It is intended to be in keeping with the existing style of management of the sport, and whilst it is intended to outline areas to be covered in each policy area, it is not intended either to create any mandate or to be interpreted as creating any mandate. There are some policies which aim to address current legal requirements. An example is the Child Protection Policy. It remains the club’s responsibility to ensure compliance with relevant legislation September 2007 Page 1 of 4 CLUB POLICIES GUIDANCE PACK Funding for the development and publication of this pack was secured under a scheme run by the CCPR on behalf of Sport England which provided funds for projects that improve the infrastructure of sport in the UK so that participation in sport can be increased to help meet Government (PSA3) targets. The BGA won funding for this project because helping clubs to improve their effectiveness will help clubs with membership recruitment and retention and hence, increase participation in our sport. 2 How to draw up, implement and review policies In all cases, when preparing to adopt a new policy, consideration must be given as to the practical implementation of that policy in that specific gliding club. Putting a new policy in place is normally achieved by adopting it at an AGM following a realistic level of consultation with the membership and approval by the Committee. Policies should be implemented as part of the usual way that the club operates and reviewed on a regular basis so that they develop and grow with the needs of the membership of the club. Your club’s policies will inter-relate; checking for consistency across the set is essential. Good policies are simple and straightforward and should cover the procedure to be followed in a given situation, rather than trying to anticipate a precise outcome of a future event. It is not a good idea to have policies that are so prescriptive that they subsequently limit behaviour and leave the club open and vulnerable to a potentially litigious situation. When the club adopts a policy, the club will need to adhere to it and if particular sections cause difficulty you should consider what you would do. Do not adopt policies that are not possible or practical to adhere to. Steps: 1. Identify the policy area 2. Research the issue as required. 3. Look at the specimen policy or guidance notes to see how it relates to the club. 4. Amend it as required to draw up the draft policy 5. Consult the membership (and your insurance company where appropriate) 6. Iron out glitches 7. Get the final version approved at Committee level 8. Get it adopted at a General Meeting 9. Make copies of the policy available 10. Review the policy on a regular basis Copies of the club policies should be accessible to ordinary club members and members of the public who want to make a decision about whether to come and fly with you. Ideally, as a minimum, this means putting copies of your policies in a file in the Clubroom. It is also worth putting them on your website. 3 Your Club’s Existing Policies Your club may already have some good policies, standards and procedures and you may well be perfectly satisfied that they are fit for your purposes. If this is the case, please do stick with them. Please could you consider a polite request to send copies to your Development Officer so that other clubs can benefit from your good practice? September 2007 Page 2 of 4 CLUB POLICIES GUIDANCE PACK 4 The Pack The pack itself is split into four areas: gliding specific; junior scheme specific; business related; and HR. Gliding Specific Policies and Guidelines Anti doping Appeals procedure BGA Child Protection Policy and Procedures BGA Full Membership Form BGA Temporary Membership Form Club Child Protection Policy - required even if there is no junior scheme Code of Conduct Code of practice for gliding lessons Complaints and Disciplinary Procedures Emergency procedures Equality Policy Statement Equity Policy Statement Sports Development Plan Business Specific Policies and Guidelines BGA business risk management guidelines – including potential business threats Data protection policy BGA Interim Health and Safety Guidelines Mission Statement Human Resource Documents This section contains background and guidance to developing HR policies as set out in the document „Employment issues at gliding clubs‟ and continued in „Employment Law – Overview‟. Fact sheets: Absence Diversity Employee relations Essential documents Free Sources of HR advice and support Grievance Health and Safety Induction and probation Parental rights Pay and benefits Recruitment Redundancy Rights and responsibilities Supervising staff Types of contract Volunteers and employment Junior Scheme Policies and Guidelines Introductory letter for parents and carers Advice for parents and carers Recruitment of sports leaders Head Junior coach role description September 2007 Page 3 of 4 CLUB POLICIES GUIDANCE PACK Assistant junior coach role description Volunteer agreement form Code of conduct for club officials Code of conduct for junior members Code of conduct for parents and carers BGA Playing programme Development plan Club partnership agreement School-club links agreement Pre-session risk assessment for junior sessions Non-flying incident or accident guidelines Non-flying incident or accident report form Junior session attendance register September 2007 Page 4 of 4