Safety of children's sports club

[HundredPercent]

DS age 3 has just started a new sports club which he enjoys. I did not realise when I signed him up that parents are not allowed in the hall to watch, there are no windows and there is no live stream to a tv screen outside or anything like that. The club is run by a man on his own with some older children as helpers. No other adults present. The man seems to have a limited understanding of child protection / safeguarding although said he had a DBS check. I have researched him online and spoken to him on the phone about my concerns as politely as I could. He will not allow me to watch inside the hall as the children will be distracted, make less progress and he would have to ask all the other parents permission for me to be there as I am not background checked. I still worry if I am putting DS at risk by allowing him to attend the club. Reality check needed please.

IABU - stop stressing, no need to worry.
IANBU - I'm right to be concerned, you wouldn't send your child to the club.

Thanks xx

Yes really common. My daughter went a few dance classes when she was 3 and every single one wanted me to leave her, I was really uncomfortable and could here her crying and they wouldn't let me go in to her instead got a member of staff she has never heard of go in.
We left it and continued with gymnastics. When she hit 4 and a couple months later she moved to reception aged class and again wasn't allowed in the room but can watch on a tv

If nothing else having more than one adult is a good idea for HIS protection against claims of wrongdoing made by children.

20-30 3 to 7 year olds to one adult isn't safe. For fire safety, first aid, going to the toilet, making sure they are being safe with one another, etc etc.

It would be a no from me.

Thanks everyone for your replies. When all the other parents are happily dropping their children and driving off you start to question if you are being silly but I think the risks here are too great. Thanks again for the helpful advice xx

I’d be concerned about the basics - how does he do toilet breaks with 30 kids? What happens if one of them hurts themselves - how does he do first aid while still looking after the rest of the kids?

I would report this to the venue and encourage them to do checks on him as well. Definitely remove your child. The child to adult ratio doesn’t sound right at all, what happens if there’s a first aid emergency? If he’s had the DBS and first aid training he should know he’s running an unsafe set up.

As I said in 15 years & thousands of kids I’ve been asked about a DBS once - lots of parents (more than I ever expected) are happy to leave the kids anywhere!
what’s important is what feels ok for you & your child, don’t worry about what others think

Does it claim affiliation to a sports body? Does he have a website with policies? Insurance? There should be minimum adult/child ratios for safe supervision. What happens if a child needs the toilet or feels unwell? Some of what you expect such as being present or seeing the dbs certificate is unreasonable but there should be policies in place to protect both children and the teacher. The centre may cover some of this but if not try the Local Authority Designated Officer(LADO) for advice. Three is too young for such a casual attitude towards safeguarding or such an activity group.

They don’t need to swear to anything, he can show her the certificate - you get sent a paper copy & all convictions are on it

I wouldn’t ask about DBS, because it would simply never occur to me that a children’s coach wouldn’t have one (tbf DS doesn’t do any activities taught by a solo teacher - it’s a big swim school, tennis club, rugby club etc with loads of teachers, loads of classes and affiliated with a governing body).

I wouldn’t want 3 year olds leaning with 7 year olds - either the 3 year olds are very biddable, or the 7 year olds must be very bored. And 30 kids is way too many for a class.

Just tell your 3 yr old the class has finished. DS used to go to Hartbeeps, and when he grew out of it aged 4 we just stopped going and he literally never mentioned it again.

Just because someone hasn't been caught yet doesn't mean they haven't done done anything. A DBS is just a check for convictions, it isn't someone who lives with a person 24/7 and can vouch for them

This is so bizarre. At the martial arts school we attend the parents all watch the class for the younger kids. DD turns 3 soon and no way would I feel comfortable leaving her alone at that age, especially with one adult responsible for all kids

If you don't feel comfortable, don't send your child. He doesn't need to be doing any activity you can't watch at that age.

In my experience, I've been able/expected to stay and watch at swimming, martial arts, football and trampolining.
However my daughter does dance and it is strictly no parents!
Similar set up, one adult teacher and 1-2 teen helpers.
To be honest I haven't asked if the teacher has a DBS check, I assume she does, but I feel comfortable and my daughter is comfortable with the set up.

I think that’s fairly obvious, however if a person running a kids club can’t produce one - it’s a big red flag

Yeah at 3 I wouldn't feel comfortable with that. Maybe wait a few years and revisit then.

Very few parents ask about checks and training. I chaired a volunteer led playscheme and before/afterschool club for 15 years and even before we were Ofsted registered (so no easy inspection to look at) people didn't ask because they assume you're all checked and trained.

Especially if you're in a venue owned by the council or a school or somewhere 'official' because they assume that venue also checks things.

I'd remove them. I would never allow any of my children to attend an activity with only one adult there. The only time in all those years I had to call an ambulance was when one of the adults took ill. There should always be a second adult at activities imo, both for safeguarding and also for practical stuff in emergencies.

In a fire drill, for example, one adult can't both take the register and check the area is empty of children.

I can get on board with no parents present but there should be other safeguards like other adults around. Plus one adult doesn't sound enough for a group of children ,especially young ones who need more supervision.

I personally don't place much reliance on a DBS check (it only shows there are no convictions not that it makes a person safe to be around children). I would like teachers to have it but it's not enough by itself ..

My DD is 22, so this isn't up to date, but at 3 she did ballet and parents weren't allowed to watch. We were in another room down a corridor
Teacher would pop in several times in a half hour class to say "xxx needs a wee"

DD was fine, but if you're unhappy, pull your child.

Incidentally, fast forward, and Dd age 10 is in guides.
It was in a club room down a path with no parking at the end.
Guide leader told me how stunned she was that new parents would just drop their kids off and never even meet her.
Parents get a bit more lackadaisical by the time their kids are 10, apparently

There is no mention of insurance, policies or affiliation on the website. The class is in a unit, on an industrial estate, which I assume he owns. He runs adult classes and a sort of martial arts gym most of the time. I suspect the children's classes are a money making sideline, not his main operation.

I've watched far too many documentaries to be okay with that.

I remember one they actually had beds in the basement and told the parents the kids were there for a sleepover because they had to get to a competition early the next day. they went along with it for the same reason - because the other parents did. of course the kids were sexually abused.

I would expect insurance cert of some kind to be on the wall, if he doesn’t mention being linked to a governing body he almost certainly isn’t

My son did karate from age 7 and most parents stayed and watched. I wouldn't leave a 3 year old at any sports club that didn't allow parents to stay, I don't think that's the norm at all. I would check to see if the instructor is affiliated with a governing body - martial arts are usually pretty hierarchical. Who do they do gradings/belts with?

3 is really young to be preventing parents watching. This is really odd.
Move your child to a different club.

Tricky one, dance classes often start at 2/3 and you don't go into the room at thr more serious schools, you sit outside the room though and you would take your children to toilet yourself.

Martial arts is a but different as you have the safety aspect, I've never known of one with only one instructor for a class with such young children.

It doesn’t matter if he himself is an abuser. He doesn’t understand safeguarding and is leaving things open for others to take advantage. Who are the older “kids” helping for example? Toileting? It gets busy and popular so he takes on another male helper who spies an opportunity etc etc.

So many red flags and he is either an abuser himself or an absolute fool for not understanding and has no business running a kids group.