Supervision of 14 year old students

[jason clarke]

Can anyone advise on 14 year old students.
We can forsee a possible problem in our club. We will be getting our first full 14 year old diving member that will not be training with a relative or family friend.
The problem is that the parent drops the child off at the baths and picks them up, but in the current enviroment-we are worried that this leaves us wide open as far as responsibility for the safety and welfare of the child. Don't get us wrong, we are welcoming as a club and have other junior swimmers etc, but where does BSAC officially stand on this issue? The problem doesn't end there though.......what happens on Club trips, once the child is fully qualified as an Ocean Diver?The parent/guardian must take the child to and from the trip-but what happens on the boat and during the trip? These are all issues that we have never had to deal with before and we would really appreciate some guidance and help on other club's experiences and BSAC's stance on these issues.
We want to provide safe training and an enjoyable experience for these kinds of members but without jepordising ourselves.

Cheers Jason

[Andy Wade]

Can anyone advise on 14 year old students.
We can forsee a possible problem in our club. We will be getting our first full 14 year old diving member that will not be training with a relative or family friend.
The problem is that the parent drops the child off at the baths and picks them up, but in the current enviroment-we are worried that this leaves us wide open as far as responsibility for the safety and welfare of the child. Don't get us wrong, we are welcoming as a club and have other junior swimmers etc, but where does BSAC officially stand on this issue? The problem doesn't end there though.......what happens on Club trips, once the child is fully qualified as an Ocean Diver?The parent/guardian must take the child to and from the trip-but what happens on the boat and during the trip? These are all issues that we have never had to deal with before and we would really appreciate some guidance and help on other club's experiences and BSAC's stance on these issues.
We want to provide safe training and an enjoyable experience for these kinds of members but without jepordising ourselves.



Hi Jason,
I'm not actually answering your post directly, I think you'll have to get in touch with HQ for the definitive answer. They don't usually answer questions directly on these fora.

However, last year you may recall the debate about letting 12 year olds become divers within BSAC branches. This motion failed, but during that time, lots of advice for clubs and instructors teaching young divers came to the fore.
I added all the links I could find to the Dive Instruct website 'Young Divers' section and it is all still there, including some suggested questionnaires for branches to put to parents who wanted their child to learn to dive, and a sample risk awareness sheet, they were mostly written by Alison Boler and contain heaps of good ideas and potential pitfalls for branches to consider. (she's a clever girl, that Alison....;-)
I know you're not teaching 12 year olds, but the information is still valid for 14 year olds as they are still minors.
The online links make good reading too. You'll be snowed under with information.
Oh, and one other point, there's also the question of Child protection, Maybe John Williams is the best man to speak to about that issue, better to be safe than sorry.

Hope this helps.
See link below:

[Keith Lawrence(BSAC)]

Dear Jason

Thank you for your enquiry, as Andy has said HQ will be able to guide you and clarify any issues. There is an extensive section on our members web site (link below) that is designed to help any of our branches, please have a look on there initially for guidance and best practices.

Regards

Keith L

[John Williams]

Jason,

(or anyone else for that matter)

Please read the BSAC Welfare Policy at the link suggested by Keith.

Then read the sections of the DiveInstruct site relating to young divers suggested by Andy.

Once you have read these sections you will probably be a lot more informed and happy with working with under 18's. (there are no essential differences between children of any age under 18).

If you still need help/advice then please feel free to contact the BSAC Welfare Officer for more personal advice.

Initial contact should be made via Email at

<a href="mailto:welfare@bsac.com">welfare@bsac.com</a>

or you could telephone HQ and ask to speak to someone who is trained in Welfare issues. They will probably ask the Welfare Officer to give you a call.

Good luck, and much fun training your new member.

John
BSAC Welfare Officer