INTRODUCTION TO
SAFEGUARDING MATERIALSfor Member Federations

Starter Pack for Member Federations
To assist Member Federations who do not currently have any form of safeguarding
policy or who need to update their safeguarding policy, World Athletics has
produced a Starter Pack. The Starter Pack describes and explains the benefits andimportance of four documents - a safeguarding policy, code of conduct, reporting
flowchart and safeguarding rules - all of which Member Federations should
understand and work towards creating and adopting themselves.

There are template documents for theMember Federations to use for all of these
documents as well as a club safeguarding
policy template for Member Federations toencourage their clubs to produce and follow.
These documents will help Member
Federations create safe environments inwhich everyone can compete, train and enjoy
athletics as well as producing a frameworkin which to develop a safe culture andenvironment for their athletes. There aresimple steps in the Starter Pack explaining
how to adopt a safeguarding policy anda code of conduct; these two documentswww.worldathletics.org

are a very good starting point for MemberFederations. Once these are in place thenthey will raise awareness of safeguarding
issues amongst the Member Federation’s
stakeholders and in time the safeguarding
rules and the flowchart will prove tobe helpful to all involved in athletics inthe territory.
There is also a checklist which will help
Member Federations to work out what theyneed to do and produce an Action Plan
to prioritise areas for development in thesafeguarding arena.

INTRODUCTION TOSAFEGUARDING MATERIALS
for Member Federations
Guide to Safeguarding for Member Federations
The Guide to Safeguarding for Member Federations is for those Member
Federations who have established a safeguarding framework and wish to improveand develop it further. It is also a useful source of information for Member
Federations using the Starter Pack if they want to consider the safeguarding
landscape in more depth.
It considers recruitment, training, risk
assessments, job descriptions and anumber of other aspects of safeguarding
which a Member Federation may not haveconsidered previously such as participants
with additional vulnerabilities. It also explainsmonitoring and evaluating a safeguarding
policy, audits and a checklist to enable a
Member Federation to produce an Action
Plan prioritising the areas in particular needof attention from a safeguarding perspective.
There is a checklist which Member
Federations can use to assess theirsafeguarding situation and produce an action
plan for future development.
Member Federations should consider thelegal framework as well as their constitution,
rules and any governmental constraints in thecountries they operate. Advice and guidancefrom the National Olympic Committee, local

www.worldathletics.org

agencies, legal advisors and safeguarding
specialists should be considered to ensurethat any legislation or government guidanceis complied with. Consideration of local
knowledge and the context within which a
Member Federation works will help to makesure their documents are culturally sensitive.
Member Federations should ensure thatsafeguarding will be discussed and taken
seriously by leaders of their organisation.
The importance of safeguarding must berecognised and understood by all thosein the Member Federation but it must be
acknowledged particularly by the leadersof the Member Federation for any policy tobe approved, implemented and the cultureof respect and dignity embedded in theorganisation.
The Appendices to the Guide are the same
templates as referred to in the Starter Pack.