At VDS Swim Clinics, the welfare and safety of all swimmers is our highest priority. We are committed to providing a safe, supportive and positive environment where children and young people can train, learn and develop with confidence.

All sessions are delivered by appropriately qualified coaches and operate in line with our safeguarding policy. We recognise our responsibility to protect children and young people from harm and to act promptly and appropriately if concerns arise.

We are committed to:

Promoting the health, safety and wellbeing of all swimmers
Creating an environment built on respect, trust and clear boundaries
Ensuring safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone involved in our activities
Acting quickly and appropriately on any safeguarding concerns

VDS Swim Clinics follows safe working practices appropriate to swimming and coaching environments. This includes clear guidelines around supervision, physical contact, one-to-one coaching, changing areas and communication with swimmers and parents.

Where one-to-one coaching takes place, this is conducted with transparency and in line with safeguarding best practice. Parental consent is required for participation in all sessions.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for VDS Swim Clinics is:

Isis Van Der Stroom
Email: vds@swimclinics.info

The DSL is responsible for managing safeguarding concerns, liaising with relevant agencies and ensuring safeguarding standards are maintained.

Any safeguarding concerns or disclosures are taken seriously and handled in accordance with our safeguarding procedures. We do not investigate concerns ourselves but follow appropriate reporting pathways to ensure concerns are managed by the correct authorities where necessary.

Our full Safeguarding Policy is available on request. Parents and carers are encouraged to contact us if they have any questions or concerns regarding safeguarding.