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Parent of a sporty kid: On the side-line

By Harry Black,

By Lucile De Carbonnieres
R2P Head of Operations

 

I am a mother of three young children, juggling a busy (read hectic!) home life with a charming (read hopeless!) husband, 5 delightful (read messy and demanding!) pets and a job for which I feel very passionate (read passionate …my boss will likely read this too!).

 

So, with all the above, where are you most likely to find me early on a freezing Sunday morning?  Reading the papers in bed with a nice cup of coffee with above mentioned “charming” husband? On the sofa, catching up on some TV box sets while cuddling with above mentioned “delightful” pets? On the side-line of a sport’s pitch, with frost bites to my toes and fingers while pretending to cheer on my precious offspring? The brood with endless energy wins hands down I am afraid! I am indeed one of those parents pacing on the side-lines wondering when the last blow of the whistle will rescue me from the cold.

Sport cannot be made totally risk free just like climbing a tree, running around in a playground or riding a bike cannot be made completely accident free.– “Lucile”

Our family weekends are filled with tennis, athletics, cross country running, hockey and rugby. Despite sounding like I am writing a new book, every Sunday morning, entitled Diary of a Whingeing Mum, I do love my children’s energy and boundless passion for the sports they have chosen. Sport will undoubtedly shape them to be healthier, more resilient, more courageous, more ambitious, more dignified in failure, good team players with strong values and appreciation of other people. What is there not to like? Injuries maybe.

 

It is a fact that with sport comes the risk of injuries and as a mother I never like to have to dry my children’s tears. We have had over the years a broken arm, a broken wrist, two broken toes, fractured teeth, and numerous bruises and cuts; thankfully not all for the same child! But interestingly, only one of these more serious injuries happened while playing “organised” sport, i.e. in school or clubs. The more serious injuries happened on the beach, falling off a bike or playing with friends.

Sport Injuries for children can be minimized through training and education– “Lucile”

There has been a lot written about the perceived dangers for children of some contact sports like rugby and hockey, but my experience as a mother is that these sports are taught by experienced and specially trained coaches who will never knowingly allow a child to continue to play while injured or recklessly expose a child to an unreasonable risk of sports injury.

 

All sports, whether individual, team or contact, carry a risk of injury. Sport cannot be made totally risk free just like climbing a tree, running around in a playground or riding a bike cannot be made completely accident free. Children cannot and should not live in a protective bubble. However, my hardwired instinct is to want to nurture and protect my children from harm so I want to see risks minimized wherever and whenever possible.

 

Sport Injuries for children can be minimized through training and education of sport parents, coaches (in clubs and schools) and administrators. This is where my passion for my work at Return2Play comes in. I am very proud to help make my children’s sports safer and allow them to enjoy their chosen passions.

Other Blogs you may be interested in

Parent of a sporty kid: Why You need to know concussion signs and symptoms

Tour de France Special: Cycling and Concussion

First Published 31/01/2018

Medical Director’s Blog – Concussion: It’s not a rugby injury

By Harry Black,

Updated January 2020

By Dr Sam Barke

A new year is here, and with it’s arrival we find ourselves moving into the final months of the rugby season.  School fixture lists will now be dominated by hockey and it won’t be long until we start to see the outfields being mown for the start of cricket.  I can almost hear the sigh of relief from some of the staff I have regular contact with as the anticipated reduction in numbers on the “off games” list soon starts to show.  But is rugby’s reputation fair?

 

Rugby has led the way

Outside of America, where American Football has been the main driver for advancing the knowledge on concussions, the rugby community has been at the forefront of research, education and implementing change in the way we deal with concussions.  World Rugby and the national bodies below it, such as the RFU, have led the way in raising awareness of the injury and advising on how it should be managed.  It is right that they have – rugby clearly carries a risk of concussion – but by being so they have also inadvertently taken ownership of the injury and dominated the headlines to the point where it would be easy to think it is only rugby which has a problem. I expect there are sports which are quite happy for rugby to take the negative press!

 

But does concussion happen in other sports?

Of course.  Concussion happens outside of sport – tripping in the playground, walking into a door, falling out of bed – so it makes sense that there is a risk of it happening in sport too.  All “major” sports governing bodies in England – RFU, ECB, RFL, FA, England Hockey –  have adopted concussion management guidelines, acknowledging that there is a risk of sustaining the injury playing their sport. Last summer, Steve Smith’s high profile concussion while playing cricket for Australia in The Ashes led to the first use of a concussion substitution in international cricket (see my article in The Times here – The Ashes: Steve Smith likely to feel concussion symptoms for at least a week).  A big step in acknowledging the importance of the dealing with the injury appropriately and raising awareness among the community and school game.

 

What does the Return2Play data show?

In 2019, our doctors undertook over 1000 “concussion assessments”.  Of these, 70% were sustained playing rugby (both training and matches).  After rugby, the second most common cause of injury were concussions sustained outside of sport (12%) in joint third place were football and hockey (5% each). The rest of were made up of injuries in sports as diverse as swimming, netball, cycling, skiing and basketball (plus 8 more).  It is, of course, worth noting that the majority of our clients are large rugby playing schools and rugby clubs so we would expect the numbers to be skewed towards that sport

 

“But surely rugby has a far higher risk than other sports?”

This is where it gets tricky. My usual answer is “how can we know?”.  Being able to collect data on the number of concussions occurring in sports relies on all of those sports understanding the injury and being able to recognise it. There is no doubt that understanding is high in the rugby community – with thanks to the RFU’s Headcase campaign but can the same be said across other sports?  On Saturday I was chatting to a hockey coach who had only seen a handful of concussions over their career. They were shocked to learn that you didn’t have to be knocked out to have sustained a concussion and suddenly appreciated they’d seen far more than they’d realised.

 

As ever, education is key

We need to move away from thinking of concussions as rugby’s problem.  Stop putting in place policy that requires only rugby players and rugby coaches to undertake concussion education.  At schools all staff and all pupils – whether involved in sport or not – should be aware of the injury and how it should be managed.  Only then will we be able to start making a fair comparison between sports.

To read the other blogs in the concussion series, please follow the links below.

Concussion: Back to Basics

Concussion: There’s no recovery fast track

Concussion: Teachers have an important role to play 

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Medical Director’s Blog – Concussion: There’s no recovery “fast-track”

By Harry Black,

Updated January 2020

By Dr Sam Barke

As you’d imagine, Return2Play’s doctors see quite a few concussions. In fact, a quick check tells me that in 2019 we undertook over 1000 “concussion assessments”. A benefit of seeing so many in a relatively short period of time is that you start to see trends – not trends in how the injuries are occurring, that’s a blog post in itself – but trends in the common misunderstandings around recovery from concussion and the areas that most often need explaining to players.

 

1. “I don’t think I really had a concussion”

The standard opening sentence of the player desperate to get back to play. Not uncommonly it has been suggested by a friend or family member that everyone is being “over-cautious”. Or, even more difficult to deal with, a doctor with out-of-date knowledge has given the wrong advice.

I get the player to talk me through what happened. How did they feel immediately after the impact? How did they feel over the next few minutes? The next hour? Into that evening? And what about the following days? I explain the difficulties of concussion and talk about what we look at to try and diagnose it (see: Concussion: Back to Basics) and then the risks of getting it wrong. 99 times out of 100 the player sees how they fit the criteria and accept that they need to be treated as if they have had a concussion.

 

2. “I feel fine now, why can’t I play?”

If you broke your arm you’d be put in a cast. Pain, the main symptom of the injury, would settle within a week or so. At that point you wouldn’t rip off the cast and demand to play (at least, I hope you wouldn’t!), because you know that the bone is still healing and playing would risk further and probably more serious injury.

Concussion is no different. The symptoms may have settled but we know that this doesn’t necessarily mean the brain has recovered. Just like your broken arm, there are risks associated with getting further injuries when healing hasn’t fully taken place and it is those risks we are trying to avoid.

 


Knowledge Recap

What are the risks of getting a second injury?

During recovery the brain is more vulnerable to further injury. Repeat concussions during this time can result in:

  • Prolonged concussion symptoms
  • Possible increased risk of developing long term health problems eg mild cognitive impairment or degenerative brain disorders in later life
  • Second impact syndrome – sudden brain swelling causing death (extremely rare)

While it is difficult to quantify the likelihood of these occurring, I think we can all accept they are risks well worth avoiding. A few extra days rest, or a couple of missed games, isn’t much to ask.

 

3. “What difference does a couple of days make?”

For children the earliest possible return to sport after a concussion is 23 days. The majority of injuries happen at the weekend so sustaining a concussion usually means a minimum of three weekends off sport. It is often the case that day 23 falls on the Monday or Tuesday and players, understandably, question whether they can play in the day or two before then.

I’m honest with players. The chances are that if they went and played they would be absolutely fine. But, what if they’re not? What if they do take a knock and something nasty happens? People will start to ask “should he have been playing at all?”. I’m asked to justify why, as a doctor, I didn’t follow the guidelines. Your teachers and coaches are accused of putting you in harm’s way. Is it worth it? No, of course it’s not.
The player is still frustrated – I’d be surprised if they weren’t – but they understand the reasoning.

 

Educating players

In my experience, once the reasoning behind the guidelines has been explained to players, they understand why we enforce them – which is ultimately, of course, to protect them.
It’s worth you taking the time to explain the injury and the guidelines early. Get the player’s (and parents’) buy-in to the process – it’s likely to significantly improve compliance and will hopefully make your job of monitoring your players’ return far easier.

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Sam Jones – Dealing with Injuries

By Harry Black,

Return2Play spoke with Wasps Rugby star Sam Jones. Having suffered an injury last season and still awaiting his return to the pitch, we spoke to Sam about his experience with injury throughout his career.

Sam, firstly congratulations to Wasps Rugby for last season and getting to the Premiership final, it must seem a long time coming for you. How did it feel watching the game?
It was a bit bittersweet! It was a fantastic occasion for the entire club – both players and staff – although it was pretty gutting not to be out there or to have at least played a slightly bigger part in helping the club reach the final. As a spectator, the game was completely nerve wracking, it could have gone either way and although the result wasn’t what we wanted the boys gave it everything.

 

What do you think Wasps needs to do in order to get their hands on the trophy this season?
I think we just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year. As I said, it was so close that on another day we would have sneaked it. I think the experience of having been in a final will help us a lot over the next couple of seasons – as I think it helped Exeter having been beaten in the same match the year before. To become a successful team you need to learn from a few failures along the way.

“You have to look on the positive side otherwise it becomes very difficult”

 

Talking of trophies and achievements, what has been the highlight of your school sporting career?
In my final year at school, the 1st XV had an unbeaten season and made Rugby World’s School team of the month. Along the way we also beat out local rivals RGS High Wycombe 29-3 which was a huge achievement for us.

 

When you were at school who did you look up to the most, who inspired you?
I looked up to some of the older boys who went on to play professionally for Wasps having been picked from their schoolboy performances. Guys like Bob Baker and Jack Wallace showed if you worked hard and played well it wouldn’t go unnoticed by the top clubs.

 

Last season must have been tough for you, having just been called up to the England squad and what could have been your first premiership final, mental strength must play a huge part during an injury or concussion, do you have any tips for people coping with this?
You have to look on the positive side otherwise it becomes very difficult. Personally, I used the injury as a way to improve my strength and conditioning in the gym and get my body in better shape to perform for when I come back. It’s also a great opportunity to give the rest of your body a break from the regular battering it takes. Its also important to find something else to preoccupy you whether that be work in the community, some studying or work experience to keep you mentally stimulated and prepare you for life after rugby.

 

What do you find is the hardest part about being injured?
Not feeling a part of the team. Everything revolves around teamwork and when you are unable to contribute it becomes difficult. It’s important that you try and stay involved whether that’s socially or by helping out with coaching tips/analysis etc.

 

Has being injured given you more time to explore other interests, potentially things that you would like to do when you retire from rugby?
Yes, I’ve always been into restaurants and food so I would like to go into that industry after rugby. I’ve managed to do some writing for a couple of websites on the dining trends and certain new restaurant reviews and managed to make some valuable contacts for life after rugby.

 

Can you talk us through a typical daily routine since you have been injured?
I’ve spent most of my time in the gym! We start pretty early at about 8am with upper body weights followed by physio treatment and pretty intense rehab which lasts until lunch. After lunch we do a fitness/conditioning session followed by extra top ups such as static skills, prehab, core work. Once you get back to the stage where you can run you are slowly integrated back into full training.

 

From transitioning into professional rugby what differences have you noticed in how injuries and concussions are managed?
Everything is scrutinised a lot more. You have regular interactions with physios and doctors and they are constantly assessing your progress. They usually put in as much time as needed to get you back to where you need to be to perform at your best, whereas at school if you managed to see a physio/doctor it would be very limited. They also give you ongoing programmes to prevent injury rather than just reacting to acute ones.

 

Between school, club and academies do you feel that you played too much sport and if so, did this contribute to any injuries?
I was lucky growing up that I didn’t sustain too many injuries despite playing a lot of rugby. I only started picking up a few knocks when I moved to men’s rugby at the age of 17 as the physicality of the game became much more intense.

 

“Concussions are inevitable in a contact sport like rugby, but it’s how you manage them that’s important.”

 

If you suffered an injury during school years, what was the process of communicating this?
You would normally have to self diagnose your injury and inform the coaches of your various teams that you wouldn’t be able to play. It wasn’t ideal really as there just wasn’t the qualified medical staff to help. I was lucky that I was involved in the Wasps Academy as I could visit their physios and be treated much like a professional would.

 

Concussion is a huge talking point at the moment, and many are being put off playing sports like rugby, having suffered head injuries yourself, what is your opinion on the matter going forward?
Concussions are inevitable in a contact sport like rugby, but it’s how you manage them that’s important. The profile of head injuries has risen hugely which means that clubs and coaches are forced to treat them seriously which is great for player welfare. There just needs to be more information out there as it’s quite a grey area and I think we are getting there.

 

Who has been your most influential coach?
Rob Smith was my Academy Manager growing up and he guided my career in the early years which was an extremely important time.

 

Finally, if you could tell your younger self anything what would it be?
Try and relax a bit more! You play your best rugby when you’re enjoying it so just aim to do just that.
Thank you for your time and we all wish you and Wasps Rugby well for this season.

 

Sam’s thoughts on Return2Play

Having heard what Return2Play offer, and going on your own experiences, do you feel that R2P is something that will help grassroots sports become safer and managed better?

Certainly. It is allowing schoolboy and grassroots rugby access to a platform that is similar to what professional outfits use. Player welfare and safety is the most important thing in sport and R2P are making sure that everyone involved is up to speed with any one injury.

 

Did you ever struggle getting a doctor’s appointment at school, and did this ever prolong the time that you were unable to play for?

I’m not sure I ever went to a doctor – it seemed like too much hassle! This is certainly not advisable and with a platform like R2P it makes it much easier to find a certified professional who can give you permission to return to sport safely and quickly.

Return2Play nominated for the 2017 Sports Technology Awards

By james,

Following on from our nomination in the 2016 awards, we are very pleased to reveal that we have been nominated for the 2017 Sports Technology Awards as a finalist in the ‘Best Website Development’ category!

The Sports Technology Awards were founded in 2014 with a view to celebrating and rewarding innovation in sport. A panel of industry experts received hundreds of entries from across a range of sports from every continent and so we are very proud to have been nominated alongside some famous names such as Channel 4, Samsung, NBA and BT Sport. This year’s judges include The Baroness Grey-Thompson, England football manager Gareth Southgate and Dame Katherine Grainger to name but a few!

For more information about who we are up against on May 4th, please see the STA website.

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Return2Play announced as Rosslyn Park Sevens Official Medical Partner

By james,

Return2Play are pleased to be the official medical partner to the Rosslyn Park 2017 HSBC National Sevens.

The tournament has evolved into the world’s largest school rugby event with some 7,000 boys and girls aged 13 – 18 competing on 20-24 March 2017.

We are delighted to be assisting Rosslyn Park National Sevens to provide the highest possible levels of player welfare during the 2017 tournament.– Dr Sam Barke, Medical Director of Return2Play

At Return2Play we passionately believe that all ages and standards of player deserve to receive the highest care if injured.  Since our launch in September 2016, we have ensured the safe return to sport of over 100 players following concussions. This has been facilitated by our innovative online concussion management platform and network of sport specialist doctors throughout the UK.

We look forward to being part of the tournament, seeing some great rugby and providing swift, professional medical care in the event that anyone requires it.

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How is concussion management linked with child safeguarding?

By james,

Deirdre is a  law graduate, qualified teacher and post graduate qualified former safeguarding/child protection designate. She has over 30 years of experience in delivering effective child welfare services in legal practice, social care and education.

Advocating usage of an electronic concussion management system by persons that are involved in concussion management may understandably provoke cries of “bias, conflict of interest!”.

However, do stop to consider that it is out of a love of grassroots sport and a commitment to the welfare of children and young people that Return2Play was born.

Return2Play is made up of like-minded people from differing perspectives who are convinced that an electronic concussion management system should be implemented in all schools and colleges. It will keep our children safe now and into their futures. It will also discharge the medical, legal and procedural liabilities and duties for organisations and individuals around the safeguarding agenda without banning contact sports and all the benefits derived from participation. A win-win all round.

Reducing organisational and individual risk: the argument for using an electronic concussion management system in schools and colleges to safeguard children’s welfare in contact sports

Enormous challenges face teachers and educational organisations that are accountable for safeguarding. They are presented with the constant dilemma to establish (with certainty) roles, responsibilities and clear remits for those practitioners charged with the safeguarding and protection of children. Safeguarding and child protection are often terms used interchangeably but not always accurately.

Safeguarding is the broad preventative work undertaken to keep children safe. Child Protection is that specific legal activity undertaken pursuant to S.17 and S.47 of the Children Act 1989 to protect children who are suffering from or are likely to suffer harm. Return2Play’s remit lies largely in the former definition.

What are the safeguarding duties applicable to schools and colleges?

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrines four key principles outlined in 54 articles. Article 19 states that “Everyone has the responsibility to protect all children from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation”. Article 31 expresses “every child’s right to participate in play and recreational activities”. Enshrined within English law, safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility and the welfare of children is paramount in all circumstances.

Although parents and guardians have primary responsibility for a child’s welfare, it is in their absence that a duty of care will fall on others, such as schools/colleges and their agents, in loco parentis. In essence, a person who does not have “parental” responsibility for a particular child, but has care of the child, must do what is reasonable in all the circumstances for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting a child’s welfare.

It is in this context that defined legislative duties have been conferred upon maintained (state) schools and FE colleges, independent schools, academies, free schools and technology colleges to exercise their functions with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. As part of generally safeguarding children it is incumbent upon schools and colleges to safeguard children by providing ongoing promotional and preventative support through proactive work with children and families.

Also required is a clear commitment by senior management to the importance of safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare through both the commissioning and the provision of services. Extensive statutory guidance exists to assist schools and colleges in maintaining standards in protecting the welfare of children. This guidance is issued by the Government and it must be followed unless there exists good reason not to do so.

In short, schools and colleges, together with their staff, should ensure that they take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the pupils in their charge and not act in a way that might be considered careless.

Depending upon the particular activities being undertaken by pupils, this would include following any relevant guidance and best practice. This is in line with other duties in relation to pupils imposed on teaching staff by English law whether pursuant to “common law” or statute (in particular Health and Safety at Work legislation).

What are the consequences for individuals and organisations in the event of a failure to discharge their safeguarding duties?

A failure to properly discharge safeguarding duties may expose both the organisation, and individuals within the organisation, to liability. For the individual, teachers and operational managers may be held accountable where injury to, or death of, a child has occurred and in circumstances where there has been a failure to comply with safeguarding duties.

The consequences for the individual will of course vary depending upon the particular circumstances and also depending upon, for example, whether or not the harm suffered by the child was reasonably foreseeable. At the lower end of the scale, the consequences would include internal sanction, and possibly dismissal, under an organisation’s policies and procedures.

However, it is also possible that teachers and operational managers may be pursued in the courts for damages arising out of the injury to, or death of, a child. In very rare cases criminal charges may also be brought – for example, and in the event of the death of a child arising out of “gross” negligence, a conviction for involuntary manslaughter may be sought.

There is also potential liability for the wider organisation who can be held directly accountable for a failure to comply with safeguarding duties or, under the tenets of vicarious liability, accountable for the actions of its staff. Furthermore, the organisation’s strategic leaders, however far removed from operational and day to day decision making, may also be found to be accountable.

In the event of harm to a child, there will of course also be (potentially severe) reputational damage to the organisation and its strategic leaders.

What guidance exists for treating concussion in sport?

The principle guidance on concussion treatment is set out in the 2012 Zurich Consensus Statement. This is a document produced by leading neurological specialists following deliberations at the 4th International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich in November 2012. The conference was organised by sporting groups including the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the International Olympic Commission (IOC) and the International Rugby Board (IRB).

The Consensus Statement contains clear guidance developed primarily for use by healthcare professionals involved in the care of injured athletes whether at recreational, elite or professional level. In general terms the guidance identifies a graduated return to play in circumstances where an athlete has suffered concussion.

However the guidance also sets out particular considerations to be taken in to account when assessing child athletes with concussion. This is for a number of reasons including because children will take longer to recover from concussion injuries and because children’s symptoms may differ from adults and so will require age appropriate symptom checklists.

The guidance also recognises that the clinical evaluation of a child by a healthcare professional may also need to involve input from the patient, his/her parents and the teaching staff/school, i.e. it will necessarily involve a high degree of coordination amongst and between all of the interested parties. For children who have experienced a concussion injury, the guidance indicates that the emphasis is to be on a return to “learn” before a return to sport.

Furthermore, the Consensus Statement specifically recognises the importance of a detailed “concussion history”, i.e. beyond simply taking in to account the number of previous concussions suffered by an athlete. This means that the clinical evaluation of a child athlete should be structured to include, for example, reference to the symptoms suffered, and the length of recovery required, following previous concussion injuries.

Strategic bodies in sport have now adopted the guidance contained in the Consensus Statement and, as a consequence, a very significant change of culture is being actively fostered and filtered down to “grassroots” level.

Is concussion guidance relevant to the safeguarding duties applicable to schools and colleges?

Against this background, compliance with the concussion guidance contained in the Consensus Statement is likely to be considered, at the very least, a reasonable step in safeguarding a child’s welfare. Indeed, a school or college is most likely to be considered careless to the extent that it does not have procedures in place that facilitate compliance with the guidelines set out in the Consensus Statement. Certainly it is our view, at Return2Play, that the correct application of the concussion of guidelines is fundamental to the welfare of children engaged in sporting activities.

Therefore, to the extent that a school or college either fails to follow the concussion guidance, whether due to a failure to correctly apply the guidance or a fundamental failure to apply it at all, the organisation and relevant individuals will most likely face the potential consequences indicated above in the event of harm to a child.

Clearly therefore the Consensus Statement, and the guidance set out therein, is of very significant relevance to schools and colleges in the discharge of their safeguarding duties.

In light of the welfare issues and the potential consequences for the organisation and the individual, why do we continue to support contact sports in schools and colleges?

The health benefits offered by participation in sport are far reaching and invaluable. Significant health benefits are derived from physical activity. Exercise is one of the factors that promotes wellbeing and resilience in childhood, thus improving health behaviours and health outcomes throughout life. A child’s resilience provides the ability to overcome stressful situations or cope with challenging situations or environments which may have a negative impact on others.

Parents will often decide there are many more positive than negative outcomes that come from a child’s involvement in a contact sport when played in a safe and sportsmanlike context. All sports offer huge benefits to young people in developing values and ethos in areas such as teamwork; sportsmanship; integrity; solidarity; discipline and respect.

Injuries are always an unfortunate circumstance but they are a part of any physical activity. Adults must take full responsibility to ensure that, should a child become injured, that the child is properly medically assessed and receives the correct treatment to ensure that they are able to safely return to play. In these circumstances children are able to enjoy all the health and psychological benefits that participation provides.

What do organisations need to do to ensure the safety of their pupils and compliance with concussion guidance and safeguarding duties?

Increasingly in safeguarding, the requirement is for reflective and reflexive practice. This requirement prevails in circumstances laden with change management and often where the practitioner is tasked to manage the “effective detail” required for efficient implementation of relevant guidance.

Teachers are required to think about risk assessment and evaluate potential hazards taking into account the particular needs, characteristics and capabilities of their pupils and school environment. Practitioners can become paralysed by the complexity of the dilemma in a myriad of safeguarding issues presented to them in real time. Mistakes can be made that do not bear up under subsequent scrutiny.

The reality is that most teachers and senior leaders, as part of their vocation, are looking to create a safeguarding culture that is over and above minimal requirements conferred upon them by legislation. Most practitioners seek to place the welfare of children at the heart of their operational and strategic decision making on a day to day basis.

Organisations need to develop systems that meet the safeguarding agenda so as to protect children but also demonstrate their willingness to exceed requirements in terms of effectively recording and tracking physical injury and recovery. This will ensure best possible outcomes for the children in their care. It will create a culture where the “paramouncy principle” around children’s welfare is explicit and embedded in the organisations daily work at all levels. It will ensure that a rigorous approach to child welfare is evidenced through its communication systems.

Organisations need to create data particular to their organisation and personal to an individual child; allow for the analysis of data; and produce accurate data for effective and timely operational and strategic decision making and planning.

What solution does Return2Play offer schools and organisations?

Sharing information between professional groups in circumstances where there are concerns about the welfare of a child has become an important principle underpinning safeguarding practice and is enshrined in legislation. It has long been recognised that failures in communication between parents, teachers and agencies tasked with the safeguarding and protection of children have been a significant contributing factor in the event of injury to, or death of, a child.

Indeed, poor information exchange between interested parties adversely affected by paper records and differing systems of record keeping have been specifically identified as playing a large part in the failure of those charged with safeguarding the welfare of pupils.

In safeguarding practice there is a move toward an actuarial approach to risk management, assessment and referral of safeguarding concerns. Return2Play have designed an electronic concussion management system that complies with both concussion and safeguarding guidance. It creates a simple accessible piece of administration for busy practitioners. The system has significant and far reaching consequences for safeguarding.

Adhering to the Return2Play system allows the practitioner the peace of mind that their pupils are being properly medically assessed according to concussion guidance and that compliance with safeguarding duties is assured. In the event of the unthinkable happening everyone concerned with the welfare of the child will be confident that they have done all in their power to ensure that the child’s safety was, at all times, paramount.

The Return2Play system also creates data particular to an organisation and personal to an individual child; it allows for the analysis of data; and it produces accurate data for effective and timely operational and strategic decision making. It significantly reduces the likely incidence of poor judgement; encourages the discipline of recording and referral in safeguarding practice and shifts child welfare out of a system of paper and/or anecdotal communications thereby improving outcomes for the welfare of children.

The system also creates a portable “concussion passport” for a child or young person that will provide a platform to ensure their welfare for many years and throughout their sporting careers.

*Please note that the information and opinions within this article are for information purposes only. They are not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice, and should not be relied on or treated as a substitute for specific advice relevant to particular circumstances.

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