The Gaelic Games Council of Britain promotes a culture of openness and accountability. We encourage all staff / volunteers to raise concerns about dangerous practice or serious risk as early as possible. We will respond appropriately to promote a safer environment.
Raising a concern
We hope you will raise your concern openly. However, we recognise that there may be circumstances when you would prefer to speak to someone in confidence first.
If you ask us not to disclose your identity, we will not do so without your consent unless required by law. There may be times when we are unable to resolve a concern without revealing your identity, for example where your personal evidence is essential. In such cases, we will discuss with you whether and how the matter can best proceed.
How to raise a concern
If you are unsure about raising a concern at any stage you should seek independent advice, if your concerns relate to safeguarding issues regarding children you can seek that advice from NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit.
You do not need to have firm evidence before raising a concern. But we do ask that you explain as fully as you can the information or circumstances that gave rise to your concern.
Step one
If you have a concern about dangerous practice, serious risk or wrong-doing, raise it first with one of your Club, County, Provincial Council or Board’s Senior Officers, for example, Childrenʼs Officer, Chairperson or Secretary. This may be done verbally or in writing.
Please note that you:
- must disclose any information in good faith
- must believe it to be substantially true
- must not act maliciously or make false allegations
- must not seek any personal gain
- must inform your Club/County/ Provincial Council or Board’s representative if you have a personal interest
Step two
If you feel unable to raise the matter with one of the Officers above or if there is a problem with the Club, raise the matter with your respective County Board, if the problem is with the County Board, raise the matter with your respective Provincial Council of Board and if the problem is with the Provincial Council of Board, raise the matter with the Chairperson of the Gaelic Games Council of Britain.
Step three
If these channels have been followed and you still have concerns regarding safeguarding of children, or if you feel that the matter is so serious that you cannot discuss it with any of the above, please contact:
- Gaelic Games Council of Britain’s Childrenʼs Officer – Julie Duffy – 07780 762969
- NSPCC 0116 234 7278 cpsu@nspcc.org.uk
- Child Protection in Sport Unit (England) 0116 366 5590 cpsu@nspcc.org.uk
- Child Protection in Sport Unit (Scotland) 0141 419 1156 safeguardinginsport@children1st.org.uk
- Child Protection in Sport Unit (Wales) 0844 892 0290 cpsuwales@nspcc.org.uk
How will this matter be handled
All concerns will be treated in confidence . Once you have told us of your concern, we will assess it and consider what action may be appropriate. This may involve an informal review, an internal inquiry or a more formal investigation.
Your Club/County/Provincial of Board representative will tell you who will be handling the matter, how you can contact them, and what further assistance they may need from you.
If requested, we will write to you summarising your concern and setting out how we propose to handle it, including a timeframe for feedback. If we have misunderstood the concern or there is any information missing you should let your club/county representative know.
It is a disciplinary matter to victimise a bona fide whistleblower and for someone to maliciously make a false allegation. Whenever possible, we will give you feedback on the outcome of any investigation.
