Newcastle Hockey Club

Laura Mcnabb is Newcastle Hockey Club's Welfare Officer

To contact Laura use the online form which sends a message to her personally. Alternatively she is at training most Wednesday evenings and is always happy to chat.

If for any reason Laura is unavailable or you would feel more comfortable approaching another member of the club then we would strongly recommend approaching:

• Junior Development Officer - Megan
• Any of the Junior Coaches (Elaine) 
• Senior Team Captains

Don’t keep it to yourself!

You have the right to:

• Have fun when playing hockey
• Be safe when playing hockey
• Enjoy your hockey
• Make friends through hockey
• Be treated with respect by adults and other young people involved in hockey

Are you worried?

• My coach is bullying me
• Another adult at hockey is bullying me
• Another member of my team is bullying me
• One of the coaches or volunteers is threatening me
• An adult is making me do things which I know are wrong
• Someone is touching me and making me feel uncomfortable
• Someone is constantly teasing me, shouting at me or kicking and punching me
• Someone is making suggestive remarks or asking me to do things of a sexual nature
• Someone is acting in a way which makes me feel lonely, upset, unsafe or embarrassed 

If the answer is YES - Don’t keep it to yourself – ask for help.

Who can I talk to? Talk to your Welfare Officer.

It can sometimes be difficult to speak to an adult about how you are feeling.

• You might think that an adult will not understand 

THEY WILL LISTEN

• You may think that they will not believe you

THEY WILL BELIEVE YOU

• You may be scared that they will tell other people who you do not want to know 

THEY WILL ONLY TELL SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP

• You might think they have not got time to talk to you 

THEY WILL ALWAYS MAKE TIME TO TALK

• It’s better to talk to someone
• Ignoring your worries or concerns could make them worse
• Talking to someone will begin to tackle your worries and concerns
• You only have to share information that you want to share
• Telling someone will begin to help you

What will happen if I talk to someone?

Your Welfare Officer will know what to do and how to help. They will be able to ensure that you are safe and they will believe you.

There are policies and procedures which they will use. These provide information on who to contact, how to contact them and what they can do to help.

Confidentiality

The Welfare Officer cannot promise to keep the information you share a secret. However, they do have to keep it CONFIDENTIAL. This means that they will have to tell only the person/people who can help.

When you are talking to the Welfare Officer, ask them to explain who they need to speak to and why. They may say one of the following:

England Hockey Lead Child Welfare Officer

They will know what to do if the behaviour of adult(s) towards you is upsetting you.

Talking to this person will begin to help the situation and ensure you can play hockey in a happy and safe environment.

Social Services or the Police in an emergency

Social Services or the police will be called if the Welfare Officer thinks you may come to more harm or are in danger. This is to help you and ensure you are safe.

For more details on external organisations that help safeguard and protect you see our Help and Support page.