Introduction

Welcome to the Uckfield Gymnastic Club Handbook.

Uckfield Gymnastic Club Ltd. is a community sports club which was founded by Derek Ashdown and registered as a club on 1st December 1982.  The Club is now run by 3 directors; Janice Binder, Andria Birchmore and Debbie Cousins and our aim is to provide fun, professional gymnastics lessons in a safe environment where each participant can reach their full potential.

The Club is affiliated to British Gymnastics, English Gymnastics, South East Gymnastics and Sussex Gymnastics and is a Registered Company Limited by Guarantee.

Through gymnastics, we encourage all our members to grow in self-confidence and ability.  We are fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the well-being of all our members.  The Club believes it is important that everyone associated with the club should always show respect and understanding for the safety and welfare of others.

 

Handbook Contents

 1. Codes of Conduct

1.1 Club Rules

1.2 Training Rules

1.3 Parents Code of Conduct

1.4 Roles and Responsibilities of Coaches

2. Child Protection Policy

3. Equality Policy

4. Health and Safety Policy

5. Sickness & Injury

6. Anti-Bullying Policy

7. Payment Terms and Conditions

8. Emergency Procedures

9. Complaints Procedures

10. Social Networking and Uckfield Gymnastic Club

11. Privacy Policy

 

1. Codes of Conduct

1.1 Club Rules

• Uckfield Gymnastic Club shall be known as The Club.
• The Club shall be affiliated to British Gymnastics (BG), English Gymnastics, South East Gymnastics and Sussex Gymnastics.
• All members of The Club must be affiliated to BG.
• The Club must always have qualified gymnastics coaches in attendance.
• All membership fees must be paid within the payment terms and conditions.
• The Club reserves the right to refuse membership to any applicant.
• The Club reserves the right to suspend or cancel membership to anyone who displays inappropriate behaviour or displays any action that may bring The Club into disrepute.
• All members of The Club must adhere to the Training Rules.
• No mobile phones, personal audio equipment, or any other distraction shall be admitted into the gymnastics hall.
• Gymnasts shall wear appropriate and approved gymnastic attire whilst in the gymnastics hall.
• No food or drink shall be brought into the gymnastics hall.
• Nobody is to use any apparatus without the express permission of a coach unless they have express permission under special circumstances.
• Parents are not permitted to wait in the gymnastics hall during their child’s session.
• Parents must remain with their child until they have entered the gymnastics hall.

I hereby give my permission for the qualified coaches employed by Uckfield Gymnastic Club to act in loco parentis in the event of an emergency.

 

1.2 Training Rules

• Gymnasts should arrive on time to their session to prepare for a prompt start.
• Gymnasts should line up at the door and wait to be welcomed and registered by the coach. Under no circumstances should they be running around or practicing moves in the corridor or waiting areas.
• Gymnasts shall wear appropriate and approved gymnastic attire whilst in the gymnastics hall.  Girls are asked to wear leotards (shorts/leggings and t-shirt can be worn over the top) and boys are asked to wear leotards with shorts or shorts/joggers and t-shirt
• No jewellery should be worn in the gymnastics hall and any newly pierced ears must be covered with tape before entering the gymnastics hall.   The Club will not be held responsible for the loss or damage to valuables.

 

1.3 Parents Code of Conduct

• Encourage your child to learn the rules and participate within them.
• Discourage challenging and arguing with coaches and officials.
• Help your child to recognise progress and good performance, not just results.
• Set a good example by recognising good sportsmanship and applauding the good performances of all.
• Always ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the activity and has plenty to drink.
• Keep your contact details up to date and pay any fees for training before the start of each term.
• Keep the club informed if your child is ill or unable to attend sessions.
• Endeavor to establish good communications with the club, coaches and officials for the benefit of all.
• Share any concerns or complaints about any aspect of the club with the coaches and Club Directors.
• Always use correct and proper language.
• Endeavour to always ensure your child arrives on time for their session.
• Always collect your child promptly at the end of a session from inside the building.
• Support your child’s involvement and help them to enjoy their sport.

We do not expect parents and guardians to:

• Force your child to take part in the sport.
• Punish or belittle a child for poor performance or making mistakes.
• Use bad language or inappropriate behaviour
• Display threatening or intimidating behaviour towards other members, Uckfield Gymnastic Club staff, coaches, volunteers or other parent/guardians
• Inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated in the Club.  Any Parent/Guardian receiving 3 separate warnings will be asked to leave and may result in expulsion from the Club.

 

1.4 Roles and Responsibilities of Coaches

Before Class:

• Arrive on time and ready to coach. This should be before the children are welcomed into the gym.
• Wear appropriate attire, tie long hair back and remove watches/jewellery.
• Be ready to help with set up of the gym.
• Once set up is finished or if asked by another coach, please be on the floor ready to participate in the warm-up and assist the coach in leading it.

During Class:

Warm-up: All coaches need to be on the floor ready to participate or help supervise. During the warmup, please help the gymnasts around you or walk around correcting and encouraging them. If you are leading a warm-up, please make sure you demonstrate or use somebody to demonstrate for you.

• Conduct yourselves in a professional manner both with other staff, children and parents. Coaches should not stand around or be sat chatting during the warm-up.
• Coach to the appropriate level for the group and tailor your coaching to suit the needs of the individual children.
• If you need ideas for progressions or different skills, ask a senior coach. They will always be willing to help.
• Always ensure good behaviour management of your group.
• Set high expectations e.g. waiting for their turn, walking between apparatus rotations, listening when you are talking.
• Under no circumstances should a coach leave their group unattended at any time.
• If a child needs the toilet they can be accompanied by a parent/carer or alone if able.
• Coaches should not be on their mobile phones whilst coaching unless of an emergency.
• Any behavioural issues/injuries must be reported to a senior coach so that where necessary they can be recorded in the incident book and reported to parents.
• Ensure that the correct spotting and supporting techniques are used.

After Class:

• All coaches are required to assist with the pack up of the gym for 10 minutes.
• Absence: if you require time-off please give Andria/Janice as much notice as possible. This should be a minimum of 14 days. In an emergency, please contact us to let us know you will not be at gym that day.
• Our aim is to always have a family of coaches that can support and help each other personally and in a developmental role. Sharing good practice and ideas is essential to keep our gymnasts progressing. We must work together as a team where every coach feels valued and supported.

 

2. Child Protection Policy

Uckfield Gymnastic Club is committed to ensuring that those working with children and vulnerable adults adopt best practice to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the participants and staff.

The Club will endeavour to promote the highest standards of care for all members and staff by promoting:-

• The adoption of the BG Health, Safety and Welfare guidelines.
• The adoption of the BG guidelines for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults.
• The appointment of a Welfare Officer to whom grievances or complaints can be made confidentially.
• That staff are suitably trained in Child Protection and Health, Safety and Welfare issues.
• That coaches have been screened to confirm their suitability to work with children. This will include an up-to-date Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS).
• That best coaching practice guidelines are always followed.
• That grievances or complaints are dealt with promptly and in accordance with the grievance procedure.
• That a minimum of two responsible adults is present at all training sessions and if children are waiting to be collected by their parents/carers.
• That the participants and/or parents are not allowed to do any videoing, filming or photography during training.
• A zero-tolerance level to poor practice, bullying or any potential form of abuse.

 

3. Equality Policy

Uckfield Gymnastic Club is committed to exemplary standards of conduct through the principles of equality and good moral and ethical frameworks. The Club will encourage individuals from all communities to become involved at all levels of participation, coaching, officiating, volunteering and management, and will ensure that all members and staff will:

• Respect the rights, dignity and worth of every human being.
• Treat others fairly and equally regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, religion or political persuasion or disability. Discrimination in any form will not be tolerated.
• Permeate equity and equality throughout strategic and development plans.

 

4. Health and Safety Policy

The Club will manage, so far as is reasonably practicable, the Health and Safety of its members, parents and coaches by ensuring that:

• The facilities are maintained in good condition – any issues, broken parts noticed by the club are to be reported to Janice & Andria.
• All equipment is in good condition and is regularly checked.
• All coaches are suitably trained and qualified.
• All its members, coaches and officials are registered with BG.
• The Club follows the guidelines and policies set out by BG.
• Risk assessments are carried out and regularly reviewed.
• Report any risks, incidents or accidents immediately so that appropriate remedial action can be taken. It is however, the responsibility of anyone involved in The Club, including employees, members, parents and visitors to ensure that they carry out their duties with due regard to the safety of themselves and others.

 

5. Sickness & Injury Policy

We urge all parents to please use common sense when deciding whether your child is too ill to attend gym sessions. Ask yourself the following questions:

Is my child well enough to do all the activities? If not, keep your child at home.

Does my child have a condition that could be passed on to other children or staff? If so, keep your child at home.

Would I take a day off work if I had this condition? If so, keep your child at home.

Vomiting and Diarrhoea.

Children with diarrhoea and/or vomiting should be kept off until at least 48 hours after their symptoms have gone.

Chickenpox.

If your child has chickenpox, keep them off gym until all their spots have crusted over. Will they be comfortable being handled and supported by the coaches? Will the activities knock the scabs off and cause scars? Are they mentally well enough to participate safely?

Veruccas.

We do not prohibit participation in gymnasitcs due to a verruca; instead our advice is to carry on with normal activities but to treat the verucca or cover the verucca with plasters to prevent it's spread.

Sprains, strains and breaks.

It is not advisable to send your child to Gymnastics if they have an injury unless advised by a doctor that they are safe to participate. Jumping from a height and performing fast moves can aggravate this type of injury and make it worse. There is also an increased risk of falling and causing further injuries. Most gymnastic moves involve weight bearing on the arms and hands, will their injury prevent them from performing all moves safely?

Although advice for things like rashes, headaches and sore throats may be that they can still attend school, this does not mean they are fit to do sport. Gymnastics requires mental sharpness and presence of mind. If a child is not feeling fit, they are more likely to have accidents and hurt themselves. It is every parent & coach’s responsibility to ensure gymnasts are fit and well enough to perform safely. If a coach feels it is not safe to participate, they have the right to refuse your child to partake in the session.

 

6. Anti-Bullying Policy

Gymnastics has proved to be a great introductory sport at a recreational level for all sports and is known to be the best physical grounding for all young children. Our Philosophy is simple – We are committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all members so they can take part in a relaxed and secure atmosphere, and we will endeavour to provide Gymnastics for All - allowing the gymnasts to be the best that they can be at their level of participation.

If bullying does occur, all members should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. Anyone who knows that bullying is happening is expected to tell the staff.

What is bullying?

Bullying is undesirable and unacceptable and WILL NOT be tolerated in any form. Bullying includes:

Physical pushing, pinching, kicking, spitting.

Verbal name calling, sarcasm, teasing, ridicule, ignoring.

Sexual, Religious, Gender, Disability comments/suggestion.

Cyber bullying.

Any incidence of bullying will be listened to and taken seriously. This can be done directly with a coach or via the Club’s Complaints procedure, a letter or email.

Procedures

• Report bullying incidents to your coach. The Head Coach will deal with the incident as quickly as possible, ensuring that both sides of the story are listened to and recorded.
• In serious cases parents will be informed and will be asked to come into a meeting to discuss the problem.
• The bullying behaviour or threats of bullying will be investigated, and the bullying stopped quickly.
• An attempt will be made to help the bully (or bullies) change their behaviour.

Outcomes

• The bully (bullies) may be asked to genuinely apologise. Other consequences may take place.
• In serious cases, the child may be asked to leave The Club.
• If possible, the members will be reconciled.
• After the incident incidents have been investigated and dealt with, each case will be monitored to ensure repeated bullying does not take place.

 

7. Payment Terms and Conditions

• Upon registration with The Club, an account will be created for the purposes of invoicing session fees.
• Invoices are produced as soon as a member is allocated onto a course and will be sent out via email.  Before the end of each term, a new invoice is created and sent for the following term as part of our re-enrolment process.
• Invoices are payable by the date notified on the re-enrolment email.
• We do not charge for sessions that we cancel. Where cancelled sessions do happen, a credit or refund will be issued to your account.
• We do charge for available sessions that YOU do not attend. We do not offer refunds or credits for unattended sessions. This includes deciding to leave the course mid-term even though fees are paid in full at the start of term
• Lessons cancelled due to any circumstance beyond our control i.e. Snow, Flooding, etc will not be refunded.
• Any credits will be deducted from the following terms invoice.
• We operate a Debt Recovery Procedure in partnership with HM Courts Service and pursue all outstanding debts. The costs incurred in this procedure will be added to the final account balance. Accounts that are not paid in full after 4 weeks into the consecutive term will be automatically referred for debt collection without any further warning or communication.

8. Emergency Procedures

Checklist & Contacts

Nearest Telephone: Office

Addresses:

• Uckfield Gymnastic Club, 6 Batts Bridge Road, Maresfield, East Sussex TN22 2HN
• Nearest First Aid Provision - First aid kit/ice packs in office..
• Names of First Aiders – Janice Binder, Andria Birchmore, Georgina Fletcher, Katelyn Mellett, Claire Overy, Sam Penney
• Name and Contact Number of Club Welfare Officer: Kate Wright – 07828894165

Guidelines for dealing with an accident or incident:

• Stay calm but act swiftly and observe the situation. Is there danger of further injuries?
• Listen to what the injured person is saying.
• Contact a First Aider to take appropriate action.
• Do not move someone with suspected major injuries. Wait for the emergency medics.
• Deal with the rest of the group and ensure that they are adequately supervised.
• Contact the injured person’s parent/guardian/next of kin asap.
• Assist the First Aider to complete an incident/accident report form.
• If a hospital visit is required, report the accident to BG as soon as possible.

 

9. Complaints Procedures

The Club is committed to provide the best possible service we can. To achieve this, we need feedback and evaluation. Therefore, we want to hear your comments about the things we do well, or any ideas for improvement. Please tell us verbally, via email or in writing. Equally if you have a concern, criticism or complaint we need to know about it, and would ask that you follow the procedure detailed below in order that we can address the issue.

• Select the appropriate person to talk to. The details of all our coaches and team are posted on our website (www.uckfieldgymnastics.co.uk) and on the noticeboard.
• Arrange a mutually convenient time to discuss the matter.
• If through discussion the issue cannot be addressed immediately, agree a verbal action plan by which the problem can be resolved. This may first involve clarification and/or observation of the situation causing concern.
• The designated Coach will be responsible for ensuring that the action plan is followed and that you are given feedback.
• If you are not fully satisfied with the outcome, please record your complaint in writing and post it to Uckfield Gymnastic Club, 6 Batts Bridge Road, Maresfield, East Sussex TN22 2HN.
• A meeting will be arranged to discuss the matter within 14 days of receipt of the written complaint and you will receive a response in writing within a further 14 days.

 

10. Social Networking and Uckfield Gymnastic Club

The Club believes that Facebook and Instagram are both fantastic ways to communicate with our members and to demonstrate the fantastic work that our members are doing. They are also useful for passing on notices to all our members and a wider audience.

While there are many positive aspects of using social media to communicate, we are aware that there are potential disciplinary and safeguarding concerns which stem from the improper use by members and Uckfield Gymnastic Club staff volunteers.

Please note that all Club communication will be via the official Facebook page (@uckfieldgymnasticclub) and the official Instagram feed (@uckfieldgymnasticclub) and by email to your registered email address.

Uckfield Gymnastic Club follows the BG Social Networking policy, which is available online at www.british-gymnastics.org

Carrying out any relevant risk assessments:

? Some individuals may present with a medical condition that may be a risk of harmed from participating in Gymnastics. It is vital that you share any relevant medical information. We will ask for your agreement to undertake any appropriate assessments.

Identifying any reasonable adjustments and adaptations to support inclusion: ? If you or your child has a disability or any special needs, we will review the information you have provided to help us identify any actions we can take to support inclusion. We may need to ask you for more information to help us in this process.

Responding to any comments, questions or complaints you may send us.

Maintaining class attendance records and contact details for emergency purposes.

Filming and taking photos for coaching purposes and/or to promote the club on our website, club social media account and in communications. All film and photos of children will only be published in line with our safeguarding policy.

You have the right to object to any of the above uses of your information by contacting us. Please note that in some cases, this may affect our ability to carry out the things we need to do for you to take part in Gymnastics.

 

11. Privacy Policy

Uckfield Gymnastic Club privacy notice – members at Uckfield Gymnastic Club, we take your privacy seriously and will ensure your personal information is kept secure. We provide Gymnastics activities and are registered with British Gymnastics who govern the sport and offer competitions and events in which we may participate.

How we use information about you

We need to process information about you or your child for the following reasons:

• Contractual purposes

To provide the gymnastics activity you have requested, communicate with you about this activity, changes to our terms and conditions and to process payments (if relevant).

• Legitimate interests

To meet the legitimate aims of the club and ensure your child is well supported and safe whilst participating in gymnastics. This includes:

Carrying out any relevant risk assessments:

• Some individuals may present with a medical condition that may be a risk of harmed from participating in Gymnastics. It is vital that you share any relevant medical information. We will ask for your agreement to undertake any appropriate assessments.

 Identifying any reasonable adjustments and adaptations to support inclusion:

• If you or your child has a disability or any special needs, we will review the information you have provided to help us identify any actions we can take to support inclusion. We may need to ask you for more information to help us in this process.
• Responding to any comments, questions or complaints you may send us.
• Maintaining class attendance records and contact details for emergency purposes.
• Filming and taking photos for coaching purposes and/or to promote the club on our website, club social media account and in communications.  We will only film/photograph your child if you have ticked the consent box on the membership form. All film and photos of children will only be published in line with our safeguarding policy.
• You have the right to object to any of the above uses of your information by contacting us. Please note that in some cases, this may affect our ability to carry out the things we need to do for you to take part in Gymnastics.

• Legal reasons

To comply with applicable laws and protect legitimate club interests and legal rights. This includes but is not limited to the use of your information relating to legal claims and compliance and regulatory activity.

• Marketing

With your consent, we may send you information by email about club news, activities, products and opportunities that we think will be of interest to you. You can ask us to stop sending you this information at any point.

Why do we share your information?

We will not share your information with any other organisations except with your consent or in exceptional/emergency circumstances where we believe that the sharing of information about you is vital to protect you, your child or another person. If you/your child want(s) to enter a competition provided by an external organisation, we will, with your agreement, share the information required to enter the event, usually name, DOB and gender. Most competitions are large events and there are likely to be photographers and people filming.

Individual rights

You have the right to see the personal information we hold about you. You can request a copy of any other information we hold by writing to us. If we do hold other information about you, you can ask us to delete it or correct any inaccuracies. We will either make the requested amendments or provide an explanation as to why we are not making changes.

Leaving the Club

If you leave Uckfield Gymnastic Club your data will be deleted immediately.

Changes to the privacy notice We keep our privacy notices under regular review. This privacy notice was last updated January 2025.