H&S Policy Statement

Gosforth Golf Club is committed to pursuing its health and safety responsibilities to continually improve the working environment for its employees, members, visitors and those people who are affected by activities at the Club.

Gosforth Golf Club will ensure that all relevant health and safety legislation is implemented within the Club and that all employees and people affected by its activities are made aware of the implication on them and the Club.

Gosforth Golf Club will use risk assessment as the primary mechanism to manage health and safety risks.

Gosforth Golf Club will provide all employees with the appropriate training, personal protective equipment, information and instruction to undertake their work activities safely and develop systems and procedures so that a consistent approach can be applied to all that it does.

Gosforth Golf Club will provide regular health and safety briefing to employees and people affected by its activities regarding changes which directly affect the operation of the Club.

Gosforth Golf Club will operate an open door policy and welcome the input and comments of its employees, members, and those people affected by its activities, on all matters concerning health and safety. All matters raised will be dealt with promptly and effectively.

Through these commitments, Gosforth Golf Club will provide an environment that is safe, where the evaluation of risks forms an integral part of the management decision-making process to ensure that the level of risk to employees and people affected by activities at the Club are maintained as low as is reasonably practicable.

Child Safeguarding Policy

Gosforth Golf Club is fully committed to safeguarding the welfare of all children in its care. It recognises the responsibility to promote safe practice and to protect children from harm, abuse and exploitation. Staff and volunteers will work together to embrace difference and diversity and respect the rights of children and young people.

Gosforth Golf Club affiliates to the Northumberland Union of Golf Clubs and the English Golf Union and the Club Professional is a member of the Professional Golfers Association. The Club recognises the policies of these Governing Bodies, as set out in Guidelines for Safeguarding Children in Golf. This document outlines the Gosforth Golf Club’s commitment to protecting children.

These guidelines are based on the followings principles:
• The welfare of children is the primary concern.
• All children, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, socio-economic status, religious belief and/or sexual identity have the right to protection from all forms of harm and abuse.
• Child protection is everyone's responsibility.
• Children have the right to express views on all matters which affect them, should they wish to do so.
• Organisations shall work in partnership together with children and parents to promote the welfare, health and development of children.

The Golf Club will:
• Promote the health and welfare of children by providing opportunities for them to take part in golf safely.
• Respect and promote the rights, wishes and feelings of children.
• Promote and implement appropriate procedures to safeguard the well-being of children and protect them from abuse.
• Recruit, train, support and supervise its staff, members and volunteers to adopt best practice to safeguard and protect children from abuse and to reduce risk to themselves.
• Require staff, members and volunteers to adopt and abide by this Child Protection Policy and these procedures.
• Respond to any allegations of misconduct or abuse of children in line with this Policy and these procedures as well as implementing, where appropriate, the relevant disciplinary and appeals procedures.
• Regularly monitor and evaluate the implementation of this Policy and these procedures.

Golf Welfare Officer: Anne Welsh, to contact her please email: admin@gosforthgolfclub.co.uk

Adult Safeguarding

Abuse of an adult may take many take many forms including unexplained bruising or injuries, missing money or equipment, or a change in behaviour or appearance. This may be disclosed by the adult themselves or be identified by someone who is concerned. This can raise many questions about the next appropriate steps and guidance on what to do in these situations is provided in the Adult Safeguarding Policy below.

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Social Media Policy & Website Privacy Policy

Gosforth Golf Club [“the Club”] realises that social media and networking websites have become a regular part of everyday life and that many people enjoy participating on such sites. However, the Club is aware that these sites can become negative and care must be taken not to bring the Club into disrepute, not to breach confidentiality and not to offend or cause disrepute to any member, visitor, staff member and others, when using these services. This Policy only applies to Club related issues and is not meant to infringe upon an individual’s rights and freedoms.

For the purposes of this Policy, social media is any type of interactive online media that allows parties to communicate instantly with each other or to share data in a public forum. This includes online social forums such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Social media also covers blogs and video & imaging sharing websites such as YouTube and Flickr.

Club members and members of staff should be aware that there are many more examples of social media that can be listed here and this is a constantly changing area. Club members and members of staff should follow these guidelines in relation to any social media that they use

The absence of, or lack of, explicit reference to a specific website or service does not limit the extent of the application of this Policy. Where no Policy or guidelines exist, Club members and members of staff must use their judgement as to what is and what is not appropriate use or comment on such sites. Club members and members of staff should consult with either the Secretary or the Management Committee if they are uncertain.

Making Defamatory or Derogatory Comments

Club members and members of staff must not make derogatory comments about the Club, the golf course, staff, or members via social media.
• Breach confidentiality, for example by:-
o Giving away any information relating to Club members or staff.
o Discussing the Club’s internal workings or its future business plans that are not public knowledge.
• Breach copyright, for example by:-
o Using someone else’s images or written content without permission; or
o Failing to give acknowledgement where permission has been given to reproduce something.
o Using the Club’s logos and trademarks without written consent.
• Do anything that could be considered discriminatory against, or bullying or harassment of, any member or member of staff, for example by:-
o Making offensive or derogatory comments or discriminating or inciting others to discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion/belief, sex/sexual orientation.
o Using social media to bully another member or member of staff or visitor or supplier.
o Posting images that are discriminatory or offensive or links to such content.
• All Club members and members of staff, should bear in mind that information they share through social networking applications, even if they are on private spaces are still subject to copyright, data protection, freedom of information and other legislation.
• If a Club member or member of staff believes that there has been an offensive comment on social media about the Club, another member, a member of staff, a visitor or a supplier then they should report this to the Secretary immediately. If a Club member or member of staff thinks that another member or member of staff is being bullied or someone has posted a comment that may offend/upset a member or member of staff, then they should report this to the Secretary as soon as possible so that the matter may be investigated.
• If a Club member or member of staff makes a complaint that they know to be untrue, or gives evidence that they know to be untrue, this may lead to disciplinary action being taken against them.

Guidance on Use of Social Media

When using social media in their personal life, Club members and members of staff should:-
• Ensure that privacy settings on their profiles are set so that only people they have accepted as friends can see their content
• Regularly review who is on their “friends list” on their personal profile.
• Ensure personal blogs have clear disclaimers to the effect that the views expressed by the author are theirs alone and do not represent the views of the Club
• Make it clear that they are speaking for themselves and not on behalf of the Club.
• Ensure that information published on the internet does not breach confidentiality and complies with the Club’s Data Protection Policy.

Use of Club Accounts

The Club operates a number of accounts on social media websites for the promotion of activities and events, and as a communication method.The following outlines the limits of their use:-
• An official account on any social media website may only be set-up with written consent from the Management Committee.
• Only authorised members may use these accounts to post online and access to the account should be strictly limited.
• All information published on the internet must not breach confidentiality and must comply with the Club’s Data Protection Policy.
• Copyright laws must be respected, with references or sources cited appropriately.
• Any Club member or member of staff who becomes aware of social networking activity that would be deemed distasteful should make the Secretary or a member of the Management Committee aware, as soon as possible.

All Club members and members of staff using official accounts must adhere to these guidelines. Breach of this Policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of membership/dismissal.

Termination of Membership/Dismissal

On termination of membership/dismissal, however caused, if a Club member or member of staff has access to any social media account on behalf of the Club, they must give up all paperwork and passwords relevant to the site and agree not to make further posts or comments in respect of any matter pertaining either to their personal situation or to the running of the Club.

Website Privacy Policy

This privacy statement outlines the way in which Gosforth Golf Club ("the Club") gathers and uses information relating to users of the Club website. The Club respects each site visitor's right to personal privacy. To that end, the Club collects and uses the information throughout our website only as disclosed in this privacy policy.

Information Automatically Collected

When you visit a website, certain personal information about you can be collected automatically. When you browse through our site, read pages, or download information, the Club collects certain information to measure how many visitors come to the different parts of the site so that the Club can make the site more useful. For every visitor, the Club collects and temporarily stores the following information:
Your computer's Internet Protocol (IP) address, a number automatically assigned to your computer when you go on the Web;
The domain from which you access the Internet;
The website address from which you came to our site;
The date and time you arrived at our site and how long you spent there;
The name and version of your computer's operating system and browser;
The pages you visited.
The website may contain links to other sites, and you should be aware that if you access another site through a link provided you are subject to the privacy policy of that site. The Club is not responsible for the contents of any pages referred from its website.

Information you supply to us

The Club may use your personal information, such as your name and contact details, if you choose to supply such details, for the following purposes:

To perform the services that you have requested, which may involve contacting you by post, by telephone or by email, including sending you the Club's e-newsletter;
To allow us to promote the Club’s events and activities;
To make parts of the website easier to use by not making you enter your personal information more than once;
For the detection of fraud and for market research purposes; and
For other reasonable purposes, always acting within the limits of the Data Protection Act, 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

Security

The Club has endeavoured to take appropriate measures to prevent and minimise risks of unauthorised access to personal information. However, the Internet is not a totally secure medium and you acknowledge and agree that we shall not be responsible for any authorised use, distribution, damage or destruction of personal data.

Accuracy of Data

The Club will on its own initiative, or at your request, rectify or erase any incomplete, inaccurate or out of date personal data retained in connection with the operation of this site.

GGC Disciplinary Regulations

GGC Equality Diveristy & Inclusion Policy

Limitations to membership

Course Development Plan