Keeping children safe
What we do, who is responsible, and how to tell us if something is wrong. Written plainly, because a policy nobody reads protects nobody.
responsible
Andrew Adair, Founder and President, is accountable for child safety at Open Ice Initiative. He is reachable directly on 437-775-6292 and at andrew.adair@ucc.on.ca, during a camp and outside one.
On the ice, the professional coaching staff hold the responsibility for what happens in a session. The student executive and volunteers work under them, never instead of them.
The rules we run camps by
- Never one to one. No adult or volunteer is alone with a child, on the ice, in a dressing room or anywhere else. If a child needs help, two people go.
- Professional coaching leads every session. Volunteers assist. They do not run drills unsupervised.
- Dressing rooms are supervised and shared. Parents are welcome in them. Phones are not used in them by anybody, including us.
- Helmets are not optional and are not negotiable. Nobody steps onto the ice without one, including adults.
- A first aid kit and a trained person are on site all day. Every incident, however small, is written down and the family is told the same day.
- Parents may stay. Always, for the whole day, without asking.
The part we take most seriously
We publish photographs of children on this site. That is a decision with consequences and we treat it that way.
- A photograph of an identifiable child is published only where consent is on file for that child, recorded in a register we keep.
- No child is ever named alongside their photograph.
- No school, team, address or other identifying detail is published with a photograph.
- Consent can be withdrawn at any time, for any reason, without explanation, and we will not ask you to justify it.
- A withdrawal request is acted on the same day it arrives.
To have a photograph removed: email andrew.adair@ucc.on.ca with the page it is on and roughly where on the page. You do not need to say why. We will confirm the same day and it will be gone from the site within twenty four hours.
What we do not have yet
A young organisation that claims to have everything is not being straight with you.
We do not run police background checks on our student executive, because they are students and are never alone with a child. The professional coaching staff are contracted through their own organisations, which carry their own screening requirements.
If that is not enough for your family, say so and we will talk it through with you honestly rather than send you a policy document.