Staying safe online and especially on social media is a concern for BSAC and its network – particularly surrounding diving and snorkelling clubs with children or vulnerable adults.
Risks
While social media provides excellent tools for helping your club engage with members and the public, it can sometimes present risks such as:
- Causing offence to individuals, or other clubs and organisations
- Exposure to inappropriate content, or nasty comments and pictures
- Cyber bullying through posts which are upsetting to people and often inaccurate
Developing a simple Social Media Policy that sets out how it should be used and managed to protect your club and your members is a good place to start. It’s not rocket science, many of the behaviours and actions you would consider to be unacceptable in the ‘real’ world, are also unacceptable online.
Download the simple social media policy template for clubs to get started.
Be aware of child protection online, particularly for clubs with children
The Child Protection Support Unit (CPSU) has a wealth of resources available, including an online webinar, to help you and your sports club understand and prevent the safeguarding risks posed to children and young people from online media.
