This Code applies to every coach and volunteer working with the New Ground Jiu Jitsu Academy Youth Academy, currently:

• Martin McClenaghan
• Colin Reid
• Laura Frazer
• KeriLee Hunter
• Owen Reid
• Stephen Cosgrove
• Che McCaughey
• Robert Reid

...and any future coach or volunteer taking on a role involving youth members, from the date they begin.

• Hold a current Enhanced AccessNI check specific to your role at this club.
• Complete a structured induction with the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) before coaching a youth class unsupervised.
• Read and sign this Code of Conduct and the club's full Child Safeguarding Policy.

Youth classes run at a minimum ratio of one coach to eight students (1:8) as a baseline. For our youngest groups — Gators, Hatchlings, and below — we run a tighter ratio of four students to one coach (4:1) or better, volunteer numbers allowing. In practice, a class of 15–20 students typically has four or more coaches on the mat.

Where a class runs below its required ratio, a second qualified adult is brought onto the mat or the class is combined with another group. No coach trains alone, unsupervised, with a single child — there is always a second adult present, or the mat space remains visible and open to other coaches, parents, and staff.

Physical contact for coaching — grips, positioning, technique correction — is kept appropriate and proportionate to the technique being taught. Where practical, explain what you're about to do and why before making contact, and be responsive if a student appears uncomfortable.

• Coaches and older students communicate with youth members through club channels only — group chats, class WhatsApp groups, or in person at the club.
• No coach contacts a youth member one-to-one on personal social media, personal phone number, or personal messaging apps.
• Any communication with a youth member outside class time copies in a parent or guardian.

Any injury, however minor, is logged in the club's incident record and a parent or guardian is informed the same day. Any safeguarding concern — however small it seems — is passed to the DSO the same day, never left until the next class.

Coaches follow the club's Photography & Social Media Policy in full — no photography or video of youth classes without confirmed parental consent, and never in or near changing areas.

• A minimum of two adults travel with any group of youth members to an away competition or event.
• Changing and accommodation arrangements keep coaches and youth members in separate spaces.
• Parents are given event details, timings, and a contact number for the accompanying coach in advance.

If you see or hear something that concerns you about a child's welfare — from another coach, a parent, or outside the club — report it to the DSO the same day. You are not expected to investigate; you are expected to pass it on.