First intake for the pilot of the new BWY Diploma Course which will be awarded by the BWYQ awarding organisation....
Spectrum Article- Winter 2008
THE BUREAUCRACY OF FEAR
I live quite a schizophrenic working life. Part of the time I am a caring, spiritually-aware yoga teacher who resents being treated as a potential paedophile; the rest of the week I am a bureaucrat who insists on making unwarranted intrusions into the lives of well-meaning teachers of children.
I was reminded of this contradiction earlier this year when the independent think-tank, Civitas, published a study entitled ‘Licensed to Hug’, which examined the escalation of child protection measures over the past years and the atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust that it has created. So far 15 million disclosures have been processed since 2002. When the Independent Safeguarding Authority comes into play in 2009 it is anticipated that 11.3 million people (about a quarter of the adult population) will need CRB checks.
Reading statistics like these, and then hearing anecdotes about adults who no longer dare to touch children, can be disheartening and frustrating; but it isn’t the full picture, at least from a BWY viewpoint.
In my regular dealings with members, the CRB check is one small aspect of Child Protection Policy; that policy itself is designed to offer advice, support and clarification in many situations which involve dealing with children. Judging by the queries I receive, this awareness-raising process really helps to ‘sharpen up’ teachers’ approaches to lesson planning as well as helping many of them deal assertively with the more complex bureaucracies of schools and sports centres. Indeed, the increased confidence and clarity of purpose of teachers who know their limits in all dimensions of their profession engenders similarly greater trust and confidence in their students.
Like most things in life, it all depends on how you look at it. To reconcile my schizophrenia I like to think that ‘The Bhagavad Gita’ is also a kind of policy document – and that has been quite useful over the years.
(If you want to have a look at the press release about ‘Licensed to Hug’ then Google ‘Licensed to Hug Civitas’ and the oppropriate page should be at the top of your list.)
CHILD PROTECTION BASIC TRAINING through EDUCARE
CP training is now available on-line or paper-based. If you are teaching under-18 year olds you are strongly recommended to take this training, either to raise your awareness on CP matters, or to update your existing CP training (updates are recommended every 3 years). The training will help you to work safely for the welfare of the young person, as well as being a safeguard for yourself.
As an incentive, BWY will be offering a £5 reduction in next year’s membership fee for each teacher who has completed the training.
Do please contact me if I can be of further help. Best wishes with your teaching.
Angie Punaks – Ethics, Equity & Welfare Manager - 01394 446054
cpandequity@bwy.org.uk
I live quite a schizophrenic working life. Part of the time I am a caring, spiritually-aware yoga teacher who resents being treated as a potential paedophile; the rest of the week I am a bureaucrat who insists on making unwarranted intrusions into the lives of well-meaning teachers of children.
I was reminded of this contradiction earlier this year when the independent think-tank, Civitas, published a study entitled ‘Licensed to Hug’, which examined the escalation of child protection measures over the past years and the atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust that it has created. So far 15 million disclosures have been processed since 2002. When the Independent Safeguarding Authority comes into play in 2009 it is anticipated that 11.3 million people (about a quarter of the adult population) will need CRB checks.
Reading statistics like these, and then hearing anecdotes about adults who no longer dare to touch children, can be disheartening and frustrating; but it isn’t the full picture, at least from a BWY viewpoint.
In my regular dealings with members, the CRB check is one small aspect of Child Protection Policy; that policy itself is designed to offer advice, support and clarification in many situations which involve dealing with children. Judging by the queries I receive, this awareness-raising process really helps to ‘sharpen up’ teachers’ approaches to lesson planning as well as helping many of them deal assertively with the more complex bureaucracies of schools and sports centres. Indeed, the increased confidence and clarity of purpose of teachers who know their limits in all dimensions of their profession engenders similarly greater trust and confidence in their students.
Like most things in life, it all depends on how you look at it. To reconcile my schizophrenia I like to think that ‘The Bhagavad Gita’ is also a kind of policy document – and that has been quite useful over the years.
(If you want to have a look at the press release about ‘Licensed to Hug’ then Google ‘Licensed to Hug Civitas’ and the oppropriate page should be at the top of your list.)
CHILD PROTECTION BASIC TRAINING through EDUCARE
CP training is now available on-line or paper-based. If you are teaching under-18 year olds you are strongly recommended to take this training, either to raise your awareness on CP matters, or to update your existing CP training (updates are recommended every 3 years). The training will help you to work safely for the welfare of the young person, as well as being a safeguard for yourself.
As an incentive, BWY will be offering a £5 reduction in next year’s membership fee for each teacher who has completed the training.
Do please contact me if I can be of further help. Best wishes with your teaching.
Angie Punaks – Ethics, Equity & Welfare Manager - 01394 446054
cpandequity@bwy.org.uk
