Online safety and social media policy
adopted by City of Salisbury Athletics & Running Club (“the Club”)

Managing online presence
The Club’s online presence through our website or social media platforms will adhere to the
following guidelines:
• all social media accounts will be password-protected, and at least 2 members of the
club will have access to each account and password
• the account will be monitored by at least two designated volunteers in order to provide
transparency, who will have been appointed by the organisations committee
• the designated volunteers managing our online presence will seek advice from our
designated welfare officer to advise on safeguarding requirements
• designated volunteers will remove inappropriate posts by club members, explaining
why, and informing anyone who may be affected (as well as the parents of any
children involved)
• clubs should decline requests from children under 13 to join the club’s social media
accounts (under 16s for Whatsapp)
• we’ll make sure all club members are aware of who manages our social media
accounts and who to contact if they have any concerns about something that’s
happened online
• our account, page and event settings will be set to ‘private’ so that only invited
members can see their content
• identifying details such as a club members home address, school name or telephone
number shouldn’t be posted on social media platforms
• any posts or correspondence will be consistent with our aims and tone as a club
• parents will be asked to give their approval for us to communicate with their children
through social media, via video conferencing platforms or by any other means of
communication
• permission for photographs or videos should be given before posting on social media
• video conferencing sessions will be password protected in order to maintain children’s
privacy and prevent exposure to inappropriate or harmful content by third parties

Online behaviours
The code of conducts state the expected behavioural stanadrds, this includes behaviour on
social media. Here is some specific does and donts to consider before posting on social
media:
• Pause and think about what you are saying and the impact it might have
• Be careful, respectful and positive. You are personally responsible for what you post. If
in doubt, don’t post it.
• Think about your image – ‘what do I want people to think about me or my club?’
• Consider who you are interacting with - you will likely come into contact online with
under 18s. Familiarise yourself with safeguarding regulations in relation to engaging
with under 18s.
• Respect confidentiality within the team e.g. tactics, squad information, announcements,
coaching advice, training sessions.
• Remember many different audiences will see your posts including Club members,
potential members, children, member's relatives, and friends.
• Be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy, and confidential information. What you
publish is widely accessible and will be around for a long time, so consider the content
carefully and your privacy settings.
• Don’t post content that discriminates against individuals or groups on the basis of age,
disability, gender reassignment, marriage & civil partnership, pregnancy & maternity,
race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.
• Don’t write anything on social media channels that you wouldn’t feel comfortable seeing
in a newspaper or hearing on TV. Everything you write is treated as a direct quote i.e.
‘Don’t tweet what you wouldn’t say to your mum/gran’ or ‘Think before you tweet’ or
‘Would I say this face to face with someone?
• Don’t speak negatively about other club members, competitors, officials or governing
bodies. Never use slurs, personal insults or obscenity. Be professional and respectful.
• Be in the right state of mind when you make a post. Don't post when you're angry,
upset, or your judgement is impaired in any way. Be very careful what you say, do and
post because once it’s on a social media channel, it can go viral very quickly.
• Don’t engage in on-line disputes and don’t allow family or friends to argue on your
behalf.

What we expect from our club volunteers
• volunteers should be aware of this policy and behave in accordance with it
• volunteers should seek the advice of the designated welfare officer if they have any
concerns about the use of the internet or social media
• volunteers should communicate any messages they wish to send out to children to the
designated staff responsible for the organisation’s online presence
• volunteers should not communicate with children via personal accounts
• volunteers should not ‘friend’ or ‘follow’ children from personal accounts on social media
and maintain the same professional boundaries online as they would in person when
using Club accounts
• volunteers should make sure any content posted on public personal accounts is
accurate and appropriate as Club members may ‘follow’ them on social media
• rather than communicating with parents through personal social media accounts,
volunteers should choose a more formal means of communication, such as face-to-face,
in an email or in writing, or use a club account or website
• emails or messages should maintain the Club’s tone and be written in a professional
manner, e.g. in the same way you would communicate in a professional setting,
avoiding kisses (X’s) or using slang or inappropriate language
• volunteers should not delete any messages or communications sent to or from club
accounts
• volunteers should undertake all online safety training offered and gain a basic
knowledge of the platforms and how to report or remove inappropriate content online
• any concerns reported through social media should be dealt with in the same way as a
face-to-face disclosure, according to our safeguarding procedure
• at least one parent must be present during the delivery of any activities via video
conferencing platforms at home
• any delivery of activities to children via video conferencing platforms will be supported
by an additional member of staff (even if they’re not actively delivering) to ensure
transparency
• club members must not engage in ‘sexting’4 or send pictures to anyone that are
obscene
What we expect of Club members
• members should be aware of this online safety and social media policy and the
behaviours set out
• we expect members behaviour online to be consistent with the guidelines set out in
the code of conducts and anti bullying statement
• members should take the necessary steps to protect themselves online. Children
follow the age restructions set out by social media companies
What we expect of parents and carers
• parents should be aware of this online safety policy and agree to its terms
• parents should protect all children’s privacy online and think carefully about what
content they share about our sport online, where they share it and who they’re sharing
it with. We expect behaviour online to be consistent with the guidelines set out in the code of conduct for parents and carers

Policy breach
Club members who breach this policy (and other related policies) will face a warning in the first instance, perisistant breaches will be dealt with through the clubs grievance and displinary policy.
Any breaches of a safeguarding nature will be addressed through the clubs safeguarding policy and procedure and where appropraite will be reported to UK Athletics.
Whilst the club will try to moderate social media posts, if you do have any concerns or would like to make a complaint please contact the club welfare officer or club social media officer.