Part of the Dos and don'ts series – how to keep children and young people safe in sport.
Children and young people can be vulnerable in change rooms because they may be in various stages of undress and these can be isolated areas.
Peer-on-peer issues, such as bullying, can also occur if a change room is not appropriately supervised.
Watch the change room arrangements video
Do
- Encourage children and young people to come dressed ready for training or games if there are no private/safe change room facilities.
- Provide safe and private change room facilities where possible.
- Ensure there is always appropriate supervision where the change room/toilet facility is accessible by adults or in ‘public’ change rooms, while also ensuring the child and young person’s right to privacy e.g. an authorised adult stands outside the change room to prevent the general public accessing it while in use.
- Knock or announce yourself and wait for approval before entering change rooms.
- If required to be in the change room with a child or young person, have at least one other authorised adult with you.
- Implement a buddy system in the absence of adult supervision to accompany a child or young person to the bathroom.
- Get changed in an individual closed cubicle.
- Check on the whereabouts of a child or young person if they do not return from a change room in a reasonable amount of time.
Don’t
- Undress, get changed or shower at the same time as supervising groups of children or young people.
- Be alone and unsupervised with a child or young person in a change room area.
- Isolate yourself with a child or young person from others in the change room (for example, take them into a cubicle with you).
- Enter a change room of the opposite gender.
- Use any camera or other recording device in a change room.
- Use bathroom facilities at the same time as a child or young person.
- Unnecessarily allow parents/carers into change rooms unless a child or young person requires physical help getting changed (for example,
younger children or those with disabilities). - Place pressure on a child or young person to change and/or shower in public if they feel uncomfortable to do so.
