The operating procedures document should take into account and detail any activities outside of RYA recognition or any that take place outside of the normal training areas. These activities must use suitably qualified or experienced staff. If an extension of operating area is required, it must be approved by RYA Training


Staff should be made aware of local hazards and the likelihood of other water users being present. There must also be a system in operation to ensure a robust safety briefing checklist is used and delivered by staff, to students, prior to going afloat, defining local hazards, briefing on how to use any unfamiliar equipment, or their competence checked.


Operating procedures should include a clear and concise emergency action plan, that all staff are trained in and know how to implement. It is suggested that the use of visual representations of the actions required, such as flow charts, will aid understanding and use.


B6.4 Safeguarding


All centres must have a safeguarding policy and suitable procedures in place for protecting children under 18 and vulnerable adults. If a centre does not intend to teach any students under the age of 18 then the policy may simply be that they don’t deliver training to anybody under 18.


The recruitment process is a key element of safeguarding good practice. It is essential that suitable references are obtained for all personnel working with children. See the RYA Safeguarding and Child Protection Guidelines in related articles for templates and guidance on how to write your own policy and procedures.


The responsibility for implementing effective safeguarding procedures and practices rests locally with the management of each RTC. At RTCs where children are taught, the insurance cover must be checked for any restrictions imposed.


Although some RYA training disciplines (e.g. the Sailing Scheme) have a junior qualification the majority do not. Careful consideration should be given to mixing children and adults on training courses. Much of the success of teaching mixed groups of children and adults is dependent on the maturity of the children. What might be fine in a tailor-made course for a family may not be appropriate on a course where a parent is bringing their boisterous child into a mainly adult group.


B6.5 Accidents and incident reporting


Any good safety management system must have a mechanism for recording accidents and near misses.


An accident book must be used. It should be reviewed regularly, and action taken to prevent repetition of injuries. In the case of a major serious incident the Principal should contact the RYA, who can provide advice and assistance, as well as disseminate any lessons learned.


A record of near misses should be kept. These are events that could have caused an accident or injury. The record should be similar in content to an accident book entry. Such incidents should be reviewed regularly and the lessons learned recorded along with the actions taken to avoid reoccurrence.


When reviewing near misses, the severity of the missed outcome must be considered. Where this is of a serious nature the RYA should be informed. The RYA maintain an incident log which is reviewed regularly by senior management to identify trends or areas where improvement may be needed. A series of incidents across all RTCs may be an indicator of a more serious issue which requires addressing. It is therefore important that RTCs play their part in reporting accidents and incidents. See related article 'Accident and incident reporting' for further details.


Issued 21/06/2024. Information correct at time of publication. 39


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138