3.10 Patterns and repeated behaviours

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An infographic labelled. Level of concern. There are four boxes of text. Each with an arrow pointing downwards to the next box. The first box, at the top, says. None. No safeguarding implications or concerns. The second box says. Low. One-off or infrequent lower-level practice with less serious safeguarding implications. The third box says. Medium. Repeated or more serious poor practice with clear safeguarding implications. The fourth and final box says. High. Possible grooming, abuse or criminal behaviour.

Your judgement about whether someone’s behaviour is concerning – for example, if it could indicate grooming – should not be fixed. When additional information is available, you should review and, if necessary, revise your conclusions.

Consider how your perception of concern can be altered

Read the following pieces of information. After each one, slide the scale to indicate your level of concern. As you do this, think about what factors have influenced your answer.

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The levels of concern are as follows. None. Low. Low to medium. Medium. Medium to high. High. The pieces of information are as follows. Tomas, a club committee member, sometimes brings his 4-year-old grandson to watch a match. The level of concern is. None. There is nothing obviously concerning about this situation. On one occasion Tomas gives a 13-year-old player, Kai, a lift home in his car alone. The level of concern is. Low. This apparent one-off may be the result of Tomas not understanding the rules, or if Kai was left without a lift because his mother could not come and pick him up in time and Tomas helped him. Tomas starts to take Kai to and from training sessions every week. The level of concern is. Low-Medium. This pattern of behaviour is more concerning and may be an indication that Tomas is looking to spend more time alone with Kai. Tomas continues to give Kai lifts, despite being reminded that the club rules advise staff not to provide lifts to other people’s children – Tomas says this rule only applies to coaching staff. The level of concern is. Medium . This is concerning because not only is Tomas breaking the rules, but he is aware of that, justifies his actions, and refuses to stop. Kai’s coach reports that Tomas often arrives with Kai late for training sessions. The level of concern is. Medium-High. Concerns grow and raise questions about why Kai may be late – and what is happening after he is picked up by Tomas. Kai is said to have become withdrawn and looks unhappy. For the first time he missed training this week. The level of concern is. High. Clear cause for serious concern – on top of previous issues there are now behavioural indicators that could suggest abuse.

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You should not wait until concerns escalate to the ‘high’ level. You should take action immediately when the first breaches of the code of conduct happen and share any concerns you have about someone’s behaviour. This is what makes codes of conduct so useful.

In the next section, you find out how a code of conduct can help address grooming.

3.9 Grooming others: adults, carers, parents, organisations, and communities

3.11 Using a code of conduct to prevent or detect grooming