Protecting young people from harm is central to the thinking of all youth organisations. There is no single solution to this issue, rather a combination of procedures that make it difficult to avoid detection.

In the Nautical Training Corps, all who have unsupervised or regular supervised access to young people are required to apply for a criminal record disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). This provides a degree of assurance about the past of the applicant.

This service is provided via FINTO, an umbrella body registered with the CRB, who provide support to the voluntary sector. We have taken the step of requiring checks for adults who have regular supervised access because we believe that there is a risk that trust built whilst under supervision could be abused outside the activities of the organisation.

All new adults are required to serve a period of probation, during which all access to young people is supervised, to allow the organisation to establish first hand experience of the person before he or she is allowed to take sole charge of young people.

Checking new adults is only part of the story. The Rules and Regulations of the Nautical Training Corps set out procedures to provide on going protection and reassurance. Constant vigilance is really the only way that protection can be effectively provided to young people.

An important part of protection is recognition by others. Our training for adults includes instruction on recognising the signs of abuse and their duties in reporting to the authorities. The adults within the organisation play an important role in monitoring the young people in their charge and being constantly vigilant for, and responsive to, any issues that may arise.