Code of Conduct for Staff, Coaches & Volunteers

Statement of Intent

ADL expects all employees, sub-contracted coaches, scouts, event staff, chaperones, and unpaid volunteers to uphold the highest standards of professional integrity, safety, and personal conduct. When working with young athletes - especially during international tours, trials, and residential showcases - staff hold a significant position of trust and authority. This policy sets out non-negotiable boundaries to protect young people from harm and safeguard staff from false allegations.

1. Relationships & Contact

• —Maintain professional boundaries - always act as an approachable adult role model; do not build exclusive relationships, display favouritism, or develop inappropriate emotional attachments with participants.
• —Physical contact must be strictly non-intimate, age-appropriate, and limited to instructional sports demonstration or safe first-aid treatment, always in an open, observable environment with the participant's consent.
• —Staff must never engage in intimate, sexual, romantic, or abusive relationships with any participant under 18 years of age.

2. Accommodation & Overnight Tours

• —Adult staff and volunteers are strictly prohibited from room-sharing or sleeping in the same quarters as under-18 participants under any circumstance.
• —If entering a young person's room is necessary (room checks or emergency response), staff must knock, announce themselves, and keep the door open with a second staff member present.

3. Digital Communication & Social Media

• —All correspondence with young participants must go through ADL's official business communication tools or include a parent/carer in copy.
• —Staff must not connect with, follow, or send direct messages to under-18 participants on personal social media accounts or private messaging apps.
• —Staff must only use official ADL devices to photograph or record participants, and only where signed parental consent is on file.

4. Alcohol, Drugs & Professional Conduct

Staff and volunteers must never consume alcohol, use illegal substances, or smoke/vape while on duty or responsible for supervising young participants on international trips. Profanity, sexually explicit banter, derogatory jokes, or aggressive language toward participants, officials, or parents will not be tolerated.

Always Do

• —Work in open, visible environments and avoid one-on-one unobserved situations with minors.
• —Report any safeguarding concerns, disclosures, or injuries to the DSL immediately.
• —Treat every young person equally regardless of background or protected characteristics.
• —Wear official ADL branded kit and display official identification credentials while on duty.

Never Do

• —Invite participants into your private hotel room, home, or personal vehicle alone.
• —Give personal gifts, money, or special privileges to individual athletes.
• —Engage in rough physical play, horseplay, or physical punishment.
• —Communicate with minors privately online or add them to personal social networks.

Escalation & Disciplinary Consequences

Breaches are managed under ADL's disciplinary procedure and safe recruitment protocols: a breach or allegation leads to immediate removal from direct supervision duty, then investigation by the DSL/Board. A minor policy breach results in a formal warning, retraining and direct supervision; serious abuse or a boundary failure results in summary dismissal and referral to the DBS/police. Any allegation of gross misconduct, physical abuse, or boundary violations involving a minor triggers an immediate referral to statutory authorities and the Disclosure and Barring Service.