Safeguarding

Raising a concern

If you are worried about a child at one of our events, or about the behaviour of an adult towards a child, please tell us. You do not need to be certain – every concern is taken seriously and dealt with quickly and appropriately.

Key principles

• The welfare of children is paramount.
• In law in England and Wales a child is anyone under 18.
• Every child, whatever their age, race, religion or belief, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation, has the right to protection from abuse.
• Every concern or allegation of abuse or poor practice is taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.
• Every child has the right to be safe, and to be treated with dignity and respect.
• We work with children, their parents and carers, and outside organisations to safeguard the welfare of children playing golf.
• We recognise the authority of the statutory agencies and comply with Local Safeguarding Children Board guidelines, Working Together under the Children Act 2004, and any legislation and statutory guidance that supersedes them.
• We work in partnership with the other UK golf bodies to keep improving and promoting safeguarding across the sport.
• We owe a legal duty of care to children on our premises or taking part in our activities: to take reasonable care for their safety. That duty is higher than it would be for adults.

Our objectives

• Provide a safe environment for children and young people taking part in golf, and make sure they enjoy it.
• Have robust systems in place to manage any concern or allegation.
• Support the adults involved – staff, volunteers, PGA Professionals, coaches, members and visitors – to understand their duty of care and their responsibilities for protecting children.
• Give staff, volunteers and coaches the right level of training, support and resources to respond to safeguarding issues with confidence and do their role well.
• Keep children and their parents and carers informed and consulted, and where appropriate fully involved in decisions that affect them.
• Reassure parents and carers that every child will get the best possible care while taking part, and tell them about this policy through the website, letters and consent forms.

How we put it into practice

• We review this policy and its procedures every three years, or whenever there is a major change in the law, taking guidance from the relevant national governing bodies.
• We risk-assess our activities from a safeguarding point of view and act on what we find within a suitable timescale.
• We use appropriate recruitment procedures to assess the suitability of volunteers and staff who work with children, in line with national governing body guidance.
• We follow national governing body procedures for reporting concerns and allegations about an adult’s behaviour, and make sure all staff, volunteers, parents and children know what those procedures are.
• We point staff, volunteers and coaches to the right safeguarding training and learning for their role.

At our events

A few practical points that follow from the policy and from our event terms:

• A parent or guardian must stay at the golf club for the whole event, unless another parent has agreed to take responsibility for the player.
• Every adult at an event – parents, family and spectators included – is expected to follow the code of conduct. There is zero tolerance for verbal or physical abuse.
• Photos and video are taken at events for the tour’s website and social channels. If you would rather your child was not photographed, tell the Tournament Director at registration.

The full policy

This page is a summary. The complete Children and Young People Safeguarding Policy and Procedure, including the reporting procedures, is available to download.

Download the full policy (PDF)

PING Junior Golf Tour Safeguarding Policy 2026, version 1. PDF, around 550KB.