Hello.

We are Gary Thurtle and Diane Byrne.  We are your club Welfare Officers, but what exactly does a Welfare Officer do?

Our role:

Our primary role is to ensure that the club fulfils its role in safeguarding children and adults alike. We do this in several ways.

• We ensure that the club’s policies align with the guidance from UK Athletics and England Athletics. A part of this is to keep up-to-date with appropriate safeguarding training.
• We ensure that club activities are conducted in a safe and inclusive manner and manage any safeguarding concerns that any member may have. We can only do this with your help, as safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. Think of us as your go-to people for any issues you may see or encounter. We can then promptly and sensitively address any concerns.
• We also ensure that all your coaches, run leaders and volunteers have valid DBS certificates and are able to verify those checks.

If you have any concerns at all, please feel free to contact one or both of us. Our contact details are:

General welfare issues: Welfare@altonrunners.co.uk

If you have a more gender-specific issue you may wish to discuss with one or the other of us, please use the following address:

Gary: WelfareM@altonrunners.co.uk

Diane: WelfareF@altonrunners.co.uk