Adults at Risk Policy

Safeguarding the adults we coach.

Entity: School Of Fish

Jurisdiction: United Kingdom

Date of Review: 04/07/2026

Next Review Date: 04/07/2027

Version: 1

1. Policy Statement

Most of the people School Of Fish coaches are adults. This policy sets out how we safeguard them. It works alongside our Safeguarding Children & Vulnerable Adults Policy and goes deeper on the adult side.

An adult at risk, as defined by the Care Act 2014, is a person aged 18 or over who has needs for care and support, is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect, and as a result of those needs is unable to protect themselves against it.

Anyone can be vulnerable at points in their life. Bereavement, illness, isolation and financial trouble all bring people to the bank, and angling is increasingly used as a wellbeing activity. Our coaches do not need to know why someone has come. They need to know how to keep them safe.

2. Scope

This policy covers every School Of Fish activity involving adults: Try It, Learn It, Skills Plus, Specialist Days, the Adult Social, coach training courses and assessment days. It applies to all staff, coaches, Angling Support Assistants, volunteers and franchisees, at every franchise.

Franchisees adopt this policy as a condition of their agreement, as with the rest of the School Of Fish policy suite.

3. What Abuse Looks Like in Adults

The Care Act recognises these categories of abuse: physical, sexual, psychological, financial, neglect, self-neglect, domestic abuse, discriminatory abuse, organisational abuse and modern slavery.

On the bank, the signs a coach is most likely to see:

• Unexplained injuries, or explanations that do not fit.
• Uncharacteristic withdrawal, fear or anxiety, especially around a particular person.
• Someone else controlling their money, transport, phone or decisions.
• Poor personal care, weight loss, or turning up unequipped for the conditions session after session.
• Talk of self-harm, hopelessness or being a burden.

4. Capacity and Consent

Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, every adult is presumed to have capacity to make their own decisions unless established otherwise. An adult with capacity has the right to make decisions others consider unwise. That includes declining help.

Safeguarding adults is consent-led. We share concerns with the adult's agreement wherever possible. We act without consent only where someone is in immediate danger, where others including children are at risk, where a serious crime may have been committed, or where the adult may lack capacity to make the decision.

5. Practice on the Bank

• Physical guidance: The same rule as for children. Ask first, explain what you are doing, keep contact minimal and demonstrable.
• Coaches are not counsellors: If a learner discloses distress or a difficult situation, listen, take it seriously, and signpost. Do not diagnose, advise on medication, or take on a support role beyond coaching.
• Money: Coaches do not lend to, borrow from, or handle money for learners beyond session fees through official channels.
• Contact: Communication goes through official School Of Fish channels, as set out in the main safeguarding policy.
• Referrals: Adults sometimes arrive through wellbeing routes without any background provided. The coach's job is the session. Safety information a coach genuinely needs, such as a medical condition relevant to being at the water, is asked for at booking, not probed for on the bank.

6. Responding to a Concern

• Listen: Take it seriously. Do not promise secrecy. Explain the information may need to be shared to keep them safe.
• Record: Write down what was seen or heard, factually, on the Incident Report Form, the same day.
• Report: Pass it to the Designated Safeguarding Lead within 24 hours. In an emergency, call 999 first.

The DSL decides next steps, which may include a referral to the local authority adult social care team, with the adult's consent wherever possible. For advice on any adult safeguarding concern, the Ann Craft Trust can be contacted on 0115 951 5400.

7. Escalation

If a concern is about the DSL, or anyone feels unable to raise it internally, they should contact the Angling Trust Safeguarding Officer or the Ann Craft Trust directly. Raising a genuine concern in good faith will never be held against anyone at School Of Fish.

8. Recruitment and Training

Coaches and Assistants are recruited under the Safer Recruitment section of the main safeguarding policy, DBS checked at the appropriate level, and their safeguarding training covers adults at risk as well as children. This policy is part of coach induction.

Concerned About an Adult?

Contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead, Ulvis Strokss.

07713 177685 · safeguarding@schooloffish.co.uk