Safeguarding Update November 2023
The video content in this post is publicly sourced and GBJC does not pass judgement on the participants or their statements.
When the person returned to judo training and travelled abroad with his BJA club (including children), a concern was raised about this by a member of GBJC.
Seeking clarification, contact was made with every safeguarding institution, from club to British Judo head office.
The same safeguarding insitutions that were in place in 2019 but these not stopping a British Judo club “head coach” and the club itself, advertising his judo coaching services despite having been suspended by British Judo 18 months prior.
A SAFEGUARDING RISK
or
A “REPUTATIONAL” RISK?
Updated 19/11 2023
When you watch the video, read the timeline and content, please note!
None of the BJA Safeguarding Institutions or staff have contacted the 16 year old victim or her parents with any advice or support since the video and arrest of Thomas Farley was reported to the then BJA Safeguarding manager.
A couple of days after the video was live.
Live Video Stream: 24 April 2022
Note:
The following video was streamed Live on FaceBook, 24 April 2022.
Thomas Farley is arrested at the end of the video and the British Judo Safeguarding Manager, Keith Eldridge, informed shortly after about the video and arrest.
When Thomas Farley returned to training judo some months later and then travelled to Ireland on a Westerleigh Judokwai club competition trip, that included children, a concern was raised by a GBJC member.
At the time, when seeking clarification contact was made with the following:
-
The Westerleigh Judokwai club CWO (Club Welfare Officer)
No response
____________
BJA (British Judo) Sussex County Committee
No response
____________
BJA (British Judo) Southern Area Safeguarding
No response
____________
The BJA (British Judo) Safeguarding Manager.
The query was immediately escalated to the BJA Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Scoular.
No response
____________
Postscript:
When investigating online abuse and harrasment by Jim Ferguson*, expelled by Northern Ireland Judo Federation many years ago and refused membership ever since.
It became apparent that some within the judo community had been sending Jim Ferguson false information and this included the “Head Coach” of Westerleigh Judokwai, Paul Everest.
Contact with Paul Everest about this has been initiated but no response has been forthcoming.
Shortly afterwards, altercations were made to the Westerleigh Judokwai website coaching section and these have been ongoing.
____________
The public live streamed video has been viewed tens of thousands of times with almost 2,000 comments.
No attempt has been made to have it removed according group behind the video.
This post is NOT about assigning guilt or passing judgement.
The contact to the British Judo safeguarding institutions seeking clarification was due to either children being at possible risk or the public video putting Thomas and others at risk.
As in 2019 and now repeated in 2023, if none of the safeguarding institutions, from club to Head Office, take any notice or action?
Besides issueing corporate statements about “taking safeguarding extremely seriously”.
Members and the public will remain at a unnecessary level of risk.
A public judo coach registry has been raised multiple times.
On the British Judo FaceBook page this led to the BJA social media manager deleting the comment and blocking the person’s access to the page.
See BJA Censorship.
The issue of a public coach registry was raised during the BJA Management Stragety Tour Q&A.
The BJA CEO, Andrew Scoular, stated that “privacy laws” stopped the BJA from creating such a registry.
In comparison, British Gymnastics has recently made public a list of expelled and banned members & coaches on their website.
See the Public Judo Coach Petition for details.
In 2019 the BJA CEO and Board of Directors registered safeguarding cases and concerns as “reputational risks”, not as risks to members and the public.
This is still the case today.
____________
Jim Feguson; see the Public Judo Coach Petition for details.
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Judo safeguarding contacted:
* Until recently, Paul Everest, was listed as the club’s “Head Coach” on the website though no British Judo (BJA) Coaching qualifications were listed. Then his listing disappeared and then it returned.
The club’s coach page has recently been altered and Paul Everest’s listing removed.
* Thomas Farley’s father, Mark Farley, also used to be listed as a Westerleigh Judokwai club coach but has also been removed from the website. Now he has returned as a club coach.
Go to the community initiative, read the details and please sign
the petition for a public judo coach registry!
You can only guess who is a qualified British Judo Coach and who is not.
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