Our safeguarding policy

APPENDIX 1: UNDER 18’S AND AT RISK ADULTS

This document is for professional gamers, content creators, or anyone working in collaboration with Epic Global who are: 

•  Under the age of 18 or 

•  Adults classified as being ‘at risk’  

It explains what safeguarding is, what to look  out for, and who to tell about any potential  safeguarding incidents that may arise.  

WHAT IS SAFEGUARDING? 

Epic Global has a responsibility to promote  and protect your rights and well-being. This  responsibility extends to tournaments, gaming  events, content creation days, bootcamps, and any other activity taking  place.  

This responsibility is also known as ‘safeguarding’,  which is a general term that covers: 

• Preventing harm to your health and  development 

• Encouraging you to respect yourself and  others, and think about your mental and  physical health and wellbeing 

•  Making sure you have a safe environment so  that you can do the best you can do  

• Encouraging you to tell us if something is  wrong  

OUR PLEDGE 

Here at Epic Global, we take safeguarding seriously and as such we promise to do 5 things: 

1. RIGHTS 

We act with due consideration towards the rights of children and adults at risk who interact  with us (including their parents  and guardians). 

2. RESPONSIBILITY 

We accept our responsibility to safeguard children and adults at risk who interact  with us. We will promote and protect their rights and well being. 

3.RESPECT 

We create an atmosphere of respect for self and others. This includes supporting those under our care to be mindful of their physical and mental health.  

4.REPORTING 

We encourage reporting of safeguarding concerns and will take all reports seriously. We will respond sensitively and proactively to all reports we receive. 

5.RISKS 

We will understand and address risks presented in both digital and physical  environments which we control. 

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR 

There’s no “one size fits all” definition of a  safeguarding incident. Examples of safeguarding  incidents include: 

• Neglect (e.g. not being provided with  facilities to wash or eat) 

• Physical abuse (e.g. being hit) 

• Emotional abuse (e.g. being bullied or being  ignored) 

• Sexual abuse (e.g. being looked at or  touched in a sexual way) 

It’s really important to note that you don’t have  to have been abused to have had your rights  violated. Anything that makes you feel unsafe  or uncomfortable also falls under ‘safeguarding’.  This could be: 

• Being regularly separated off from a group  activity by the same person 

• Being touched when there is no good reason  for physical contact (or being asked to touch  someone else), even if the touching is not  sexual 

• Being sent messages about your personal  life that aren’t about your role at Epic Global

•  Being asked to send pictures or videos of  yourself, even if not in a sexual way 

•  Being singled out and told to keep secrets  from other people 

A safeguarding incident can happen online or in  person. Our policies cover both.  

TELLING SOMEONE 

Any abuse or safeguarding issue that you may  experience is never your fault. It is ok and  important to tell someone when you feel  comfortable doing so and when it is safe for you  to do so. This could be your parent or guardian,  a friend, or someone at Epic Global.  

There is a specific Safeguarding Team at Epic Global responsible for safeguarding.  There are a few ways to get in touch with the  Safeguarding Team: 

Safeguarding Team UK: 

Email: jake@epicglobal.gg 

Mobile: +44 7554 119290 

Safeguarding Team IE:

Email: ellen@epicglobal.gg

Mobile: +353 851060772

If you don’t know any of the Safeguarding Team or  don’t feel comfortable telling them, you can tell  anyone else at Epic Global or someone who is not at Epic Global who can pass the  message to the Safeguarding Team. 

Whatever you report to our Safeguarding Team,  you can rest assured that: 

•  We will listen to you 

•  We will support you 

•  We will do everything possible to help you  

• We will not blame or judge you 

•  We will keep your information private, unless  we need to tell someone to keep you safe  

• You will have done the right thing 

MORE INFORMATION 

You can find more information regarding  Safeguarding at Epic Global on our website here. 

APPENDIX 2: FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS 

OUR PLEDGE  

This document provides guidance for parents,  carers or guardians of professional gamers or  creators or anyone else working with Epic Global who are:  

•  Under the age of 18 or 

•  Adults classified as being ‘at risk’  

WHAT IS SAFEGUARDING? 

Epic Global has a responsibility to promote the  welfare of all children, young people, and adults  at risk that we engage with and care for. We  must keep them safe and operate in a way that  protects them. We are responsible for, and are  committing to, safeguarding at any time and any  place. 

Safeguarding is an umbrella term which refers to  the process of ensuring the health and wellbeing  of children, young people and adults at risk. This  includes: 

This responsibility is also known as ‘safeguarding’,  which is a general term that covers: 

•  Encouraging them to mindful about health  and wellbeing 

•  Preventing harm to their health and  development 

•  Taking action to create a safe environment  so that they can have the best outcomes such we promise to do 5 things: 

1. RIGHTS 

We act with due consideration towards the rights of children and adults at risk who interact with us (including their parents  and guardians). 

2. RESPONSIBILITY 

We accept our responsibility  to safeguard children and  adults at risk who interact  

with us. We will promote and protect their rights and well being. 

3. RESPECT 

We create an atmosphere of respect for self and others. This includes supporting those under out care to be mindful of their physical and mental health.  

4. REPORTING 

We encourage reporting of safeguarding concerns and will take all reports seriously. We will respond sensitively and proactively to all reports we receive. 

5. RISKS 

We will understand and address risks presented in both digital and physical environments which we control.

IDENTIFYING HARM 

We seek to work with parents, guardians, and  carers to help achieve our safeguarding pledge. In  considering safeguarding risks, we look for the four main types of abuse from which a  child or young person may suffer: neglect,  physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual  abuse

Behaviours and situations that may be  indicative of grooming. Grooming is when  someone builds a relationship, trust and  emotional connection with a child or young  person so they can manipulate, exploit, and  abuse them. 

Examples of behaviours we look to spot (and encourage those we work with to  report) include a child or adult at risk being: 

• Regularly separated off from a group  activity by the same person 

• Touched when there is no good reason  for physical contact (or being asked to touch someone else), even if the touching is not sexual  

• Sent messages about their personal lives that aren’t about their  role at Epic Global

• Asked to send pictures or videos of themselves, even if not in a sexual way  singled out and told to keep secrets from other people 

If you’re worried about a child under your care  and want to talk to them, we recommend the  NSPCC’s advice regarding how to tackle difficult  conversations around subjects like abuse  and bullying. The Epic Global Safeguarding team (see below) can also help. 

REPORTING AN INCIDENT 

Epic Global’s Safeguarding Team is  responsible for the management of safeguarding  at Epic Global, day-to-day. 

DISCLOSURES BY YOU 

If you need to make a disclosure on behalf of  a child, young person, or adult at risk, contact  the Safeguarding Team. This includes making disclosures about a member of Epic Global staff. 

The Safeguarding Team is independent from the rest of the business and so the alleged  perpetrator will not find out until the child,  young person or adult at risk’s safety is secured  or if strictly necessary for the purposes of the  investigation. 

Any disclosures to the Safeguarding Team are confidential and information is shared on a need  to know basis only. 

DISCLOSURES BY A CHILD, YOUNG PERSON OR AN ADULT AT  RISK 

We strongly encourage children, young people, and adults at risk to report a safeguarding  incident to our Safeguarding Team (or anyone else) when they feel comfortable doing so and  when it is safe for them to do so. 

Please refer to Appendix 1 | For Under 18’s and Adults at Risk (above), which distils the information in  the Safeguarding Policies and provides practical  advice for disclosing. 

Disclosures by others about a child, young  person, or adult at risk for whom you are legally  responsible 

We will tell you about a disclosure that we have  received concerning a child, young person, or  adult at risk for whom you are legally responsible,  where we have permission to do so and if  appropriate. This communication will be via the Head of Safeguarding at Epic Global. 

ONLINE COMMUNICATION WITH  CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND  ADULTS AT RISK 

Part of safeguarding is ensuring appropriate and  responsible communication with children, young  people and adults at risk as Epic Global often  engages with them online, through social media  and community platforms. 

We are committed to involving a child, young  person, or adult at risk’s parent or guardian as  early in our conversation as possible to ensure  that the child, young person, or adult at risk’s  best interests are protected. 

Epic Global has  implemented internal processes to ensure  responsible communication between children,  young people ,and adults at risk, and members  of our team (those at Epic Global who are most likely to communicate with  these individuals online). 

DECISION MAKING 

Any contract that Epic Global signs with a person aged under 18 must also be signed by that child’s parent or guardian. This is non-negotiable. We also strongly recommend that all professionals  we engage seek independent legal, financial or  tax advice before signing a contract with us. 

Professional gaming is a performance business. Inevitably there will be situations in a young  person’s career where decisions we make on  the basis of performance may significantly  impact the young person’s emotional state – for  example, ‘benching’ a player, applying contractual  penalties or extending or terminating a contract. 

Wherever possible, we will inform and/or involve  a parent, guardian, or carer before we make any  decisions that will affect their child’s career. It  is important to note that a decision based on  performance which impacts a player’s wellbeing  is not, of itself, a safeguarding issue. 

TRAVEL 

We will request written consent from you, as a  parent or guardian, for any activities, events or  significant travel arrangements concerning a  child, young person or adult at risk, e.g. overnight  stays, and while on trips. 

We will only permit children, young people, and  adults at risk to travel to an Epic Global event by  themselves, unsupervised, if we have received  prior written consent from their parent or  guardian. 

During overnight stays, we ensure that adults (Epic Global staff or otherwise) do not enter a child,  young person, or adult at risk’s room unless there is a safety concern, in which case two adults will enter and will not invite children, young people, or  adults at risk into their rooms. 

MORE INFORMATION 

You can find more information regarding  Safeguarding at Epic Global on our website here. 

We encourage you to email jake@epicglobal.gg if you require any further  information about our approach or if you have  any concerns.