MEMBERSHIPS

Terms & Conditions

Introduction

To help you get the best out of Hove Fitness Club (The “Club”) and to understand our responsibilities to you and your responsibilities to us, please read these terms and conditions. Please remember that if you sign up to any of our online facilities or groups, extra terms and conditions may apply.

The language we use should make these terms and conditions as clear as possible. If you have any questions, a member of our team at the Club will be happy to help you.

To help make these terms and conditions easy to read, we have split them into two parts.

Part A – terms and conditions of membership 

All members and types of memberships must keep to the same terms and conditions

Part B – rules and regulations for using facilities 

  • These terms and conditions apply to all our members and their guests. They are necessary to make sure we can offer an enjoyable and safe environment for you, your guests and our other members to share during every visit to your club.
  • These terms and conditions apply at all times and take priority over anything a member of our team has told you.
  • These terms and conditions replace any previous versions.

Part A – Terms and conditions of Membership

Definitions that apply to Part A 

You – the member

We and us – Hove Fitness Club

The Club – Hove Fitness Club at St Helliers Avenue

Responsibilities of members 

  1. Every person who takes out a membership online will be individually responsible under this agreement.
  2. Every parent who takes out a membership online for their child (under 18 years of age) is responsible under this agreement.
  3. This means that:
  • if the parent tells us to do anything in relation to the membership (including ending it) we will take that as authority;
  • the parent will be responsible for paying all the appropriate membership fees for the child; and
  • the parent will be responsible for paying any extra charges and fees which the child has to pay for using facilities and services not covered by the membership category.
  1. All of these terms and conditions of membership apply to you unless we tell you otherwise.
  2. You must keep to the rules and regulations for using facilities set out in Part B.

Notice 

  1. We calculate your membership in whole calendar months. This means that the following applies.
  • Anywhere in these terms and conditions where we ask you to give notice of one calendar month or more, if you give notice during a month, we will treat it as if we received it on the first day of the following month and the notice period will run from that day. For example, if you need to give us one month’s notice to end your membership and we receive your notice on 23 May, your notice will start from 1 June, it will run out on 30 June, your membership will end on 30 June and you will pay one more direct debit (on 1 June) after giving notice. The only exception to this is if you give us notice at the beginning of a month. This means that if we receive notice from you up to and including the fourth day of a month, we will treat it as if we received it on the first day of that month and the notice period will run from that day.
  • Anywhere in these terms and conditions where you can give notice to end your membership from the end of the month, when you give notice we will end your membership at the end of the month during which we receive your notice as long as you have met all other requirements associated with it. For example, if we receive your notice on 23 May (with any supporting evidence we have asked for), your membership will end on 31 May and you will not have to pay any more direct debits after 31 May.
  • There are no exceptions to this rule. For example, if you give us notice on 1 June, your membership will end on 30 June and you will not have to pay any more direct debits after 30 June.
  1. If you want to give notice, please email membership@hovefitnessandsquash.com to request. We will not accept notice via any other means.
  2. Your notice is not effective until we have received it.
  3. We will confirm we have received your notice within 7 days of receiving it. If you do not receive this confirmation within 7 days, you must immediately let us know so we can check whether we have received it.
  4. From time to time we will need to contact you about your membership, so it is important you let us know if your address, contact phone number or email address changes.
  5. If we need to give notice to you:
  • it will be effective if we send it to email address we have in the records we hold about you; and
  • if we give notice during a month, our notice period will run from the first day of the following month.

Membership categories 

  1. You are entitled to use the facilities available under your category of membership. The range of facilities available to you and when you can use them is available on our website. Each category of membership may have certain restrictions which only apply to that category of membership. Details about these restrictions can be found on our website.
  2. Not all membership categories may be available at all times. We may choose to stop providing certain categories. If this is the case and you are a new member or an existing member, you will not be able to take advantage of these categories unless they become available.

Membership types and length of membership 

  1. Your membership will begin on the day when you make your membership application.
  2. Your membership will run indefinitely until you give us notice by email in line with A2 ‘Notice’

Starting your membership 

  1. Joining fees will apply as detailed on our website.
  2. You will need to pay an amount to cover your membership fee from the day that you join until the 1st of the following month. If the first payment is after the 20th of the month, you will need to pay for the rest of the current month, plus the whole of the next month.
  3. When starting your membership you will be required to download the Hove Fitness App where you will be receive your QR code to use for entry to the club.
  4. You can change your mind about joining. To do this you will need to give notice by email. You can do this at any time up to 14 days after making your membership application and your entire membership will end. If you enter the club to use the facilities during the 14-day cancellation period we will charge a proportion of the monthly fee to cover this period and we will refund the balance of any fees you have already paid.

Membership fees 

  1. Your membership fee is due every month and covers the month to come. You must pay for your membership by making one payment each month via direct debit. Your direct debit approval will be taken when you sign up.
  2. Membership fees are due on the 1st of each month and cover that month. You must pay for your membership by making monthly payments by direct debit, unless we agree otherwise.
  3. Where you pay by direct debit we will ask your bank for your monthly payment around the first working day of each month.

Membership cards 

  1. As soon as possible after you make your membership application, we will send or give you a membership card that must be used each time you enter the club via our swipe card entry system. We may refuse entry without a membership card.
  2. If you lose your card we will provide a replacement card for a fee of £5. Please email membership@hovefitnessandsquash.comfor a replacement card.
  3. Your membership is personal to you and you cannot transfer it to another person. You must not lend your membership card to another person. To protect all of our members, we may ask to see another form of identification (besides your membership card) before we allow you into our club.
  4. If another person uses your membership card, we have the right to end your membership. Please read clause [A16] ‘Cancelling your membership’.

Changing your membership categories 

  1. You can change your membership category at any time by giving notice on the previous membership before signing up to the new membership category. An admin charge of £10 will be applied to any changes.
    Other charges 
  2. There may be an extra charge for a small number of facilities and services. We will display the current charges on a noticeboard in your club or you can get a list of the current charges from your club reception.
  3. Charges may vary from time to time and from club to club. For details of all charges and fees, please contact the membership team at your club.
  4. If you use these extra facilities and services or have to pay a guest fee, we will take the charges using your credit card (or, if this is not available, by direct debit).

Guests 

  1. You can introduce guests to your club. You must:
  • sign in any guests at reception;
  • stay with the guests at all times; and
  • make sure the guests are aware of, and keep to, our rules and regulations set out in ‘Part B – rules and regulations for using facilities’.
  1. Guests must pay the appropriate fee to use the facilities.
  2. Social guests (guests who are only entitled to use the café bar and not the sports facilities) will be able to visit the café bar only and there will be no fee for this.
  3. You can get details of the guest fees on our website or from the Club.
  4. If you or your guest breaks any of the rules relating to guests set out in these terms and conditions, or any other rules we have told you about, you (or your guest) must pay the full guest fee and we may withdraw the right for you to invite guests to your club for up to three months.

Suspending your membership

  1. You can suspend your membership with 2 weeks notice for medical or health reasons by contacting the club at membership@hovefitnessandsquash.com.
  2. Your suspension will commence at the end of the month that you notify us that you wish to suspend.
  3. You must specify how long you wish to suspend your membership for.
  4. Your membership will automatically restart at the end of the suspension.
  5. If you use the club during the period of your suspension your membership will recommence automatically.
  6. Suspending your membership is not the same as ending your membership.

Ending your membership 

  1. We require 1 month notice to cancel and only you can give notice to end it in writing to membership@hovefitnessandsquash.com
  2. You must continue to pay your membership fees until your membership ends.
  3. Your membership will end at the end of your notice period.
  4. You must not enter any club once your membership has ended.

Increase in membership fees

  1. The club may from time to time increase membership fees.
  2. At any time, you can end your membership if we give you notice under A17 (‘Changing your membership fees and this agreement’) of an increase in your membership fee of more than either 1% above the rate of inflation or 3%, whichever is higher. The rate of inflation means the Retail Prices Index All Items 12-month percentage change published by the Office for National Statistics for the July before the date on which we give you notice.
  3. You must give us notice in writing in line with A2 ‘Notice’.

Significant changes at the club 

  1. At any time, you can end your membership if we give you notice under A18a that we intend to close the Club permanently.
  2. At any time, you can end your membership if we give you notice under A18c that we intend to permanently withdraw the whole of the gym from the Club.
  3. At any time, you can end your membership if it includes access to all facilities and
  4. In each of these cases, you must give us notice in writing in line with A2 ‘Notice’.

Cancelling your membership 

  1. We will not tolerate our staff or other members being verbally abused or intimidated or being physically threatened. If we find this to be the case, we have the right to report you to the police, to ban you immediately and permanently from the Club and to cancel your entire membership.
  2. We may also cancel your entire membership in the following circumstances.
  • If you break or repeatedly break this membership agreement or the club rules and you do not or cannot put it right within seven days of us writing to you about it.
  • If, with your knowledge or permission, another person uses your membership card to get into any club.
  • If you or your guest uses rude or abusive language or behaves or threatens to behave in a violent or aggressive way at the Club.
  • If, for a period of longer than 12 calendar months, you do not use any club facilities.
  1. If we receive any complaint about your behaviour at the Club or if you persistently behave inappropriately, or if we believe that your continued membership is not in the interests of other members of your club, we have the right to suspend your entire membership. You have the right to appeal against our decision (unless your behaviour is covered by [A16a or A16b]). You can get details of our appeal procedures from the Club. If we are not able to sort out the issue following your appeal, or if you do not appeal in line with our appeal procedures we have the right to cancel your entire membership.
  2. If we cancel your membership for any of the reasons in clauses A16a to A16c, we have the right to keep a proportion of the money you have paid under this agreement to cover any reasonable costs we have had to pay. We will also not accept any future applications you make for membership to the Club and you will not be allowed to enter the Club as a guest or for any other reason.

If you do not pay your membership fee when it is due 

  1. If you do not pay your membership fee when it is due, we will write to you to let you know. If you are paying by direct debit, we will try to take this payment from your account again later in the month. If that is unsuccessful, but your direct debit instruction is still in force, we will try to take payment again in the following month for the payment you have missed and the amount due for the current month.
  2. We may refer any missed payments, including any future payments that are due as part of your contract (for example, payments you owe for the rest of an initial period or notice period), to a debt-collection agency.
  3. If you fall behind with your membership payments for more than 30 days, we will charge you an administration fee of £75. We will also charge an administration fee of £10 each missed payment.
  4. If you do not pay for your membership, we may prevent you from entering the Club. This does not mean we will end your membership.
  5. Cancelling your direct debit does not mean you have given us notice to end your membership. You must give us written notice in line with A2 ‘Notice’.

Changing your membership fees and this agreement 

  1. We may increase membership fees automatically each year by up to either 1% above the rate of inflation according to the Retail Prices Index or 3%, whichever is higher. If we do this, the new fees will come into force on 1 January each year.
  2. If we plan to increase the membership fees by more than the higher of these amounts, we will make every reasonable effort to give you at least one month’s notice. We will give you notice of the change by writing to you (as described in A2e and f ‘Notice’)]and by displaying a sign on the noticeboard in the Club.
  3. As well as the increase described in A17a above, we have the right to increase membership fees at any time to take account of any increase in the rate of VAT. We will make every reasonable effort to give you one month’s notice of the increase (either in writing or by displaying a sign on the noticeboard in the Club).
  4. We may make reasonable changes to this agreement, to these terms and conditions in Part A and to the rules and regulations in Part B or displayed in the Club, at any time, as long as we give you notice before we make the changes.
  5. We may transfer our rights or obligations (or both) under this agreement, or subcontract our obligations under it, to another organisation without giving you notice and you will continue as a member. If the other organisation fails to provide the same (or equivalent) facilities and services we provided, you may end your membership by giving them notice in writing. Your membership will end on the last day of the month in which they receive your notice.

Making changes to your club or its facilities, services and activities 

  1. If we decide to close the Club permanently the following will apply.
  • We will make every reasonable effort to give you at least three months’ notice of the closure (either by email or by displaying a sign on the noticeboard in the Club).
  • You can end your membership by giving us notice in writing in line with A2 ‘Notice’. You must give us one calendar month’s notice for Flexible membership or three calendar months’ notice for Standard Annual and Standard Monthly membership’.
  • If we cannot give you three months’ notice of the change or closure but you want to end your membership, you can give us written notice which ends on the date when the changes start to apply. We will refund any part of your membership fee you have already paid for a period after that date.
  1. We have the right to increase, reduce or withdraw certain facilities, services or activities in the Club either permanently or temporarily (for example, to carry out cleaning, repairs, maintenance or security work).
  2. If we decide to permanently withdraw the whole of the gym from your club, we will make every reasonable effort to give you one month’s notice in writing.

.

  1. If we decide to make any other change to the facilities, services and activities available at the Club, we will give you notice by displaying the notice on the Club’s website if this is reasonably possible.
  2. If the Club is closed for more than seven days in a row we will refund a percentage of your membership fees which relate to the period that your club is closed, but not including the first seven days. This does not apply if we permanently close a whole facility (for example, the gym or squash facilities) under A18a, A18c or A18d, or if we have to close the facility due to reasons outside our control.
  3. If we have to close facilities or clubs for reasons outside our control, we will consider whether we should pay you any compensation.
  4. We will display details of the opening and closing times for your club at reception. Opening times may vary during the Christmas period and on other bank holidays. We will let you know about these temporary changes on the Club’s Website. We will try to give you at least one month’s notice if we reduce the opening hours of the Club.

Complaints 

  1. We are committed to making sure our members are satisfied with the service we provide, but we are realistic enough to know that things don’t go according to plan all the time. If you or your guests have a complaint, we want to know about it as soon as possible so that we may fully investigate it and sort the matter out.
  2. If you have a complaint, you should first tell a member of staff at the Club. If you are not satisfied with their response, you should contact the Directors of the Club.

Liability 

  1. We do not accept liability for damage or loss to your property or a guest’s property that may happen on the premises or within the grounds of the Club, other than the liability which arises from our negligence or our failure to take reasonable care.
  2. We do not accept liability for the injury or death of any member, child or guest that may happen on the premises or within the grounds of the Club, other than the liability which arises from our negligence or our failure to take reasonable care.
  3. Nothing in these terms and conditions is meant to limit any rights you might have as a consumer.

Data protection 

  1. We will deal with all information we hold about you in line with our privacy policy which you can get from our website at www.hovefitnessandsquash.com or from the Club. If you want to know what information we hold about you, or you want us to correct any information we hold about you, the appropriate procedures are set out in our privacy policy.

Children 

  1. We welcome children to our Club but they must behave reasonably. They must not put themselves or other people in danger or prevent other members from enjoying the club or its facilities. If your child is behaving unreasonably, we have the right to speak to you or the child about this.
  2. If your child continues to behave unreasonably, whether on one visit to the club or over a number of visits to the club, we will try to sort out the issue by meeting with you. If we cannot sort out the issue during the meeting, we have the right to suspend the child from using the Club.
  3. Adults only are allowed in the Club after 8pm.

Part B – Rules and regulations for using the club, facilities and activities 

Definitions that apply to Part B 

You – any person using the club facilities under your membership

Linked member – anyone who is linked to your membership

Your entire membership – your membership

We and us – Hove Fitness and Squash Limited

The Club –Hove Fitness Club

General health and safety 

  1. As your safety is our main priority, we do not allow crockery or glasses outside the lounge or balcony area unless we have organised this.
  2. We do not allow pets (except for registered working assistance dogs) in the club.
  3. To protect the safety of all members and guests, you must pay particular attention to all signs relating to health and safety in our clubs. If you do not understand a notice or sign please ask one of our team members at the club.
  4. Fire exits are clearly marked throughout the club. If there is a fire or if you hear the fire alarm, you should make your way out of the club through the nearest possible exit to the advertised assembly point in the car park.
  5. If you suffer an accident or injury on our premises, you must report it and the circumstances under which it happened to the senior manager on duty immediately.
  6. For legal and health reasons, you must not smoke while using any of the club facilities.
  7. While you are at the club, we expect you to behave appropriately, respectfully and politely, and dress appropriately, at all times. We can prevent you from entering the club or ask you to leave if we think that your behaviour or appearance is not suitable.
  8. You should not use the club if you have an infectious illness or condition.

Your children’s health and safety 

  1. Children aged 16 or under must be supervised at all times by a member over the age of 18. However, this does not apply if they are at an activity we organise at the club which parents and guardians do not need to go to (we call this a ‘supervised activity’).
  2. If your child is at a supervised activity, he or she must be registered with the person in charge of the activity, who must also have details of who will be collecting your child. We will not allow any other person to collect your child unless you have made a specific arrangement beforehand with the person you have left your child with.
  3. You must not bring your children into the club or childcare facilities if they have an infectious illness or condition.
  4. Children aged eight or over must use the men’s or women’s changing rooms, according to their sex (or a family changing room, if one is available).
  5. Children aged 13 or under may use the gym only when there is an organised activity for them.

Car park 

  1. You are only entitled to use the club car park while you are using the club facilities. You must park only in the spaces in our car park.
  2. We do not guarantee that car parking is available at the Club
  3. You park in the car park at your own risk. We do not accept liability for any loss or damage to your car, or personal belongings in it, while you are parked in our car park.
  4. Cars are allowed to stay in the car park for a maximum of 3 hours.

Lockers 

  1. You bring all personal belongings to the club at your own risk. We do not accept legal responsibility for any loss or damage to these items.
  2. If you lose a key or padlock to any locker you have hired, you will have to pay a fee to cover the cost of a new key or padlock as appropriate.
  3. If you leave your belongings in a locker overnight but you have not paid for a yearly locker, we have the right to remove your belongings. You can claim the belongings we have removed from the club reception for up to two weeks after we remove them. After this time, we will not be responsible for the belongings.
  4. If you find lost property, you must hand it into the club reception immediately. The club noticeboard will show the times when you can pick up lost property from reception. We will hold items for three weeks only before giving them to charity.

Gym and fitness facilities 

  1. Our aim is to make you feel better, and we try to make this as much fun as possible. We know that everyone has different aims, levels of skill, tolerance and fitness. Every moment you spend with one of our coaches is designed to focus on your needs.
  2. Before you start using the gym or fitness equipment, we will ask you to read a health commitment statement and we can offer a supervised gym induction session with one of our qualified fitness coaches. Gym programmes can be given at a charge of £10 per programme .
  3. Only qualified fitness coaches will set you an exercise programme. We fully support the European Register of Exercise Professionals and all of our qualified coaches will either be on the register or will
  4. UK Terms and Conditions October 2019 have applied to be on it.
  5. If you have concerns about your physical condition, you must not do strenuous physical activities without first getting medical advice.
  6. To make sure you get the most from every activity that you do at the club in the safest possible way, you should always make sure that you warm up properly and take time to cool down after your activity.
  7. You should not take part in any physical activity that you may not be fit for. You are responsible for monitoring your own condition during physical activity.
  8. You should tell the general manager, a qualified coach or a member of the membership team when you join about anything that is relevant to your physical condition. You should continue to keep this information up to date throughout your membership.
  9. You are responsible for monitoring your own physical condition. If you suffer any unusual symptoms, you must immediately stop the activity and tell a health and fitness coach or any other member of staff at the club.

Bookings 

  1. Class bookings can be made online from 14 days in advance
  2. All courses are available for booking once published on the timetable
  3. All chargeable classes or courses must be paid for at the time of booking. Refunds will only apply if at least 24 hours’ notice of cancellation is given for the class or before the first instance of a course.
  4. Classes can be booked for any person connected with your membership package.
  5. Certain classes are restricted by age group. Junior members can only be booked onto a class that is appropriate for their age.
  6. If you do not turn up to a class booking a ‘no show’ notification will apply and a fee of £5 will be applied to your account.
  7. If you cancel a class within 2 hours which has been fully booked at any point, you will receive a ‘cancellation’ notification and fine of £5 if the space is not rebooked by another member. Cancellation notifications do not apply to classes that do not become full.
  8. Three class cancellations or no-show notifications in any 30 day period will result in the loss of advanced booking rights for 2 weeks (14 days).
  9. If you arrive after the scheduled start time of a class, the instructor reserves the right to deny entry if deemed unsafe and another member may take your place.
  10. Member guests can participate in classes if spaces are available at the time of the session but cannot be booked.
  11. We may change our booking terms and conditions from time to time and we will tell you about any changes. Or, you can ask us for a copy of the terms and conditions at any time to check whether we have made any changes.

Photographs and videos 

  1. You may take photographs and video recordings in your club for your own personal use provided that you keep to these rules and any extra rules displayed at your club.
  2. You must not take photographs or videos of any children under 18 other than your own.
  3. Anyone who appears in your photographs or videos must be aware that you are filming them and you must get their permission first.
  4. You must not take photographs or video recordings in a changing area or toilet.
  5. If another member is unhappy that you are filming them and makes a complaint to us, we may ask you to show us any images which you have taken in the club and to delete them if appropriate.
  6. If a member of our team asks you to stop filming or taking photographs you must do so.

Other rules 

  1. Only food and drink bought in the club can be eaten in the lounge area.

Safeguarding Policy

Child Protection and Adults at Risk

It is the Duty of Care of the HFSC to ensure that any children, young people and adults at risk who are participating within our service are safe from harm and exploitation. The protection from abuse, neglect, exploitation and wellbeing of children, young people and adults at risk is a paramount consideration when providing services. The Project aim to provide an environment that ensures people are safe from potential abuse and will respond to any suspicion of potential abuse in a way that respects the person’s dignity and reinforces responsibility to the children and young people and adult at risk.

Lead Officer: Joanna Martindale CEO

These safeguarding duties apply to any child, young person or adult at risk who:

  • Has needs for care and support
  • Is experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect
  • As a result of age or those care and support needs is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect.

The Project endeavours to do this by ensuring policies and procedures for working with vulnerable adults include:

  1. Ensure that all employees (voluntary or paid) are aware of the fact that such work is exempt from the provision laid down in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and will therefore be subject to a Disclosure and Barring check prior to starting work.
  2. Require all potential employees to provide references, attend interview agree to an Enhanced DBS check and to work for a probationary period. Qualification certificates will be required and past employers will be contacted directly.
  3. Recruit, train and supervise its employees and volunteers to adopt best practice to safeguard and protect children, young people and adults at risk, which will help them recognise and respond to suspected abuse whether physical, emotional, sexual or as a result of neglect. Offer ongoing training to all employees involved with the care and education of children, young people and adults at risk,
  4. Never allow an unregistered (i.e. not DBS checked) adult to work alone with a child, young person or adult at risk.
  5. Require all staff/ volunteers to adopt and abide by the Project’s code of conduct, procedures and policy, outlined in the HFSC Staff Handbook.
  6. Treating children, young people and adults at risk as individuals entitled to dignity and respect
  7. Promoting effective partnerships amongst all those involved with children, young people, adults at risk and including where appropriate parents/carers to improve children and young people’s welfare
  8. Respond to any allegations appropriately and implement the appropriate disciplinary, allegations and reporting procedures
  9. To see that the needs and interests of the child, young person or adult at risk are paramount
  10. To ensure all staff in contact with vulnerable adults receive an enhanced Disclosure and Barring (DBS) clearance and hold relevant qualifications and certification
  11. To appoint a lead officer usually the CEO who will take specific responsibility the protection of children, young people or adults at risk and act as the main point of contact
  12. To maintain and regularly review the child protection and adults at risk policy, procedure and guidelines, including actions to be taken in the event of an allegation of abuse by a member of staff
  13. To ensure that confidentiality is upheld in line with GDPR 2018 and human rights act 1998.

The HFSC Handbook E10

Definitions

All staff need to note the following definitions and pass on any concerns to the Lead Officer of the HFSC.

A ‘child’ or ‘young person’ refers to people under the age of 18 or up to 21 with certain special educational needs. The Children Act 1989 covers all children under the age of eighteen. Enquiries (under S47 of the Children and young people Act 1989) are likely to take place where the local authority has “reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives or is found, in their area, is suffering, or is likely to suffer significant harm”.

Adult at Risk are: “People with learning disabilities, mental health problems, older people and people with disability or impairment are included within this definition, particularly when their situation is complicated by additional factors, such as physical frailty or chronic illness, sensory impairment, challenging behaviour, drug or alcohol problems, social or emotional problems, poverty or homelessness.” (Law Commission Report 231.1995). Care Act 2014 -Definition of adults at risk

The Care Act 2014 defines an adult at risk as:

  • Someone over the age of 18 who has a need for care and support
  • Someone who is experiencing or is at risk of neglect or abuse

As a result of the above needs, the adult is unable to protect himself or herself against the abuse or neglect, or the risk of it.

Awareness of Abuse

Who is most likely to be abused?

An example of an adult who may be more susceptible to risk and abuse is:

  • Someone who has a learning disability, physical disability and/ or a sensory impairment
  • Someone who is experiencing domestic violence, or is a victim of a forced marriage or modern slavery
  • Someone who misuses substances or alcohol
  • Someone that has a mental health condition or disorder including eating, hording or personality disorder
  • Someone who is elderly and frail due to ill-health, physical disability or impairment of their mental health (including dementia)

Abuse maybe described as: “an act, or failure to act, by the person responsible for the care of the child. It may involve cruelty, exploitation or neglect.”

Abuse may take any of the following forms:

“Physical Injury”: This may be: actual or likely physical injury to a child or young person, or failure to prevent physical injury (or suffering) to a child or young person, including deliberate poisoning, suffocation and Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy. “Neglect”: The persistent or severe neglect of a child or young person, to protect a child or young person from exposure to any kind of danger, including cold or starvation, or extreme failure to carry out important aspects of care, resulting in the significant impairment of the child’s or young person’s health or development, including non-organic failure to thrive.

“Sexual Abuse”: Actual or likely sexual exploitation of a child or adolescent. The child or young person may be dependent and /or developmentally immature.

“Emotional Abuse”: Actual or likely severe adverse effect on the emotional and behavioural development of the child or young person caused by persistent or severe emotional ill treatment or rejection. All abuse involves some emotional ill treatment. This category should be used where it is the main or sole form of abuse.

Supervision of Children and young people

The HFSC aims to provide enriching experience for children and young people, experiences that will help them to develop socially, mentally and physically. To help them to meet that aim there should be proper supervision at all times. This will ensure that they are less likely to come to harm. For example, for children and young people who receive play/learning opportunities through the HFSC they will be kept safe. This will be achieved by ensuring:

  • Those in charge are fully competent to do so
  • They are supervised at all times
  • Workers know where the children and young people are at all times, indoors or out.
  • There are sufficient staff
  • Adults work in pairs
  • Activities are planned and appropriate
  • Adult responsibilities are clearly defined
  • Worker have received a DBS check and are working to DBS policy

Whilst the majority of HFSC activities will be exempt from the Children’s Act guidance and regulations, the Project will nevertheless advocate that all staff working with children and young people (whether paid or volunteers) should have an agreed individual training plan which includes early induction in Child Protection and Health & Safety policy and procedures and encourages working towards a recognised qualification in youth work or similar. Children‘s Act guidance and regulations recommends 1 member of staff to every 15 – 20 children in the 7 years plus age range. The number of staff will be increased when children and young people with disabilities take part.

Reporting Allegations

Scope for abuse is minimised if the Project’s activities are run with the safety of all its members in mind and sensible steps are taken in dealing with children, young people and adults at risk. If an allegation is made, or concerns are raised they will be brought to the attention of the Lead Officer. Provision will need to be made for the absence of that person. A record will be kept of the facts surrounding the concern, what action was taken and why. The HFSC staff should bear in mind that it is not their job to investigate an allegation. They should take a record of what is said or seen and refer it to their line manager, lead officer, the Duty Assessment Team or the Police who are trained to make enquiries, which will indicate whether further investigation is necessary. (If a serious incident has occurred which leads to a criminal trial, it is essential that there is no suggestion that witnesses and particularly young children and young people, have been led to say what they did).

Records will include the following details:

  • Name of the child/young person/adult at risk
  • Parent’s/carer’s details
  • The child/young person/adult at risk’s address
  • Relevant telephone numbers
  • What is said to have happened or what was seen
  • When it occurred
  • Who else was there?
  • What was said by those involved or what was seen
  • Whether there is any actual evidence e.g. bruises, bleeding, change in behaviour
  • Who has been told about it
  • Who was concerned?
  • Was the child/young person/adult at risk able to say what happened?
  • Whether the parents/carers have been advised
  • Sign and date the record ensuring it is legible and written in black ink
  • This must be stored in a locked filing cabinet
  • When an incident/event is reported it is paramount that the exact words that the child/ person has used are noted. It is imperative that this information is recorded immediately and the exact wordings are noted. Do not make any assumptions or summarise.

The Prevent agenda: Children, young people and adults at risk of radicalisation   

In response to increasing threat and risk of terrorism in the UK, the Government introduced the Prevent agenda. Prevent’s aims are to increase awareness of the types of behaviours and activities that may suggest that a person is being groomed and/or radicalised; to work with local authorities and related agencies to swiftly identify those most at risk of radicalisation; and to ensure there are clear processes in place for professionals to make appropriate referrals for support.

There is an online training tool produced for the National College of Policing that all staff are expected to complete. It can be found online at: https://www.elearning.prevent.homeoffice.gov.uk/edu/screen1.html  All HFSC staff are expected to be familiar with their duties in relation to the Prevent agenda and it is the role of the Chief Executive Officer to ensure that this happens. The Chief Executive Officer will seek information, advice and guidance from key contacts within Brighton & Hove City Council or Sussex Police where necessary. In summary, staff should respond to these types of risks with the same sense of urgency and importance as any other Child Protection or Safeguarding matter.

  • If you are concerned that an individual or a group of people may be vulnerable to being drawn into extremist or terrorist related activity, such as thinking or preparing to travel to Syria or other conflict zones; or getting involved in right wing groups you can:
  • Young people 17 or younger Refer to the relevant allocated social worker, (if the child or family have one). If not please contact the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub or MASH 01273 290400
  • For Adults 18 years and over Consult with Prevent Officer on Non-emergency police number 101 ask for ext. 550543 or email the police Prevent officer. Further contact details and information are available
  • Reporting suspicious activities Anti-Terrorist Hotline call 0800 789 321 Non-emergency Sussex Police call 101 Emergency call 999; anonymously call Crime Stoppers: 0800 555 111 anonymously report Online to Crime Stoppers
  • Reporting terrorist content on the internet Visit GOV.UK to report illegal terrorist information, pictures or videos you’ve found on the internet.

Terms of use

  1. Information about us

www.hovefitnessandsquash.com is a Site operated by Hove Fitness and Squash Club Ltd (“We”). We are registered in England and Wales under company number 12804107 and have our registered office at Orchard Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 7BG. We are a limited company.

  1. Accessing our Site

Access to our Site is permitted on a temporary basis and we reserve the right to withdraw or amend the service we provide on our Site without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason our Site is unavailable at any time or for any period.

From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of our Site, of our entire Site, to users who have registered with us.

If you choose, or you are provided with, a user identification code, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any third party. We have the right to disable any user identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these terms of use.

You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to our Site.  You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access our Site through your internet connection are aware of these terms, and that they comply with them.

  1. Intellectual Property Rights

We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our Site, and in the material published on it.  Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world.  All such rights are reserved.

You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our Site for your personal reference and you may draw the attention of others within your organisation to material posted on our Site.

You must not modify the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text.

Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of material on our Site must always be acknowledged.

You must not use any part of the materials on our Site for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors.

If you print off, copy or download any part of our Site in breach of these terms of use, your right to use our Site will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

  1. Reliance on information posted

Commentary and other materials posted on our Site are not intended to amount to advice on which reliance should be placed.  We therefore disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by any visitor to our Site, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.

  1. Our Site changes regularly

We aim to update our Site regularly, and may change the content at any time. If the need arises, we may suspend access to our Site, or close it indefinitely. Any of the material on our Site may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material.

  1. Our liability

You agree that Hove Fitness and Squash Ltd will not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss arising from the use of the information and material contained in this website or from access to other material on the Internet via web links from this Site.

  1. Information about you and your visits to our Site

We process information about you in accordance with our privacy policy.

  1. Uploading material to our Site

Any material you upload to our site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary, and we have the right to use, copy, distribute and disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose. We also have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who is claiming that any material posted or uploaded by you to our site constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or of their right to privacy.

We will not be responsible, or liable to any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials posted by you or any other user of our site.

We have the right to remove any material or posting you make on our site.

  1. Viruses, hacking and other offences

You must not misuse our Site by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to our Site, the server on which our Site is stored or any server, computer or database connected to our Site. You must not attack our Site via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack.

By breaching this provision, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use our Site will cease immediately.

We will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a distributed denial-of-service attack, viruses or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of our Site or to your downloading of any material posted on it, or on any website linked to it.

  1. Links to our Site

You may link to our home page, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.

You must not establish a link from any website that is not owned by you.

Our Site must not be framed on any other site, nor may you create a link to any part of our Site other than the home page. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice.

  1. Links from our Site

Where our Site contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only.  We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

  1. Jurisdiction and applicable law

The English courts will have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising from, or related to, a visit to our Site although we retain the right to bring proceedings against you for breach of these conditions in your country of residence or any other relevant country.

These terms of use and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.

  1. Variations

We may revise these terms of use at any time by amending this page. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we made, as they are binding on you. Some of the provisions contained in these terms of use may also be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on our Site.

  1. Your Concerns

If you have any concerns about material which appears on our Site, please contact us at info@hovefitnessandsquash.com

Thank you for visiting our Site.