West Hallam Junior Football Club acknowledges its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of every child and young person who has been entrusted to its care and is committed to working to provide a safe environment for all members. A child or young person is anyone under the age of 18 engaged in any club football activity. We subscribe to The Football Association’s child protection and best practice policy and procedures and endorse and adopt the policy statement contained in that document.

 

The key principles of The FA child protection policy are that:

• The child’s welfare is, and must always be, the paramount consideration;

• All  children  and  young  people  have  a  right  to  be  protected  from  abuse regardless  of  their  age,  gender,  disability,  culture,  language,  racial  origin, religious beliefs or sexual orientation;

• All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately;

• Working in partnership with other organisations, children and young people and their parents or carers is essential.

 

We  acknowledge  that  every  child  or  young  person  who  plays  or  participates  in football  should  be  able  to  take  part  in  an  enjoyable  and  safe  environment  and  be protected from poor practice and abuse.

 

West Hallam Junior Football Club recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.

 

West Hallam Junior Football Club has a role to play in safeguarding the welfare of all children and young people by protecting them from physical, sexual or emotional harm and from neglect or bullying.  It  is  noted  and  accepted  that  The  Football Association’s child protection regulation (see The FA Handbook) applies to everyone in  football  whether  in  a paid  or  voluntary  capacity.  This includes those who are a volunteer, match official, helper on club tours, football coach, club official or medical staff.

 

We endorse and adopt The FA’s child protection and best practice guidelines for recruiting volunteers and will:

• Develop a role profile;

• Request identification documents;

• As  a  minimum  meet  and  chat  with  the  applicant(s)  and  where  possible conduct interviews before appointing;

• Request and follow up with two references before appointing;

• Require an FA CRB Unit Enhanced Disclosure where appropriate in line with FA guidelines.

 

All current West Hallam Junior Football Club members with direct access to children and young people are required to complete a CRB Enhanced Disclosure via The FA CRB Unit.

 

If there are  concerns  regarding the appropriateness of  an  individual  who  is already involved  or  who  has approached  us  to  become part  of  West Hallam Junior Football Club guidance will be sought from The Football Association.  It is noted and accepted that The FA will consider the relevance and significance of the information obtained via the Enhanced CRB Disclosure and that all decisions will be made in the best interests of children and young people.

 

It  is  accepted  that  The  FA  aims  to  prevent  people  with a  history  of  relevant  and significant  offending  from having  contact  with  children  or  young  people  and  the opportunity to influence policies or practice with children or young people. This is to prevent  direct sexual  or  physical  harm  to  children  and  to  minimise the  risk  of ‘grooming’ within football.

 

West Hallam Junior Football Club supports The FA’s whistle blowing policy.  Any  adult  or  young  person  with  concerns  about  a colleague can ‘whistle blow’ by contacting The FA child protection manager on 0207 745 4771, by writing to The FA case  manager at  The Football Association, 25 Soho Square, London W1D  4FA or  by going direct to the police, social services or the NSPCC.

 

West Hallam Junior Football Club encourages everyone to know about it and utilise it if necessary.

 

West Hallam Junior Football Club has appointed a Child Welfare Officer (CWO) in line with The FA’s role profile and required completion of the child protection and best practice workshop.  The post holder is involved with designated person’s training provided by The FA.  The  CWO  is  the  first  point  of  contact  for  all  club members and parents or guardians regarding concerns for the welfare of any child or young person. They will liaise directly with the CFA CWO and will be familiar with the procedures for referring any concerns.  They will also play a proactive role in increasing an awareness of poor practice and abuse amongst club members.

 

We acknowledge and endorse The FA’s identification of bullying as a category of abuse. Bullying of any kind is not acceptable at our club. If bullying does occur, all players, parents or guardians should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly.  Incidents  need  to  be  reported  to  the  CWO,  a  member  of  the committee or, in cases of serious bullying contact the CFA CWO.

 

Codes  of  conduct  for  players,  parents  or  spectators,  officials  and  coaches  have been implemented by West Hallam Junior Football Club.  In order to validate these codes of conduct the club has clear sanctions to deal with any misconduct at club level and acknowledges the possibility of potential sanctions which may be implemented by leagues or the CFA in more serious circumstances. All prospective members will be informed of these codes.

 

Further advice on child protection matters can be obtained from:

• The County Football Association’s Child Protection Officer, whose details can be found in the County Handbook

• The Football Association/NSPCC Child Protection 24-Hour Helpline 0808 800 5000

• www.TheFA.com/Goal

• The FA child protection team 0207 745 4649.