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Child Protection Policy
1. East
Bergholt United 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.
2. The
key principles of The FA child protection policy
are that:
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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.
East
Bergholt United Junior Football Club
recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved
in our club.
3. East
Bergholt United 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.
4. 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
East Bergholt
United Junior Football Club members with
direct access to children and young people will be 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
East Bergholt United 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 FA CRB Unit
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 minimize the risk of ‘grooming’
within football.
5. East
Bergholt United 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, 5 Soho Square, London W1D 4FA or by going
direct to the police, social services or the NSPCC.
East Bergholt
United Junior Football Club encourages everyone to know about it and
utilise it if necessary.
6. East
Bergholt United Junior Football Club has appointed a Club 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 will be 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 CPO 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.
7. 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 CPO.
8. Codes
of conduct for players, parents or spectators, officials and coaches
have been implemented by East Bergholt United 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:
Club Child
Welfare Officer: Mr Phil Brown (01473 403550)
Updated: July 2007
To be reviewed:
July 2008 |
