The FA Charter Standard Club Programme
Child Protection Policy
Patchway Athletic Football Club
Child Protection Policy
1. Patchway Athletic 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:
i. The child’s welfare is, and must
always be, the paramount consideration
ii. 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
iii. All suspicions and allegations of
abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately
iv. 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. Patchway Athletic Football Club recognises that this is the
responsibility of every adult involved in our club.
3. Patchway Athletic 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:
i. Develop a role profile
ii. Request identification documents
iii. As a minimum meet and chat with the
applicant(s) and where possible conduct interviews before appointing
iv. Request and follow up with two
references before appointing
v. Require an FA CRB Unit Enhanced
Disclosure where appropriate in line with FA guidelines.
All current 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 Patchway Athletic 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 minimise the
risk of ‘grooming ’ within football..
5. Patchway Athletic 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. Patchway Athletic Football Club encourages everyone to know
about it and utilise it if necessary.
6. Patchway Athletic 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 Patchway
Athletic 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.
9. Further advice on child protection
matters can be obtained from:
i. The County Football Association ’s
Child Protection Officer, whose details can be found in the County
Handbook
ii. The Football Association/NSPCC Child
Protection 24-Hour Helpline 0808 800 5000
iii. http://www.TheFA.com/Goal
iv. The FA child protection team on 0207
745 4649.
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