FA: Safeguarding Children Policy & Procedures

Falmouth Community Youth Football Club acknowledges its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of every child and young person entrusted to its care, and is committed to providing 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 Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures and endorse and adopt the Policy Statement contained in that document.

Key principles

The key principles of The FA Safeguarding Children 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, race, sexual orientation, faith or belief;
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 and carers is essential.

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. Falmouth Community Youth Football Club recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.

Our responsibility

The 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. The Football Association's Safeguarding Children Regulations apply to everyone in football, whether in a paid or voluntary capacity – volunteer, match official, helper on club tours, football coach, club official or medical staff.

Responsible recruitment

We endorse and adopt The FA's Responsible Recruitment guidelines for recruiting volunteers. We will:

specify what the role is and what tasks it involves;
request identification documents;
as a minimum, meet and chat with the applicant, and where possible interview people before appointing them;
ask for and follow up two references before appointing someone;
where eligible, require an FA-accepted Enhanced Criminal Record Check with Barring List Check in line with current FA policy and regulations.

All current club members working in eligible roles with children and young people – such as managers and coaches – are required to hold an in-date FA-accepted Enhanced CRC with Barring List check. If there are concerns about the appropriateness of an individual already involved with, or approaching, the club, guidance will be sought from The Football Association. The FA aims to prevent people with a history of relevant and significant offending from having contact with children or young people, or the opportunity to influence policies or practice.

Whistle-blowing

The club supports The FA's Whistle Blowing Policy. Any adult or young person with concerns about an adult in a position of trust within football can whistle-blow by contacting The FA Safeguarding Team on 0800 169 1863, by writing to The FA Case Manager at The Football Association, Wembley Stadium, PO Box 1966, London SW1P 9EQ, by emailing Safeguarding@TheFA.com, or by going direct to the Police, Children's Social Care or the NSPCC.

Club Welfare Officer

The club has appointed a Club Welfare Officer in line with The FA's role profile, with required completion of the Safeguarding Children and Welfare Officers Workshop. The Club Welfare Officer is the first point of contact for all club members regarding concerns about the welfare of any child or young person, liaises directly with the County FA Welfare Officer, and plays a proactive role in increasing awareness of Respect, poor practice and abuse among club members.

Bullying

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 and parents or carers should be able to tell, and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly. Incidents must be reported to the Club Welfare Officer; in cases of serious bullying the County FA Welfare Officer may be contacted. See our Anti-Bullying Policy.

Respect codes of conduct

Respect codes of conduct for players, parents and spectators, officials and coaches have been implemented by the club. To validate these codes the club has clear actions it will take regarding repeated or serious misconduct at club level, and acknowledges the possibility of sanctions by the County FA in more serious circumstances.

Reporting concerns about a child

Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. If you are worried about a child it is important that you report your concerns – no action is not an option.

If you are worried about a child, report your concerns to the Club Welfare Officer.
If the issue is one of poor practice, the Club Welfare Officer will either deal with the matter themselves or seek advice from the County FA Welfare Officer.
If the concern is more serious – possible child abuse – where possible contact the County FA Welfare Officer first, then immediately contact the Police or Children's Social Care.
If the child needs immediate medical treatment, take them to hospital or call an ambulance and tell them this is a child-protection concern. Let your Club Welfare Officer know what action you have taken.
If at any time you cannot contact your Club Welfare Officer, or the matter is clearly serious, contact your County FA Welfare Officer directly, The FA Safeguarding Team on 0800 169 1863 or Safeguarding@TheFA.com, the Police or Children's Social Care, or the NSPCC 24-hour Helpline on 0808 800 5000 (text 88858, email help@nspcc.org.uk).

Club contacts

Club Welfare Officers: Hannah Martin and Caroline Moyses – 07531 258557 and 07845 309192, welfarefcyfc@gmail.com. Cornwall FA: 01208 262989, cornwallfa.com.

Based on The FA's Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures club template (TheFA.com/football-rules-governance/safeguarding). "Let's make football safe – not sorry."