Queens Park Football Club Child Protection Policy
1 Queen Park 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 endorseand adopt the policy statement contained in that document.
2 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.
Queens Park Football Club recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.
3 Queens Park 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 Queens Park 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 Queens Park 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 Queens Park 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 club Welfare Officer.
6. Queens Park 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 Queens Park 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:
• 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
Queens Park Football Club Welfare Officer
The FA’s three-part policy is straightforward:
Every club with youth teams should:
1. Appoint a Club Welfare Officer to lead on safeguarding
children matters for the club.
2. Ensure that anyone working in a role with children, completes an FA Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check as part of
responsible recruitment practice
– and then be approved to work in football.
3. Ensure that anyone in coaching, refereeing, first-aid/physic and welfare roles, completes The FA’s specialist ‘Safeguarding
Children’ training programme, run by your County FA.
• The FA’s ‘Safeguarding Children’ training programme – so
everyone’s aware of the type of behaviour which gives
cause for concern and how to report it.
• FA CRB checks being carried out as part of a responsible
recruitment process. That way anyone who is a known risk can
be screened out.
Backed-up by legislation
The three-point approach is underpinned by government legislation and guidance on best practice when working with
children. But exactly who is affected by FA policy in this area, what do you need to do as a club secretary – and how do you get more information? These are all questions being asked
right now. This leaflet sets out the basic answers and seeks to reassure Everyone involved in football that CRB checks and relevant training is to be welcomed, not feared.
By way of reassurance
Understandably, people at your club affected by FA policy could wonder why they are being asked to complete a Criminal
Records Bureau check – we realise this is a sensitive area.
For example, as soon as you or your Welfare Officer informs someone they need to be CRB-checked, that person may be affronted by the implication that there may be something inappropriate or
Who is affected by this FA policy?
Anyone – paid or unpaid – in clubs with youth teams - working in a specific role with children or young people; that’s everyone aged 18 or under.
Examples of people who should have CRB checks in place and have completed the FA’s training programme are:
• welfare officers
• coaches
• managers
• first-aiders
• referees
As previously mentioned, 100,000 people working in football have already completed the CRB process. If you haven’t started, this leaflet outlines the steps your club or league should take to fully comply with FA policy.
Why is it so important?
Because football has a clear responsibility towards young people. Sadly, there have been some tragic cases of inappropriate people working with children, both in wider society and within football. Having an Enhanced FA CRB check is one
way to help to reduce the possibility of such cases
happening in the future. The intention is not to pry into people’s private lives or create loads of paperwork – it’s to ensure football is fun and safe. That’s something we all want. More importantly, it’s what all children and young people deserve. This FA policy has also been embedded in our guidance on responsible recruitment practices.
Where does it apply?
Geographically, throughout England. It covers any football activity involving children and young people – whether in games, training or other club events. This covers mini-soccer (under 10s), junior football (under 16s) and youth football (under 18s), whether affiliated or unaffiliated. The intention of this FA policy and government legislation is to help provide as safe a framework as possible around children and young people. It will also reassure parents and carers, that anyone who is a known risk will be screened out from working with the younger members of our society.
When should I take action?
Now!
Clearly it may take a little time to process CRB-checks for everyone who is eligible in your club, so our advice is to appoint a Welfare Officer to your club as soon as possible, and then ensure they get the relevant training from your County FA.
The Welfare Officer can then ensure all other relevant personscomplete The FA CRB process. We will also give them online access so they can keep up to date with club members’ progress with through the CRB-checking process and our specialist training. For more information on recruitment guidelines, go to
www.TheFA.com/footballsafe This will reassure parents and
carers, that anyone who is a known risk will be screened out from working with children and young people.
What are its main demands?
Primarily, that a CRB check must have been carried out on anyone – paid or unpaid – working with children or young people in the roles outlined above. As a result of the check, The FA will then make a decision whether to accept a person in to football or not. For more information on CRB checks and how The FA makes its decisions please visit www.TheFA.com/footballsafe/CRB and check out the FAQs. The responsibility for getting a check falls on two parties – the individual themselves, and the organisation providing the opportunity for the person to work e.g. a youth football club or league. Many clubs are already following this best practice and we’re alerting all clubs with youth teams now, so that if you haven’t already begun, then you can start the process by appointing a Welfare Officer. Once Welfare Officers are checked
and trained, part of their role will be to oversee the checking of other people in relevant roles. It is currently best practice to renew these checks every three years. The FA's policy on requiring these renewals is on hold, pending further clarity about the implications of new legislation
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