1. Birmingham WLV 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 (The FA) Safeguarding Children – Policy and Procedures and endorse and adopt the Policy Statement contained in that document.
2. 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/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. Birmingham WLV recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.
3. We endorse and adopt The FA’s Responsible Recruitment guidelines for recruiting volunteers and we will:
- specify what the role is and what tasks it involves
- request identification documents
- as a minimum meet and chat with the applicant(s) and where possible interview people before appointing them
- ask for and follow up with 2 references before appointing someone
- where eligible require an FA accepted Enhanced Criminal Record Check (CRC) with Barring List Check in line with current FA policy and regulations.
All current Birmingham WLV 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 as part of responsible recruitment practice.
If there are concerns regarding the appropriateness of an individual who is already involved or who has approached us to become part of Birmingham WLV 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 CRC Process and that all suitability decisions will be made in accordance with legislation and 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. Birmingham WLV supports The FA’s Whistle Blowing Policy. Any adult or young person with concerns about a adult in a position of trust with 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 alternatively by going direct to the Police, Children’s Social Care or the NSPCC. Birmingham WLV encourages everyone to know about The FA’s Whistle
6. Birmingham WLV has appointed a Club Welfare Officer in line with The FA’s role profile and required completion of the Safeguarding Children and Welfare Officers Workshop. The post holder will be involved with Welfare Officer training provided by The FA and/or County FA. 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. The Club Welfare Officer will liaise directly with the County FA (CFA) Welfare Officer and will be familiar with the procedures for referring any concerns. They will also play a proactive role in increasing awareness of Respect, 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 or parents/carers should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly. Incidents need to be reported to the Club Welfare Officer in cases of serious bullying the CFA Welfare Officer may be contacted.
8. Reporting your concerns about the welfare of a child or young person.
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 then you need to 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 CFA Welfare Officer.
- If the concern is more serious – possible child abuse, where possible, contact the CFA Welfare Officer first, then immediately contact the Police or Children’s Social Care.
- If the child needs immediate medical treatment take them to a 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, they in turn will inform the CFA Welfare Officer.
- If at any time you are not able to contact your Club Welfare Officer or the matter is clearly serious then you can either:
- contact your CFA Welfare Officer directly
- contact The FA Safeguarding Team on 0800 169 1863 or Safeguarding@TheFA.com
- contact the Police or Children’s Social Care
- call the NSPCC 24 hour Helpline for advice on 0808 800 5000 or text 88858 or email help@nspcc.org.uk
