1. Kingston Village 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. Kingston Village Football Club recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.
3. Kingston Village 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. Require an FA CRB Unit Enhanced
Disclosure where appropriate in line with
FA guidelines.
All current Kingston Village 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
Kingston Village 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. Kingston Village 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. Kingston Villagr Football
Club encourages everyone to know about it
and utilise it if necessary.
6. Kingston Village 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 Kingston Village
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
iii.24-Hour Helpline 0808 800 5000
iv. www.TheFA.com/Goal
v. The FA child protection team on
0207 745 4649.