Child Welfare

Child Welfare and Safeguarding

Histon Hornets FC Child Welfare Policy

Histon Hornets FC 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 Safeguarding Children - Policy and Procedures and endorse and adopt the Policy Statement contained in that document.

If you have any concerns you can talk confidentially with the club Child Welfare Officer

Further information is also available via the FA Safeguarding website.  www.TheFA.com/football-rules-governance/ safeguarding

Child Welfare Officers
The club has appointed three Club Welfare Officers (CWO) to provide multiple points of contact for all Club members regarding concerns about the welfare of any child or young person. The CWOs are Steven Carrington, Gaynor Hobbs and Caroline Lamont-Smith, whose details are provided at the end of this document. In addition to Child Safeguarding training, the CWOs have undertaken additional Welfare Officer training. The CWOs will liaise directly with the Cambridgeshire FA 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 their Club members.

The CWOs keep records of qualifications and checks of anyone in direct contact with children or young people, and ensure all volunteers are kept informed of expiry dates of qualifications so they can be renewed in a timely fashion.

Any child, young person or parent who has child welfare concerns and feels they are unable to speak to one of their coaches about it should contact one of our CWOs directly.

Coaches’ and Managers’ qualifications
The club follows all FA guidelines as regards qualifications of coaches who interact directly with children and young people.

In particular, the club follows the following rules to ensure child welfare is paramount at all times:
  1. Each team has a named Coach/Manager who is qualified as a Level 1 FA Coach and has up-to-date FA First Aid qualification, FA Child Safeguarding qualification and DBS check.
  2. Each team has a minimum of one assistant coach/manager who has up-to-date Child Safeguarding qualification and DBS check.
  3. All assistants will have a minimum of an up-to-date Child Safeguarding qualification and DBS check as a pre-requisite for working with children.
  4. At all matches and training sessions, there will always be a minimum of two qualified adults present, all of whom have an up-to-date Child Safeguarding qualification and DBS check, and at least one of whom has an up-to-date First Aid qualification and at least one of whom is an FA-qualified coach.
  5. If any of a team’s named Coaches/Managers or assistants cannot attend a match or training session, alternatives must be found with sufficient qualifications that point 4 (above) is still fulfilled. These alternative coaches or assistants must be registered members of Histon Hornets within the FA’s Whole Game System.

All adults involved with helping to coach a team must be DBS checked and Child Safeguarding qualified as a minimum (for example, if there is a third coach at a match/training session).

Young people between the ages of 16 and 18 who volunteer to assist on a regular basis must be DBS checked and Safeguarding qualified.

Parent volunteers who run the line, or who assist in preparing a pitch for match days, are not required to have DBS checks or undertake Child Safeguarding training.

These rules also apply to any other related activities such as social events.

Coaches should consider carefully placing themselves in potentially vulnerable situations - for example giving lifts to team members with no other adults in the car.

For all teams we aim to have at least one of the named coaches or assistants to be of the same sex as the players. This is not a strict requirement, but a preference.
 
Policy Key Features
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. Histon Hornets Football Club recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.

Histon Hornets 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 Safeguarding
Children Regulations (see The FA Handbook) applies to everyone in football whether in a
paid or voluntary capacity. This means whether you are a volunteer, match official, helper
on club tours, football coach, club official or medical staff.

Recruitment
We endorse and adopt The FA’s Responsible Recruitment guidelines for recruiting
volunteers and we will:
  • Clearly discuss and explain what the role is and what tasks it involves to any potential volunteer
  • Request identification documents
  • As a minimum, a member of the Histon Hornets Committee will meet and chat with the applicant(s) before accepting them as volunteers
  • Where the volunteer will be undertaking a regulated role, we will request that they apply for an FA accepted Enhanced Disclosures and Barring Service (DBS) check in line with current FA policy and regulations. If a volunteer refuses to submit an application, they will not be accepted into the Club.
Reporting concerns
If there are concerns regarding the appropriateness of an individual who is already involved, or who has approached us to become part of Histon Hornets 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 DBS 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.

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.
i. If you are worried about a child then you need to report your concerns to the Club Welfare Officer.
ii. 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 Safeguarding Office
iii. If the concern is more serious – such as possible child abuse, where possible, contact the CFA Welfare Officer first, then immediately contact the Police or Children’s Social Care.
iv. 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 Safeguarding Officer.
v. 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 Safeguarding 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

Whistle blowing
Histon Hornets Football Club supports The FA’s Whistle Blowing Policy. Any adult or young person with concerns about an adult in a position of trust with football can ‘whistle blow’ by contacting The FA Safeguarding Team:
  • Tel: 0800 169 1863,
  • Address: The FA Case Manager at The Football Association, Wembley Stadium, PO Box 1966, London SW1P 9EQ,
  • email: safeguarding@thefa.com

Alternatively anyone with concerns can go directly to the Police, Children’s Social Care or the NSPCC.

Histon Hornets Football Club encourages everyone to know about The FA’s Whistle Blowing Policy and to utilise it if necessary.

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 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 Safeguarding Officer may be contacted.

Respect Codes
Respect codes of conduct for players, parents/spectators, officials and coaches have been implemented by Histon Hornets Football Club. In order to validate these Respect codes of conduct the club has clear actions it will take regarding repeated or serious misconduct at club level and acknowledges the possibility of potential sanctions which may be implemented by the County FA in more serious circumstances.

Further information and Contacts
The FA’s Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures are available via www.theFA.com/football-rules-governance/safeguarding

Further advice on Safeguarding Children within the Histon Hornets can be obtained from one of the Club’s CWOs or the CFA Welfare Officer :

Steve Carrington (Histon Hornets Welfare Officer)
T: 07802 443859

Caroline Lamont Smith (Histon Hornets Assistant Welfare Officer)

Gaynor Hobbs (Histon Hornets Assistant Welfare Officer)

Diane Bradshaw (County FA Safeguarding Officer)
T: 01223 209021

NSPCC
T: 0808 800 5000 (24 hour helpline)

The above document was last reviewed in February 2023 and a copy can be found here.

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