Chipping Sodbury Town 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 Football Club activity.

The club subscribes to The Football Association’s Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures and endorses and adopts the policy statement contained in that document.

The key principles of The Football Association’s 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, 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 and carers is essential.

Chipping Sodbury Town FC acknowledges 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. Chipping Sodbury Town FC recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in the Club.

Chipping Sodbury Town FC 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 Policy and Procedures apply 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.

Chipping Sodbury Town FC endorses The Football Association’s guidelines for recruiting volunteers and staff 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.
• Require a Football Association CRB Unit Enhanced Disclosure, where appropriate, in line with the Football Association guidelines.

All current Chipping Sodbury Town FC members with direct access to children and young people will be required to complete a CRB Enhanced Disclosure via The Football Association 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 Chipping Sodbury Town FC guidance will be sought from The Football Association. It is noted and accepted that The Football Association will consider the relevance and significance of the information obtained via The Football Association 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 Football Association 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.

Chipping Sodbury Town FC supports the Football Association’s “whistle-blowing” policy.

Any adult or young person with concerns about a colleague can “whistle-blow” by:

• Telephoning The Football Association Case Management Team on 0207 745 4590.
• Writing to The Football Association Case Management Team at: The Football Association, 25 Soho Square, London, W1D 4FA
• Or by going direct to the police, social services or the NSPCC.

Chipping Sodbury Town FC encourages everyone to know about it and utilise it if necessary.

Chipping Sodbury Town FC has appointed a Child Welfare Officer (CWO) in line with The Football

Association’s role profile and required completion of the Safeguarding Children Workshop.

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 Sussex FA’s Child Protection Officer (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.

The Chipping Sodbury Town FC Welfare Officers are Ben Rhodes and Andy Newell.

Chipping Sodbury Town Youth FC acknowledges and endorses The Football Association’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 Club CWO, a member of the committee or, in cases of serious bullying, the Gloucestershire County Football Association’s CWO.

Respect codes of conduct for players, parents or spectators, officials and coaches have been implemented by Chipping Sodbury Town Youth FC and are available on the Chipping Sodbury Town FC website.

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 the Gloucestershire County Football Association in more serious circumstances. All prospective members will be informed of these codes.

Further advice on child protection matters can be obtained from:

• The Gloucestershire County Football Association’s Child Protection Officer: Laura Faulkner@gloucestershirefa.com.
• The Football Association / NSPCC 24-hour Helpline: 0808 800 5000.
• The Football Association “Report Your Concerns” webpage.