1. AFC PLYMPTON 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 (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:
   1. • 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.
   2. 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.
   3. AFC PLYMPTON Football Club recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.
3. AFC PLYMPTON 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.
4. We endorse and adopt The FA’s Responsible Recruitment guidelines for recruiting volunteers and we will:
   1. • 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
      • Require an FA CRB Unit Enhanced Disclosure where appropriate in line with FA guidelines.
   2. All current  AFC PLYMPTON Football Club members who are regularly caring for, supervising, training or being in sole charge of 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 AFC PLYMPTON 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 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. AFC PLYMPTON 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 Safeguarding Team on 0207 745 4787, by writing to The FA Case Manager at The Football Association, 25 Soho Square, W1D 4FA or alternatively by going direct to the Police, Children’s Services or the NSPCC. AFC PLYMPTON Football Club encourages everyone to know about it and utilise it if necessary.
6. AFC PLYMPTON Football Club 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. Respect codes of conduct for Players, Parents/ Spectators, Officials and Coaches have been implemented by AFC PLYMPTON 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. All registering members will be required to adopt the Respect codes.
9. 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.
   1. If you are worried about a child then you need to report your concerns to the Club Welfare Officer.
   2. 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
   3. 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 Services
   4. 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.
   5. 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 Police or Children’s Services
      • call The FA/NSPCC 24 hour Helpline for advice on 0808 800 5000 or Deaf users text phone 0800 056 0566
   6. NB – The FA’s Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures are available via www.TheFA.com/Footballsafe – click on the ‘downloads’ under Policy and Procedures. The policy outlines in detail what to do if you are concerned about the welfare of a child and includes flow diagrams which describe this process. How to make a referral is also covered in the Safeguarding Children workshop. Participants are given the opportunity to discuss how this feels and how best they can prepare themselves to deal with such a situation.
10. Further advice on Safeguarding Children matters can be obtained from:
    1. AFC PLYMPTON Football Club Welfare Officer please check Club website for details http://www.afcplympton.com/
    2. County Football Association’s Welfare Officer: Matthew Hodgson. Tel: 01626 325919. Email: matthew.hodgson@devonfa.com.
    3. www.TheFA.com/Footballsafe
    4. Emailing: footballsafe@TheFA.com
    5. The FA Safeguarding Children general enquiry line 0845 210 8080

 
Parents – to shout or not to shout?
Is it always good for parents to shout from the touchline at a football game? And how does their involvement affect their child? Kids Coach Naomi Richards takes a look. When it comes to children playing football it certainly requires lots of commitment and energy from the parents. Most parents love watching their children play and can become incredibly passionate about the games, almost as if they were the ones that were playing themselves. The majority of parents are happy to watch at practice and at games and talk amongst their friends and other parents. It can be a great opportunity to catch up. Other parents like to be more involved and shout words of encouragement from the sidelines. They may also shout words of advice on what their child needs to do next: who they should pass to, what they should look out for. It’s lovely to hear parents being encouraging but the giving advice could probably be held back on and here is the rationale as to why. There are some children who just want to get on and play the game in their own way. They want to make their own decisions and want to work out what they should be doing next, whether they act on impulse or make an informed decision – possibly through the use of the coach – of when to tackle, who to pass to etc.. Decision making is an essential part of growing up and with it brings responsibility and a healthy self-esteem. For most, if not all parents, this is what we want for our children – to think on their feet and be responsible for their actions. It can also be quite embarrassing for a child when their parent is the only one shouting instructions to them from the side lines and children generally want to feel like they fit in and not stand out. No child likes an embarrassing parent! When it comes to shouting praise, it might feel like the natural thing to do and getting praise on the field – “well done”, “good pass” – should feel good for any young player, but it might not always be the best thing for your child. Some parents might encourage actions on the pitch that the coach is trying to avoid, such as shouting “‘great clearance” when the coach is trying to encourage kids to pass the ball out from defence or try something a bit more creative. If a child hears both the coach and the parent shouting, they could be confused as to what they should be doing and possibly panic. The coach is there to support and guide and it is much easier for the child to hear one voice rather than two he recognises. Parental support is crucial for any child who wants to play football but, when it comes to shouting from the sidelines, think before you speak and consider whether shouting out is the best way to support your child at that time.