━ Safeguarding Policy
Safeguarding Policy overview
Dalton Dynamoes 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.
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. Dalton Dynamoes Football Club recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.
Dalton Dynamoes 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.
All adults involved in Dalton Dynamoes has a duty of care of every child and young person who attends. This means whether you are a volunteer, match official, helper on club tours, football coach, club official or parent.
Recruitment
Recruitment and appointing a new coach or member of the committee is endorsed by 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
- 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 Dalton Dynamoes Football Club 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.
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.
the welfare officer for dalton dynamoes
Dalton Dynamoes 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 Welfare Officer for Dalton Dynamoes is Helen Stocks.
Helen has been trained in Welfare Officer training provided by The FA and/or County FA and has completed training on Safeguarding in Junior football. 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.
The welfare officer is responsible for carrying out the CRC checks on potential new coaches and to liaise with the safeguarding officer at the local County FA.
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.
reporting concerns
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.
Important contact details
Helen Stocks – 07384422306 helencheeseman1972@sky.com
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 –Paul Ratcliffe –or
Tel: 0113 282 1222 | Mob: 07912 309565 paul.ratcliffe@westridingfa.com
- Contact The FA Safeguarding Team on 0800 169 1863 or Safeguarding@TheFA.com
- Contact the Police or Kirklees Children’s Social Care Services – 01484 414933
- Call the NSPCC 24-hour Helpline for advice on 0808 800 5000 or text 88858 or email help@nspcc.org.uk
Whistleblowing
Whistleblowing is an important aspect of safeguarding where staff and volunteers are encouraged to share genuine concerns about an individual or organisations behaviour. The behaviour may not be child abuse but they may not be following Dalton Dynamoes code of conduct or could be pushing the boundaries beyond normal limits.
Whistleblowing is very different from a complaint or a grievance. The term whistleblowing generally applies when you are acting as a witness to misconduct that you have seen and that threatens other people or children. The concern may relate to something that is happening now, has happened in the past or that you think could happen in the future.
It is our intention that all staff and participants of the game feel confident about coming forward and reporting any issues/concerns that they may have regarding the areas below, whilst remaining protected from any subsequent discrimination.
Whistleblowing means going above the Club secretary, Chair and welfare officer, going directly to the lead designated Safeguarding Officers at WRCFA, or even directly to the FA.
The incident will be investigated by WRCFA CEO (Hannah Simpson) or Barry Chaplin (Chairman and Safeguarding Board Champion)
Hannah Simpson (CEO) West Riding County FA Fleet Lane LS268NX
Email: Hannah.simpson@westridingfa.com Tel: 0113 2821222
Barry Chaplin C/O West Riding County FA Fleet Lane LS268NX
Email: barrycasfa@aol.com Tel: 07980957287
Useful Links for parents and carers
Remember, everyone has a duty of care to protect children and young people and to report any incidents, no matter how unsure you are, to help protect the children and young people at Dalton Dynamoes.
https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/safeguarding/section-8-parents-and-carers