We place the safeguarding and welfare of young people high on our agenda and recently appointed a County Welfare Officer, Helen Hever, based at the County Office in Springfield, and she can be contacted on (01245) 393098 or via E-Mail at helen.hever@essexfa.com
“The verbal abuse of players from players and coaching staff has got to stop” - Spectator
“I just want to play and enjoy the game without the crowd having a go” - Player
It’s important to remember that every child or young person, defined as any person under the age of 18, who plays or participates in football should be able to take part in an enjoyable and safe environment and be protected from abuse. This is the responsibility of every adult involved in football, thus every club is required to endorse and adhere to The Football Association’s Safeguarding Children Policy.
At the beginning of this season, all clubs needed to name a Club Welfare Officer (CWO). These people, who are Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checked, will be able to advise you of any concerns you may have regarding young people. They will have, or will be, attending a Safeguarding Children Course enabling them to be able to deal with welfare issues. The details of your club’s CWO should be available in your club material.
As well as a CWO, the league also has a League Welfare Officer. The FA only uses checks called 'Enhanced Disclosures', which are conducted on an individual to make sure they do not have any convictions which might mean they are not safe to work with young people.
All those involved in the welfare aspect, will be working hard to provide the best possible environment for young people to participate in football. If you have any concerns regarding the welfare of a young person/s, you should contact the relevant party, and should your concern be of an urgent and immediate nature, the telephone numbers listed will assist you.
If you are in a welfare role, you can also attend the Welfare Officer Workshop. This course builds on the Safeguarding Children Course and is directed specifically towards the Welfare Officers, whereas the Safeguarding Children is attended by referees, coaches etc. Do you need to complete either of these workshops? If so, information can be found via the ‘Development’ link above then clicking on 'Courses'.
‘A Guide for Parents and Carers’ has been issued in CD format to the Welfare Officers of every youth football club in Essex. For further details on the guide, please visit www.thefa.com/respect.
Emergency Contacts
NSPCC - (0808) 800 5000
Local Safeguarding Children - (Outside Office Hours): (0845) 606 1212
Childline - (0800) 11 11
Police - 999
If you are IMMEDIATELY concerned about a child’s welfare, contact the Police or Social Services on (0845) 603 7634 (during office hours) or (0845) 606 1212 (outside office hours)
Important: The Football Association currently have affiliation criteria for all clubs with youth teams to have a named Club Welfare Officer and the re-registration process at the ECFA is due to get underway in May. Therefore it is essential that clubs take the opportunity to review their Welfare Officer’s status following updates that attendance at a Welfare Officers Workshop is also a necessity before attempting to register for the 2010/11 season.
There are three prongs to the criteria. Officers must have an accepted, enhanced FA CRB check and should have attended an FA Safeguarding Children Workshop (formerly known as ‘Child Protection and Best Practice’) as well as an FA Welfare Officer Workshop. Current CWOs will already comply with the first two of these but clubs who changed theirs during the season need to check to ensure they now meet all three. We appreciate the extra lengths a club will need to go to in order to affiliate this season as compared with 2009/10, but believes this year’s review will be of real benefit.
Demand for Safeguarding Children and Welfare Officer Workshops will increase approaching the closure of the affiliation window, so to guarantee a place on a convenient workshop it is advisable to book as soon as possible by contacting Glenn Moss on (01245) 393093 or via E-Mail at glenn.moss@essexfa.com. Further information regarding the role of a Club Welfare Officer can be found at www.thefa.com.
Breaking News (15/6/10): As anticipated, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that registration with the Vetting and Barring Scheme, initially due to begin in July, is to be put on hold. There will be a review of the entire scheme, with a "scaling back" to "common-sense levels", likely to follow. We do not currently know what this means.
The scheme was a reaction to the murders of two schoolgirls by school caretaker Ian Huntley in Soham in 2002. The Independent Safeguarding Authority, which was set to run this database, will continue to make decisions about barring inappropriate people from jobs and maintain the separate lists of people barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.
Existing requirements for criminal record checks will continue to apply. FA policy is for clubs to have a Welfare Officer, meeting FA requirements of an accepted FA CRB check and with Safeguarding Children and Welfare Officer Workshops completed.
NB Premier and Football League clubs do not complete the Welfare Officer workshop as this is for grassroots clubs. PL and FL Clubs attend the appropriate, equivalent, tailored training through the Leagues. The roll out of CRB checks for those who are working in roles with children e.g. coaches, managers, welfare officers, referees, first aiders and people who drive on behalf of the club, should continue. The priority is for those who have not yet had a check to complete one.
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