Child Protection Policy

Aims and Objectives Bessacarr FC aims to:

Promote good practice by:

a) Providing children and young people with appropriate safety and protection whilst in the care of the football club.

b) Allowing all staff/volunteers to make informed and confident responses to specific child protection issues.

c) Ensuring that all coaches and volunteers attend the Child Protection workshop as part of the FA Level 1 Coaching Certificate course.

Promoting good practice with young people

All personnel will be encouraged to demonstrate exemplary behavior in order to protect themselves from false allegations. They should:

Ø      Always work in an open environment (e.g. avoiding private or unobserved situations)

Ø      Treat all young people equally, with respect and dignity

Ø      Put the welfare of each young person first, before winning or achieving goals

Ø      Maintaining a safe and appropriate distance with players

Ø      Build balanced relationships based on mutual trust which empowers children to share in the decision - making process

Ø      Promote fair play

Ø      Ensure that if any form of manual/physical support is required, it should be provided openly and according to guidelines provided by the Coach Education Program

Ø       Keep up to date with the technical skills, qualifications and insurance in the sport

Ø      Involve parents/carers wherever possible

Ø      Ensure that at tournaments or residential events, adults should not enter children's rooms or invite children into their rooms

Ø      Not smoke or drink alcohol in the company of young people

Ø      Give enthusiastic and constructive feedback rather than negative criticism

Ø      Avoid excessive training

Ø      Secure parental consent in writing to act in loco parentis, if the need arises to give permission for the administration of emergency first aid and/or other medical treatment

Ø      Request written parental consent if club officials are required to transport young people in their cars.

Practice to be avoided

The following should be avoided except in emergencies. If cases arise where these situations are unavoidable they should occur with the full knowledge of someone in charge of the club or the child's parents.

All personnel should:

• Avoid spending excessive amounts of time alone with children away from others
• Avoid taking children to their homes where they will be alone with the young people.

Practice never to be sanctioned

Personnel will never:

• Engage in rough, physical or sexually provocative games, including horseplay
• Share a room with a child
• Allow or engage in any form of inappropriate touching
• Allow children to use inappropriate language unchallenged
• Make sexually suggestive comments to a child, even in fun
• Reduce a child to tears as a form of control
• Allow allegations made by a child to go unchallenged or unrecorded
• Do things of a personal nature for children that they can do themselves
• Invite or allow children to stay with you at your home unsupervised

If any of the following occur it will be reported immediately to a colleague and recorded. The child's parents will be informed:

q       A child is accidentally hurt by a member of staff

q       A child seems distressed in any way

q       A player seems to be sexually aroused by a member of staffs actions

q       A player misunderstands or misinterprets an action.

Recruitment and selecting staff and volunteers

Bessacarr FC recognizes that anyone may have the potential to abuse children and will endeavour to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure unsuitable people are prevented from working with children. The following checks will be included:

v     All volunteers/staff will complete an application form and a self-disclosure about any criminal record

v     Consent will be obtained from an applicant to seek information from the Criminal Records Bureau

v     Two confidential references, including one regarding previous work with children, will be taken up

v     Applicants must provide the Club with proof of identity (passport or driving licence with photo).

Responding to suspicions or allegations

Bessacarr FC will assure all staff/volunteers that it will fully support and protect anyone, who in good faith reports his/her concern that a colleague may be abusing a child.

The following action will be taken if there are concerns:

Poor practice

• If, following consideration, the allegation is clearly about poor practice, the Club Child Protection Officer will deal with it as a misconduct issue
• If the allegation is about poor practice by the Child Protection Officer or if concerns remain, it will be reported to the relevant Officer of the FA who will decide how to deal with the allegation and whether or not to initiate disciplinary proceedings.
• Any suspicions that a child has been abused by either a member of staff or a volunteer should be reported to the Child Protection Officer, who will take such steps necessary as to ensure the safety of the child
• The parents of the child will be contacted as soon as possible following advice from the Social Services Department
• The Child Protection Officer will notify the FA officer
• If the Child Protection Officer is the subject of the allegation, the report must be made to the appropriate Manager.

Confidentiality

Every effort will be made to ensure that confidentiality is maintained for all concerned. Information will be handled and disseminated on a 'need to know basis' only. This will include the following people:

1)      The Child Protection Officer

2)      The parents of the person who is alleged to have been abused

3)      The person making the allegation

4)      Social Services/Police

5)      The FA Regional Development Manager and Child Protection Officer

6)      The alleged abuser(and parents if the alleged abuser is a child)'

7)      Information will be stored in a secure place with limited access to designated people, in line with data protection law.

Action if bullying is suspected

Bessacarr FC staff/volunteers will:

• Take all signs of bullying very seriously
• Encourage all children to speak and share their concerns with someone in authority
• Investigate all allegations and take action to ensure victim is safe. Speak with the victim and bullies separately.
• Reassure the victim that they will be helped
• Keep records of what is said
• Report any concerns to the Child Protection Officer
• Talk with the bully/ies, and aim to get the bully/ies to understand the consequences of the behaviour. Seek an apology to the victims.
• Inform the bully's parents.
• Provide support for the coach of the victim
• Encourage and support the bully to change behaviour
• Hold meetings with the families to report on progress.
• Inform all organisational members of action taken.
• Keep a written record.