Child Protection Policy  

 

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INTER MACC Junior Football Club – Child Protection Policy

INTER MACC Junior 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 child protection and best
practice policy and procedures and endorse and adopt the policy
statement contained in that document.

The key principles of The FA Child Protection 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 or 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.  Inter Macc Junior Football Club recognises that this
is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.

Inter Macc Junior 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 child protection regulation (see The FA Handbook)
applies 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.

We endorse and adopt The FA’s Child Protection and Best
Practice Guidelines for Recruiting Volunteers 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

  • Request and follow up with two references before appointing
  • Require an FA CRB Unit Enhanced  Disclosure where

    • appropriate in line with FA guidelines

All current Inter Macc Junior Football Club members with direct
access to 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 Inter Macc Junior 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 CRB 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.

Inter Macc Junior 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 Child
Protection Manager on 0207 745 4771, by writing to The FA
Case Manager at The Football Association, 25 Soho Square,
London W1D 4FA or by going direct to the police, social
services or the NSPCC. Inter Macc Junior Football Club
encourages everyone to know about it and utilise it if necessary.

Inter Macc Junior Football Club has appointed a Club Welfare
Officer (CWO) in line with The FA’s role profile and required
completion of the child protection and best practice workshop.
The post holder will be involved with designated person’s
training provided by The FA. 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 CFA 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.

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, parents or
guardians should be able to tell and know that incidents will
be dealt with promptly. Incidents need to be reported to the
CWO, a member of the committee or, in cases of serious
bullying contact the CFA CPO.

A Code of Conduct for players, parents or spectators, officials
and coaches has been implemented by Inter Macc Junior
Football Club. In order to validate this Code 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 leagues or the CFA in more
serious circumstances. All prospective members will be
informed of these codes.

Further advice on child protection matters can be obtained from:

  • The County Football Association’s Child Protection Officer,

    • whose details can be found in the County Handbook

  • The Football Association/NSPCC Child Protection 24-Hour

    • Helpline 0808 800 5000