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’s important that you report your concerns – no action is not an option. If you are worried about a child, 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
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.

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 FA Safeguarding Team on 0800 169 1863 or Safeguarding@TheFA.com
contact the Police or Children’s Social Care
Call the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 Monday – Friday 10:00 – 16:00 or text 88858 or email help@nspcc.org.uk
The FA’s Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures are available at https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/safeguarding – here you will find a tab for reporting concerns –
https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/safeguarding/section-2-reporting-concerns

The document outlines in detail what to do if you are concerned about the welfare of a child.

Bideford AFC's Welfare Officer
James Guilfoyle
Mobile: 07974010411
Email: enquiries@bidefordafc.com

County Football Association’s Welfare Officer
Lorraine Tilley, Designated Safeguarding Officer
01626 323566
lorraine.tilley@devonfa.com
safeguarding@devonfa.com

The FA Safeguarding Children general enquiry line is 0845 210 8080
Email: Safeguarding@TheFA.com

Click the link for Bideford AFC's Club Safeguarding Children Policy