1. Sheringham 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 and participants.
A child or young person is anyone under the age of 18 engaged in any club football activity.
We as a club subscribe to The Football Association’s (The FA) Safeguarding Children – Policy. and Procedures and endorse and adopt the Policy Statement contained in that document.

2. 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 partnerships 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 in football should be able to take part in an enjoyable and safe environment and be protected from poor practice and abuse. Sheringham Football Club recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.

3. Sheringham Football Club has a role to play in safeguarding the welfare of all children and young people by protecting them from physical, sexual and emotional harm and from neglect or bullying. It is noted and accepted that The FA’s Safeguarding Children’s Regulations (see FA handbook) applies to everyone in football whether in a paid or voluntary capacity. This means whether you are a volunteer, match official, helper on club tours, football coach or medical staff.

4. We endorse and adopt 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 someone
 Require an FA CRB Unit Enhanced Disclosure where appropriate in line with FA guidelines
All current Sheringham Football Club members who are regularly caring for, supervising, training or being in sole charge of 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 has approached us to become part of Sheringham Football Club, guidance will be sought from The FA. It is noted and accepted that The FA will consider the relevance and significance of the information obtained via The FA CRB Unit Enhanced 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.

5. Sheringham 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 Safeguarding Team on 0207 745 4787, by writing to The FA Case Manager at The football Association, 25 Soho Square, W1D 4FA or alternatively by going direct to the Police, Children’s Services or the NSPCC. Sheringham Football Club encourages everyone to know about it and utilise it if necessary.

6. Sheringham Football Club has appointed a Club Welfare Officer -Martin Hutchings in line with The FA’s role profile and required completion of the Safeguarding Children and Welfare Officers Workshop. The post holder will be involved with Welfare Officer training provided by The FA and/or County FA. 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.

7. 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.

8. RESPECT Codes of Conduct for Players, Parents/Spectators, Officials and Coaches have been implemented by Sheringham Football Club. In order to validate these RESPECT Codes of Conduct the club has clear actions it will take regarding repeated or serious misconduct at club level and acknowledges the possibility of potential sanctions which may be implemented by The County FA in more serious circumstances.

9. 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 WelfareOfficer.
 If the issue is one of poor practice, the Club Welfare Officer will either:
Deal with the matter themselves; or Seek advice from the County FA Welfare Officer
 If the concern is more serious – e.g. possible child abuse – contact will be made with the. County FA Welfare Officer first, then immediately contact the Police or Children’s Services
 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 County FA Welfare Officer.
 If at any time you are not able to contact you Club Welfare Officer or the matter is clearly serious then you can either:
Contact your County FA Welfare Officer
Contact the Police or Children’s Services
Call the FA/NSPCC 24 hour Helpline for advice on 0808 800 5000 or Deaf users text phone
0800 056 0566

10. Further advice on Safeguarding Children matters can be obtained from:
 Club Welfare Officer Martin Hutchings - 07917 202319 - Martin.huttch@gmail.com
 Norfolk County FA Welfare Officer Ken D’Rosario –email safeguarding@norfolkfa.com
 www.TheFA.com/footballsafe/Footballsafe@The FA.com
 The FA Safeguarding Children enquiry line : 084562108080