SAFEGUARDING
Guidance, advice, policy, procedures and regulations to help safeguard everyone involved in Birmingham schools' football.
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Birmingham Primary Schools’ Football Association 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 Association football activity. We subscribe to The Football Association’s (The FA) Safeguarding Children – Policy and Procedures and endorse and adopt the Policy Statement contained in that document.
The key principles of The FA Safeguarding Children Policy are that:
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The child’s/young person’s welfare is, and must always be, the paramount consideration
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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
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All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately
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Working in partnership with other organisations, children and young people and their parents/carers is essential.
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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.
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This Association recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in the Association.
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We endorse and adopt The FA’s Responsible Recruitment guidelines for recruiting volunteers and we will:
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Specify what the role is and what tasks it involves
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Request identification documents, if appropriate.
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As a minimum meet and chat with the applicant(s) and where possible interview people before appointing them
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Ask for and follow up with 2 references before appointing someone, if appropriate.
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Require an FA DBS Enhanced Disclosure where appropriate in line with ESFA policy.
DBS ENHANCED DISCLOSURE
All current Birmingham Primary Schools’ Football Association members who are regularly caring for, supervising, training or being in sole charge of children and young people will be required to complete a DBS Enhanced Disclosure.
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If there are concerns regarding the appropriateness of an individual who is already involved or who has approached us to become part of this Schools’ Football Association, guidance will be sought from ESFA Welfare Officers and The FA.
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It is noted and accepted that The FA will consider the relevance and significance of the information obtained via The FA DBS Unit Enhanced Disclosure and that all decisions will be made in the best interests of children and young people.
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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 minimize the risk of grooming’ within football.
BPSFA CHILD WELFARE OFFICERS
Birmingham Primary Schools’ Football Association has appointed Child Welfare Officers 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 training provided by the FA/ESFA and/or County FA.
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BPSFA Child Welfare Officers are the first point of contact for all children, parents, coached and friends who have concerns about the welfare of any child.
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The Child Welfare Officers will liaise directly with the ESFA Welfare Officer and will be familiar with the procedures for referring any concerns. They will also play a pro-active role in increasing awareness of respect, poor practice and abuse amongst BPSFA stakeholders.
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For more information on BPSFA's ethos, culture and policies, please head to the club handbook.
CODE OF CONDUCT
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NON-NEGOTIABLE - All adults and players are reminded about the need to follow the BPSFA Code of Conduct. Failure to do so will result in the adult or child being banned from district football.
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BE RESPECTFUL - Adults must not enter the field of play. Adults and players must not question the referee. Adults and players must not shout at or be aggressive towards others. Adults must not coach from the side line. Adults should watch from the side line in a calm manner and remember at all times - we are dealing with 9, 10 and 11 year old children. They do not need to be in the presence of aggressive adults - it is totally unnecessary!
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STAY AWAY - Adults who cannot control their temper or who lose sight of the fact that this is children's football should stay away from school / district football. The coaches, players and officials do not want to listen to you shout, moan and bark orders from the side line. Please relax and enjoy the game!
Children
Volunteers
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Those who play schools' / district football are children. In most cases, they are aged 9 to 11. They WILL NOT play better, improve or enjoy the beautiful game more with a bunch of angry adults screaming and shouting at them! Adults should stand on the side line, relax, chat to friends, and cheer when a goal is scored, even if it's for the other team!
The coaches are volunteers. They are not paid for their work. They give up their time freely for the good of Birmingham's children. In return, we ask for nothing for our volunteers other than respect. Without the coaches, your child will not be able to play school's / district football. Please do not scare them away!
The referees who officiate schools' / district football are good people. They are humans. They referee for the enjoyment of the game. They must not be questioned, harassed or intimidated. Adults and children who are disrespectful towards match officials will be banned from school's / district football.
KEY DOCUMENTS
BPSFA Child Protection Policy
Boys' district football risk assessment
Girls' district football risk assessment
REPORT A CONCERN
Report a safeguarding concern to a Birmingham Primary Schools' FA child welfare officer.
OTHER SAFEGUARDING INFORMATION
Further documents relating to the safeguarding of children can be downloaded from the ESFA web site- www.esfa.co.uk – click on ‘Resources’ and then ‘Child Welfare’.
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We acknowledge and endorse The FA’s identification of bullying as a category of abuse.
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Bullying of any kind is not acceptable at our Association. 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 a Child Welfare Officer and in cases of serious bullying the ESFA Child Welfare Officer may be contacted.
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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 a BPSFA Child Welfare Officer.
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If a concern is more serious – possible child abuse, where possible, contact the ESFA Child Welfare Officer first, then immediately contact the Police or Children’s Social Care.
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If at any time you are not able to contact a BPSFA Child Welfare Officer or the matter is clearly serious then you can either:
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• contact your ESFA Child Welfare Officer directly
• contact the Police or Children’s Social Care
• call the NSPCC 24 hour Helpline for advice on 0808 800 5000 or text 88858 or email help@nspcc.org.uk
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The FA’s Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures are available via www.TheFA.com/Footballsafe – click on the ‘downloads’ under Policy and Procedures. The policy outlines in detail what to do if you are concerned about the welfare of a child and includes flow diagrams which describe this process. How to make a referral is also covered in the Safeguarding Children workshop. For more information on this workshop contact your ESFA Child Welfare Officer.
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Further advice on FA Safeguarding Children matters can be obtained from ESFA Child Welfare Officers:
Sarah DaCosta
Contact Tel 07960500723
Email sarah.dacosta@schoolsfa.com
or
Martin Duffield
Contact Tel 07852276416 or 01384242526