As a club we acknowledge responsibility for the safeguard and welfare of every child and young person who is entrusted to our care and committed to providing a safe environment.

A child or young person is under the age of 18 engaged in club activities.

We subscribe to The Football Associations child protection and best practise policy and procedures
Key principles of The FA Child Protection Policy are that:
The childs 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 within the club should be able to take part in an enjoyable and safe environment and be protected from poor practice and abuse. Our club recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult in the club.

Our safeguards for protecting children and young people include physical, sexual or emotional harm from neglect or bullying.

The Football Associations child protection regulation (see The FA Handbook) applies to everyone in football whether it is paid or voluntary.

We endorse and adopt The FAs Child Protection and Best Practise 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;
Require an FA CRB Unit Enhanced Disclosure where appropriate in line with FA guidelines.

All current 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 any concerns regarding individuals who are involved or approach us to be involved in the club, guidance will be sought from The Football Association. 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 practise 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.

As a club we support The FAs 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. We encourage everyone to know about it and utilise it if necessary.

We have an appointed Club Welfare Officer in line with The FAs role profile and required completion of the child protection and best practice workshop. The Welfare Officer is the first point of contact for members, parents/guardians regarding concerns for the welfare of any child or young person. They will liaise directly with the County FA Child Protection Officer if necessary.

We acknowledge and endorse The FAs identification of bullying as a category of abuse, please see our Anti Bullying Policy.