HARTLEPOOL ST FRANCIS club WELFARE OFFICER'S

Hartlepool St Francis 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. Hartlepool St Francis recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our

club.

Hartlepool St Francis 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

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 DBS Unit Enhanced Disclosure where appropriate in line with FA

guidelines.

All current Hartlepool St Francis members with direct access to children and young people will be

required to complete a DBS Enhanced Disclosure via The FA DBS Unit. 

If there are concerns regarding the appropriateness of an individual who is already involved or who has approached us to become part of St. Francis, 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 DBS Unit Enhanced DBS 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 minimize the risk of ‘grooming’ within football.

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  know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and may result in your being dismissed by the club.

Incidents need to be reported to the Club Welfare Officer, a member of the board (all listed above or, in cases of serious bullying contact the CFA CPO.

Hartlepool St Francis 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 

Hartlepool St Francis 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.

 Hartlepool St Francis Club Welfare Officers

Mr Trevor Robinson
07716023630

F.A Safeguarding team
0800 169 1863
Safeguarding@TheFA.com

Immediate concerns can be reported directly to the following

Hartlepool Police
01642 326326 or 101

Hartlepool Children’s Social Care services
01429 284284

The Child Protection in Sport Unit at cpsu@nspcc.org.uk

The NSPCC Helpline
0808 800 5000
help@nspcc.org.uk