Child protection
All clubs should put in place child protection and welfare
policies, which protect children and promote a safe and friendly
club environment. Parents should check which protection measures
are in place when deciding which club they would like their child
to join.
Child Protection in Sport Unit
The Child Protection in Sport Unit was founded in 2001 to
co-ordinate and support sports organisations' implementation of the
2000 National Action Plan for Child Protection in Sport. The CPSU's
mission is to safeguard the welfare of children and young people
under 18 in sport and to promote their well-being.
The
CPSU website provides information to clubs about
developing child protection policies, including guidelines covering
staffing ratios, changing room use, injuries and illness,
collection by parents/carers, discipline, physical contact, sexual
activity and people with disabilities. The information also covers
planning for events and fixtures, photography and the use of
photographic images and standards for safeguarding and protecting
children in sport. The CPSU also gives a 'club safety check' which
suggests the questions parents and carers should ask when joining a
club.
Criminal Records
Bureau (CRB)
Any organisation including a sports club can and should set
up systems and guidance on how to recruit, check and vet volunteers
and paid staff. This means that clubs need to check the identity of
volunteers and paid staff, where they live, what qualifications and
experience they have and whether they have any convictions for
violent or sexual offences and for offences against children. Clubs
should keep up-to-date records of both volunteers and paid
staff.
The Home Office has recognised the need to safeguard the welfare
of children and or other vulnerable members of the community and
has established the Criminal Records Bureau which helps
organisations make safer recruitment decisions by providing
background checks on individuals on completion of an application
form.
Most national governing bodies (NGBs) of sport are registered
with the CRB and are accepted as a registered bodies, and so are
usually able to process forms for members of affiliated clubs. The
check is free of charge for volunteers but the organisation that
processes the check may charge an administration fee.
As a registered body with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) the council can carry out criminal records checks on behalf of non-registered organisations – this is called an umbrella service.
Each NGB has a different policy on CRB checks, so it is best to check with the NGB of your sport or the national or regional sporting body you are affiliated with before embarking on the checking procedure.
Launch of the updated Yellow Book - 23 January
2008
Book a place on one of our launch events and find out about
the new child protection policy and procedures for all
organisations who work with Ealing's children and young people.