SAFEGUARDING
ARE YOU ONSIDE?
We all have a responsibility to ensure that everyone involved in football finds it to be a fun, safe and positive experience.
The West Glamorgan Football League is committed to safeguarding all children and club staff, we want people to have a fun, enjoyable and positive experience, and safeguarding is vital to this. Everybody involved in Welsh football has a responsibility towards safeguarding, and welfare of the child is the paramount consideration!
As per the Club Accreditation Regulations all clubs must have a Club Safeguarding Officer who has completed the FAW Safeguarding Award. In addition, in order to meet the standard level required for entry into our league, there must be at least one individual per team who holds a FAW Football Leaders Award and a FAW First Aid Award.
We would also encourage coaches to complete the FAW Safeguarding Award as a means of best practice.
REMEMBER: It is not your responsibility to determine if abuse has taken place, but it is your responsibility to report it!
RESPOND, RECORD, REPORT! If you are concerned about the immediate safety of a child, please contact the Police on 999
Designated Safeguarding Officer
The Leagues Designated Safeguarding Officer is Wyn Davies.
It is our policy to ensure that the responsibilities of this role are:
1. To be clear about ALL clubs responsibilities when running activities for children and
young people.
This involves:
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ensuring these responsibilities are well understood and carried out by others
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working with the relevant safety officers of each affiliated club
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working with the West Wales FA to ensure standards are met
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promoting the FAW’s Respect Programme and helping to develop best practice processes
2. To help club personnel understand what their ‘duty of care’ towards children and young people actually means and entails on a day-to-day basis by following these steps:
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Put in place:
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a safeguarding children policy, anti-bullying policy and equality policy
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responsible recruitment processes including auditing FAW DBS checks (getting the right people into the game)
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The FAW Respect Programme codes of conduct
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Understand:
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what the Programme aims to do
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the benefits of implementing Respect codes
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the quick wins to be gained by using the FAW's safeguarding children best practice guidance
(e.g. Travel, Trips and Tournaments, Photography guidelines, Anti-bullying Policy and Safeguarding Children Policy Template) -
why certain roles require an DBS check and how the DBS process works
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how to refer a concern about the welfare of a child
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Communicate with:
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club officials about the Programme and its aims
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parents/spectators and get them to sign up to the relevant campaigns
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parents and new players by getting involved with running ‘start of season’ welcome sessions for members
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coaches and managers about the importance of being consistent role models for their players
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Encourage:
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parents to complete the FAW Respect education programme
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coaches, team managers, first aiders/medics to complete The FAW’s Safeguarding Children Workshop
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coaches and team managers to listen to their players thoughts, ideas and views
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clubs and committees to be ambassadors for mentoring positive attitude towards players, officials and other spectators.
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Monitor:
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repeated incidents of poor behaviour and liaise with the league committee (and where necessary invoke disciplinary action)
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compliance with FAW DBS checks through COMET
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FAW FAIR PLAY CODE - Download the file here.
KNOW YOUR STUFF - Download the file here.
