Safeguarding in Cambridgeshire
The Cambridgeshire FA offers a range of safeguarding services and training to help create a safe and enjoyable football experience for everyone.
We ensure safeguarding requirements are met as a requirement of club affiliation and we support clubs to maintain these standards. This includes making unannounced safeguarding visits to clubs.
DBS Checks in football
The FA's Policy
As part of our safeguarding children strategy, The FA requires those working in eligible* roles with children and young people to pass a criminal records check. This is in line with legislation and government guidance and is standard practice.
We provide the framework and guidance for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks in football and the leagues and clubs then have to implement this to ensure that those who are required to have checks done, do so.
The majority of checks are processed electronically, ensuring that people can be confirmed to work with children and young people swiftly. Where the check highlights relevant information, this is investigated further and a risk assessment is carried out to establish whether or not they will be accepted to work with children and young people in football.
Select the activity in which you have the most frequent contact with U18s from the table below and follow up with the relevant contact point:
| Your role in football | Action to take |
| Grassroots U18s coach, manager, first aider or any other club based eligible role | Speak to your club welfare officer |
| Club welfare officer, youth league welfare officer | Speak to Diane Bradshaw |
| Referee, referee mentor, referee coach, referee assessor and referee tutor in U18 football | Email - referees@cambridgeshirefa.com |
| Licensed coach applicant | Call 0845 210 8080 or email FAChecks@TheFA.com for advice |
| Working in a private soccer school or unaffiliated football | You may not be able to get an FA enhanced CRC - speak to your line manager or call 0845 210 8080 or email FAChecks@TheFA.com for advice |
| Working in a Premier League club | Contact the designated safeguarding officer at your Club. |
| Working in an English Football League Club | Contact the Designated Safeguarding Officer at your Club, or contact 0845 210 8080 or email FAChecks@TheFA.com for advice |
| Unsure what you should be doing | Call 0845 210 8080 or email FAChecks@TheFA.com for advice |
Safeguarding Adults
The Ann Craft Trust (ACT) is a leading safeguarding organisation. Funded by Sport England, ACT provides information, advice and guidance to the sport and activity sector.
This guide is designed to give an overview of your responsibilities towards safeguarding adults. It explains what safeguarding adults is, explores relevant legislation and guidance and links this to sport and activity settings.
For more in depth information see the Safeguarding Adults in Sport Resource Pack on www.anncrafttrust.org/safeguarding-adults-sport-activity
TO DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE CLICK HERE
Online Safeguarding for Committee Members
The FA have created a free online course for committee members in clubs with under 18 teams.
It is a requirement that Secretaries, Chairmen and Club Welfare Officers have completed this course.
Safeguarding re-certification
Cambridgeshire FA requires that everyone working with under 18s obtains a fresh Safeguarding Children every three years.
Re-certification can be done by completing the free online course which can be taken in the learner’s own time, at their own pace or by re-attending a safeguarding children workshop.
The online course is available to anyone who has an existing Safeguarding Children Workshop qualification or re-certification that is over two years old. You must have previously completed the 3 hour face-to-face ‘Safeguarding Children Workshop’ to take this course
It includes material on safer practice with under 18s, safer use of social media, safeguarding disabled children, listening to children, recognising and responding to poor practice and abuse and how and when to report safeguarding concerns.
For information on accessing the course click here
It'S EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY
If you feel that an adult connected to your league or club (e.g. a referee, coach or a volunteer) is mistreating someone under the age of 18, there are various confidential ways you can report this.
By ‘mistreating’, we mean behaving towards under-18s in a physical or verbal way you believe is threatening or makes the young person feel scared or bad.
Find out more and watch a short film The FA has produced explaining how to report your concerns. Of course, everything is completely confidential.
