Club Policies

CODES OF CONDUCT

SAFEGUARDING POLICY

FC United 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 defined as anyone under the age of 18 engaged in any club activity. We subscribe to The Football Association’s safeguarding and best practice policy and procedures and endorse and adopt the policy statement contained in that document.

The key principles of FC United safeguarding policy are:

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. FC United recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.

FC United 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 safeguarding regulation (see The FA Handbook) applies to everyone in football whether in a paid or voluntary capacity. This includes those who are a volunteers, match officials, helpers on club tours, football coaches, club officials 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 where appropriate in line with FA guidelines
All current FC United members with direct access to children and young people will be required to complete a DBS via The FA DBS Unit and attend a 3 hour ‘Safeguarding Workshop’ delivered by an FA Tutor
If there are concerns regarding the appropriateness of an individual who is already involved or who has approached us to become part of FC United, guidance will be sought from The Football Association
It is noted and accepted that FC United will consider the relevance and significance of the information obtained via The FA DBS Unit 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 minimise the risk of ‘grooming’ within football.

FC United supports the FA’s ‘whistle-blowing’ policy. Any adult or young person with concerns about a colleague can contact The FA Child Protection Manager on 0844 980 8001 or by writing to The FA Case Manager at The Football Association, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London HA9 OWS or by going direct to the police, social services or the NSPCC.

FC United encourages everyone to know about the policy and utilise it if necessary.

FC United 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. The post holder will be involved with designated person’s training provided by The FA. The CWO is the first point of contact for all club members and parents or guardians regarding concerns for the welfare of any child or young person. They will liaise directly with the CFA CPO and will be familiar with the procedures for referring any concerns. They will also play a pro-active role in increasing an awareness of poor practice and abuse amongst club members.

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 be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly. Incidents need to be reported to the Child Welfare Officer, a member of the committee or, in cases of serious bullying contact the CFA CPO.

Codes of conduct for players, parents or spectators, officials and coaches have been implemented by FC United in line with FA guidelines. In order to validate these codes of conduct the club has clear sanctions to deal with any misconduct at club level and acknowledges the possibility of potential sanctions which may be implemented by leagues or the CFA in more serious circumstances. All prospective members will be informed of these codes.

Further advice on safeguarding matters can be obtained from:

The County Football Association’s Safeguarding Officer, whose details can be found in the County Handbook
The Football Association or NSPCC Child Protection
24-Hour Helpline – 0808 800 5000
TheFA.com/Goal
The FA safeguarding team on 0844 980 8001

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY

FC United is committed to a policy of equal treatment of all members and those involved with FC United such as coaches, volunteers or members. FC United requires all such individuals of whatever level or authority to abide and adhere to this general principle and the requirements of the Equality Act, 2010. The following is prohibited:

Treating any individual less favourably than others because of their sex, sexual orientation, race, age, marital status and civil partnership, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, or disability (“the Characteristics”).
Expecting an individual to comply with requirement(s) for any reason whatsoever related to their membership, which are different to the requirements for others because of their Characteristic(s).
Imposing on an individual requirements which are in effect more onerous on that individual to comply with because of their Characteristic(s) than it is on others who do not have that Characteristic(s). For example, this would include applying a condition (which is not warranted by the requirements of the position) which makes it more difficult for members of a particular race or sex to comply than others not of that race or sex.
Victimisation of an individual because they made a protected act. A protected act includes making a complaint that a person has contravened the Equality Act 2010 or bringing proceedings under the Equality Act 2010.
Harassment of an individual which involves engaging in unwanted conduct related to a Characteristic(s) and the conduct has the purpose or effect of violating that individual’s dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.
Any other act or omission of an act, which has as its effect the disadvantaging of a member against another, or others, purely because of a member’s Characteristic(s). Thus, in all of FC United’s recruitment, selection, promotion and training processes, as well as disciplinary matters etc. – in other words all instances where those in control of members are required to make judgements between them – it is essential that merit, experience, skills and temperament are considered as objectively as possible.

FC United will investigate claims of discrimination, victimisation or harassment on the above grounds and take any necessary action required.

As discrimination, victimisation or harassment is against FC United’s policy, any members in breach of this policy may be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure.