Dear Parent
You will have no doubt heard about the recent disclosures of sexual abuse made by several
professional footballers. Your son or daughter is involved with youth football and you could
be worried about their wellbeing.
The English FA has since the late 1990s offered very strong leadership to ensure that
children and young peoples’ football is as safe as possible. Procedures to recruit and train
managers and coaches in youth football include a requirement for all coaches and
volunteers who have prolonged and possibly unsupervised contact with young players to
have a “clear” Criminal Records Check and for them to attend coaching and child
welfare/protection work shops
The FA has produced a number of comprehensive guides for clubs, parent/carers, coaches,
managers and volunteers to ensure all young players enjoy playing their chosen sport in a
safe and supportive environment.
All of our clubs as Charter Standard clubs are expected to have the above processes in place.
A range or resources are available for your information and reassurance via the below hyper
link
FA Safeguarding Resources
http://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/safeguarding/raising-awareness--downloads-section
Additionally, adapting some of the FA’s resources, the Salford and Districts Football League
has produced a Best Practice Guide for coaches, manager, and volunteers that seeks to
reduce opportunities for our young players being placed at risk of being groomed or
exploited. This guidance is available below.
The English FA and the NSPCC have collaborated to ensure a telephone helpline is available
to enable those who have who have been abused within the context of football to request
help and assistance. Below is a link to the NSPCC helpline that has been established
following the recent disclosures - Sexual Abuse helpline 0800 023 2642
Other helplines include
 NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000
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 Childline tel. 0800 1111in
http://www.thefa.com/news/2016/nov/23/nspcc-and-fa-launch-helpline-231116
While nothing of this nature has ever been reported in the 13 years the league has existed
you may still have worries/concerns and please do contact the helplines if you need any
advice
Regards
Graham Pattinson
Salford & Districts Football League
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Appendix 1
Guidance to Promote Best Practice To Better Safeguard and Protect Young Players.
The following guidelines are suggested to the managers, coaches and volunteers of clubs
affiliated with the Salford and Districts Football League (S&DFL) to promote and safeguard
the welfare of our young players.
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Make sure you know who your club Child Welfare Officer is
Work with children and young people in the open and in public view.
Avoid situations where a manager, coach or volunteer works with children and
young people in situations where they are completely unobserved.
Avoid forms of coaching and training that involves long periods of physical
contact/support. If such coaching is necessary always try and do this in public.
Ensure that managers, coaches and volunteers work in pairs when children have to
be supervised in a changing room.
Develop a team culture that allows young players to have a voice. Involve them in
developing team rules relating to: selection decisions, behaviour, sanctions, and the
way they want parents and relatives to behave at training and on match days.
Always write down these rules and share them with parents, carers and relatives and
encourage parents to respect the ways their children expect them to behave.
Always challenge parents and carers who do not respect the rules agreed with the
young players, or the club’s and league’s expectations of parent and carer conduct
Encourage an open environment in the team with no secrets. Providing young
players with a say in how you run their team will help to create such an
environment.
Develop a climate within the team that discourages the criticising of those who are
seen as having less ability, or who are seen to be different, e.g. being from a minority
ethnic community, having a disability.
Take steps to challenge bullying including unrealistic expectations and unintended
bullying from parents/carers.
Listen carefully to complaints from team members who feel they are being bullied
and agree with them the action you are going to take to stop the bullying.
Have team members elect a spokesperson who can take up any issues with the
manager which other team members feel unable to share, or when issues relate to
incidents outside of the team.
Do all you can to avoid being alone in a car with a child/young person on journeys.
Sometimes this will be inevitable. When this is unavoidable make sure the child or
young person sits in the back of the car. In these circumstances a manager, coach or
volunteer should advise a ‘co-worker’ of their decision to travel alone with a child.
Avoid taking children/young people home especially if they would be alone with a
coach, manager or volunteer. It is likely that managers or coaches will have children
who play in the same team and it is accepted that common sense will apply in such
situations.
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If any of the above points become unavoidable, managers, coaches or a volunteer should
inform their co-worker or parents about the actions they are taking.
At All Times Managers, Coaches and Volunteers Supporting & Working with Young Players
Should Avoid
 Engaging in rough and tumble play with children and young people that involves a lot
of “hands on” contact. Such behaviour can be used to disguise inappropriate
touching.
 Sharing a room with a child/young person if away on tour.
 Allowing children and parents carers to use inappropriate language including
swearing without being unchallenged.
 Allowing racist, homophobic, and sexist language and attitudes to develop in teams,
and within groups of parents/carers
 Making sexually suggestive statements or comments to children/young people even
in fun.
 Making sexually suggestive statements or comments to other adults that can be
overheard by young players.
 Engaging in or permitting inappropriate touching of any form within the team.
 Ignoring any allegation made by a child/young person.
 Having children/young people stay at their homes.
 Carrying out intimate personal care that children can do for themselves.
It is possible that a coach, manager or volunteer will have to help children to do things of a
personal nature especially if they are very young or have a disability. Such tasks must only
be carried out after consent from the young player, his/her parents/carers and after
discussion with the child and his/her parents. Such discussions are necessary if children
need help with undressing, changing and dressing, especially if this could mean underclothes being changed.
If during the course of training/coaching/playing a child is accidentally hurt or is distressed,
or misunderstands and misinterprets something a manager, coach or volunteer has done,
the incident should be shared with a colleague as soon as possible and the incident
discussed with the child’s parents or carers.
It is advisable that managers, coaches and volunteers with each team, identify who will be
collecting a child/young person following a match or training session.
Managers, coaches or volunteers should take steps to know who will care for a child/young
person if his/her carers or parents are not at home when a child is returned following a
match or training.
Graham Pattinson
Salford & Districts League Child Safeguarding Officer
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