Various policies relating to the Posh Academy.

Club Policy For Safeguarding Children

1. Peterborough United Football Club 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 anyone under the age of 18 engaged in any club football activity. We subscribe to The Football Association’s (The FA) Safeguarding Children - Policy and Procedures and endorse and adopt the Policy Statement contained in that document.

2. The key principles of The FA Safeguarding Children Policy are that:
• 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, race, sexual orientation, faith or belief
• 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/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. Peterborough United Football Club recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.

3. Peterborough United Football Club 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 Children Regulation (see The FA Handbook) applies to everyone in football whether in a paid or voluntary capacity. This includes those who are volunteers, match officials, helpers on club tours, football coaches, club officials or medical staff.

4. We endorse and adopt The FA’s Responsible Recruitment guidelines for recruiting volunteers and we will:
• Specify what the role is and what tasks it involves • Request identification documents
• As a minimum meet and chat with the applicant(s) and where possible interview people before appointing them
• Ask for and follow up with 2 references before appointing someone
• Require an FA CRB Unit Enhanced Disclosure where appropriate in line with FA guidelines.

All current Peterborough United Football Club members who are regularly caring for, supervising, training or being in sole charge of children and young people will be required to complete a CRB Enhanced Disclosure via The FA CRB Unit.

If there are concerns regarding the appropriateness of an individual who is already involved or who has approached us to become part of Peterborough United Football Club guidance will be sought from The Football Association. It is noted and accepted that The FA will consider the relevance and significance of the information obtained via The FA CRB Unit Enhanced Disclosure 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 Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures Let’s make football safe - not sorry TheFA.com/Footballsafe Let’s make football safe - not sorry Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures 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.

5. Peterborough United supports The FA’s Whistle blowing Policy. Any adult or young person with concerns about a colleague can ‘whistle blow’ by contacting The FA Safeguarding Team on 0207 745 4787, by writing to The FA Case Manager at The Football Association, 25 Soho Square, W1D 4FA or alternatively by going direct to the Police, Children’s Services or the NSPCC. Peterborough United Football Club encourages everyone to know about it and utilise it if necessary.

6. Peterborough United Football Club has appointed a Club Welfare Officer and Academy Safeguarding Officer in line with The FA’s role profile and required completion of the Safeguarding Children and Welfare Officers Workshop. The post holders will be involved with Welfare Officer training provided by The FA and/or County FA. The Club Welfare Officer and Academy Safeguarding Officer are the first point of contact for all club members regarding concerns about the welfare of any child or young person. The Club Welfare Officer and Academy Safeguarding Officer will liaise directly with the County FA (CFA) Welfare Officer and will be familiar with the procedures for referring any concerns. They will also play a proactive role in increasing awareness of Respect, poor practice and abuse amongst club members.

7. 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 or parents/carers should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly. Incidents need to be reported to the Club Welfare Officer in cases of serious bullying the CFA Welfare Officer may be contacted.

8. Respect codes of conduct for Players, Parents/ Spectators, Officials and Coaches have been implemented by Peterborough United Football Club. In order to validate these Respect codes of conduct the club has clear actions it will take regarding repeated or serious misconduct at club level and acknowledges the possibility of potential sanctions which may be implemented by the County FA in more serious circumstances.

9. Reporting your concerns about the welfare of a child or young person. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility if you are worried about a child it is important that you report your concerns - no action is not an option.

i. If you are worried about a child then you need to report your concerns to the Club Welfare Officer.

ii. If the issue is one of poor practice the Club Welfare Officer will either:
• deal with the matter themselves or
• seek advice from the CFA Welfare Officer

iii. If the concern is more serious - possible child abuse, where possible, contact the CFA Welfare Officer first, then immediately contact the Police or Children’s Services

iv. If the child needs immediate medical treatment take them to a hospital or call an ambulance and tell them this is a child protection concern. Let your Club Welfare Officer know what action you have taken, they in turn will inform the CFA Welfare Officer.

v. If at any time you are not able to contact your Club Welfare Officer or the matter is clearly serious then you can either:
• contact your CFA Welfare Officer directly
• contact the Police or Children’s Services
• call The FA/NSPCC 24 hour Helpline for advice on 0808 800 5000 or Deaf users text phone 0800 056 0566

NB - The FA’s Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures are available via www.TheFA.com/Footballsafe - click on the ‘downloads’ under Policy and Procedures. The policy outlines in detail what to do if you are concerned about the welfare of a child and includes flow diagrams which describe this process. How to make a referral is also covered in the Safeguarding Children workshop. Participants are given the opportunity to discuss how this feels and how best they can prepare themselves to deal with such a situation. For more information on this workshop contact your County Welfare Officer.


Anti-Bullying

Peterborough United Academy takes any form of bullying very seriously and it is unacceptable behaviour. All members of staff will remain vigilant at all times to recognise any signs of bullying.

If anyone feels that there is a case of bullying then they should:

1. Report bullying incidents to Academy staff
2. In cases of serious bullying, the incidents will be recorded by staff
3. In serious cases parents should be informed and will be asked to come in to a meeting to discuss the problem
4. If necessary and appropriate, police will be consulted
5. The bullying behaviour or threats of bullying must be investigated and the bullying stopped quickly
6. An attempt will be made to help the bully (bullies) change their behaviour

Outcomes
1. The bully (bullies) may be asked to genuinely apologise. Other consequences may take place.
2. In serious cases, suspension or even exclusion from the Academy will be considered
3. If possible, the players will be reconciled
4. After the incident / incidents have been investigated and dealt with, each case will be monitored to ensure repeated bullying does not take place.


Missing persons

As Peterborough United take their players welfare seriously, the Club and its Academy will follow the outlined missing persons procedure.
In the Event of a player going missing, Peterborough United coaches and staff will apply the following : -
1. Ensure the Safety & Supervision of the Rest of the Group & take a register.
2. Inform the Authorities.
3. Do a controlled local search of the area.
4. Contact Parent or Guardian.
5. Remain Calm at all times
6. Log & Record on Incident Report Sheet & Submit to the Academy


Equality & Diversity

Peterborough United Football Club is committed to promoting equality by treating people fairly and with respect; by recognizing inequalities exist, by taking steps to address them and by providing access and opportunities for all members of the community. It is about changing the culture and structure of our Football Club to ensure it becomes equally accessible to everyone in society.

Peterborough United Football Club's commitment is to eliminate discrimination whether by reason of gender; sexual orientation, marital status, race, nationality, ethnic origin, colour, religion or belief, ability or disability and the aim of this policy is to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and with respect and that the Club is equally accessible to them all.

Peterborough United Football Club, in all its activities, will not discriminate, or in any way treat anyone less favourably, on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, race, nationality, ethnic origin, colour, religion or belief, ability or disability. We will ensure that we treat people fairly and with respect and that we will provide access and opportunities for all members of the community to take part in, and enjoy, our activities. The Club is committed to the development of a programme of ongoing training and awareness raising events and activities in order to promote the eradication of discrimination within football.

Peterborough United Football Club will not tolerate harassment, bullying, abuse or victimization of an individual, which for the purposes of this policy and the actions and sanction applicable is regarded as discrimination. This includes sexual or racially-based harassment or other discriminatory behaviour such as homophobic abuse, whether physical or verbal. The Club will work to ensure that such behaviour is met with appropriate action in whatever context it occurs.

Peterborough United Football Club is committed to a policy of equal treatment of all members and requires all members to abide and adhere to these policies and the requirements of the relevant equalities legislation - Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Race Relations Act 1976 and Disability Discrimination Act 1995, as well as any amendments to these acts.

Peterborough United Football Club want to ensure that the Club is a place that is child-friendly, free from discrimination and unfair behaviour.

Peterborough United Football Club will do everything they can in order to achieve these objectives. This policy is fully supported by the Board of Peterborough United Football Club.

Peterborough United Football Club commits itself to the immediate investigation of any claims, when it is brought to their attention, of discrimination on the above grounds and where such is found to be the case, a requirement that the practice stop and sanctions imposed as appropriate.

The policy applies equally to the treatment of our customers/supporters, clients and suppliers.


Accommodation provisions in the professional development phase

Peterborough United Academy offers an accommodation programme for players in the professional development phase who will require living facilities close to the Football Club during season.

The Academy and its entire staff recognise that young players entering the apprenticeship programme and particularly those in club accommodation may need additional support in settling into their new surroundings. We aim to ensure this transition period goes as smoothly as possible for our young professional players. To do this Peterborough United Academy staff ensures any residential property used in the accommodation programme meet the needs of our young players.

Peterborough United ensure that all accommodation suppliers complete an accommodation pack which includes:
• Accommodation application providers form.
• An initial check list for Peterborough United Staff complete.
• A contract between accommodation provider and Peterborough United Football Club.

Following acceptance of accommodation providers application all club accommodation providers will be subject bi-monthly spot checks in which 2 members of Peterborough United staff will use the Peterborough United accommodation check list to record the suitability of the accommodation property. Peterborough United Academy’s welfare officer along with another member of Peterborough United staff will conduct bi-monthly meetings with players in club accommodation, this will allow the Club to ensure that player welfare is maintained at all times while they are in club accommodation. These meetings will be recorded by staff by minutes being taken and filed into the accommodation folder.

All accommodation providers will be asked to attend a meeting every 3 months to discuss findings from the clubs checks, and meetings with players. These meetings will give accommodation providers the opportunity to raise any concerns they have with Peterborough United Football Club. These meetings will also have minutes taken, which will be filed in the club’s accommodation folder.