Child Protection in Football
Ensuring the safety and well-being of any young players' under their supervision, should be an integral component of a coaches approach. However many are still afraid or unaware of many child protection issues and concerns. Therefore, the aim of this section is to provide coaches with a sound base of knowledge and strategies which they can use to help enhance their understanding of the area and ensure that all young players are treated safely and respected fully.
If you, like many others, are a little unsure as to what the topic of Child Protection covers and why it is both relevant and important, please take a moment to read this introductory article:
An Introduction to Child Protection
Developing a Policy: A Child Protection Policy is a football club or a team publicly stating their intention to safeguard children. It is therefore important that it is created properly and covers all the relevant information. Enter Section
Ensuring Safety: Ensuring the safety is not only just about the child. It is also about the adult realising that there are some situations when they may be putting themselves at risk. This section seeks to highlight such situations and educate adults how to act and behave in such circumstances. Enter Section
Travelling: The ability to get to and from the venues of training and matches will be an essential part of a players' participation with a team. There are a number of different reasons, arrangements and methods of travel. Therefore, this section seeks to educate the coach on how to ensure players are kept safe when travelling. Enter Section
C P Issues: This section seeks to draw attention to some Child Protection issues that may otherwise be overlooked or go unnoticed. Just because they are not obvious factors does not mean they are not important. Enter Section
Types of Abuse: It is very difficult to describe the 'common type of abuser' or the social circumstances abuse occurs in. Therefore the coach should be well-informed and educated so that they understand the different types of abuse and are able to notice the signs of abuse when it occur. So that they are able to help stop and prevent it from occurring. Enter Section
Signs and Symptoms: This section looks to highlight the signs and symptoms that can be used to identity that child abuse is occurring. Enter Section
Dealing with Concerns: Knowing how to spot or notice abuse is only half the battle in ensuring child safety. The other half is knowing how to act once a concern is raised, so that the child gets the protection required to stop present abuse and prevent any future abuse. Enter Section
Behavioural Issues: The behaviour of children has long been highlighted as an area of concern both inside and outside of football. This section seeks to help coaches handle the more 'difficult' players. Enter Section
Glossary: Provides definitions for the most commonly used terms. Enter this section
Coaches Colleague .Com would like to take a moment to acknowledge all of the work that the Football Association of England has created within this topic. It is partly due to their time and effort that this subject receives such a high and required coverage.