Sonning CC – Safeguarding Policy Statement

Sonning CC (the Club) is committed to ensuring all Children (i.e. all persons under the age of 18) participating in cricket have a safe and positive experience.

1. POLICY STATEMENT

Sonning Cricket Club (the Club) is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children participating in cricket. For the purposes of this policy, a child is any person under the age of 18.

The Club recognises its responsibility to provide a safe, welcoming, inclusive and positive environment in which children can enjoy cricket, develop their skills, build confidence and reach their potential, free from abuse, neglect, discrimination, bullying or other forms of harm.

The welfare of every child is paramount. All children have the right to participate in cricket in an environment that respects their dignity, protects their physical and emotional wellbeing, and takes account of their individual needs.

The Club acknowledges that safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone involved in cricket, including committee members, coaches, team managers, captains, senior players, volunteers, parents, carers and spectators.

This policy establishes the Club’s safeguarding principles, expectations and procedures. It must be read alongside the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Safe Hands policy, the ECB Safeguarding Regulations and any other relevant Club policies and procedures, as amended from time to time.

2. OUR SAFEGUARDING COMMITMENTS

Sonning Cricket Club will:

· Promote the welfare of children: Ensure that the safety and wellbeing of junior players take priority over sporting performance, selection, results or the convenience of adults.

· Provide an inclusive environment: Treat all children fairly and with respect, irrespective of age, sex, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ability, background or any other characteristic.

· Adopt ECB safeguarding requirements: Implement and comply with the ECB Safe Hands policy and applicable safeguarding regulations, guidance and codes of conduct.

· Appoint a Club Safeguarding Officer: Maintain an appropriately appointed and trained officer who acts as the principal point of contact for safeguarding matters within the Club.

· Recruit responsibly: Ensure that individuals undertaking relevant roles involving children are recruited, checked, trained and supervised in accordance with ECB requirements and applicable legislation.

· Establish clear standards of behaviour: Require coaches, volunteers, senior players, junior players and other members to follow the relevant Club and ECB codes of conduct.

· Provide appropriate training: Ensure that relevant adults understand their safeguarding responsibilities and know how to identify, report and respond to concerns.

· Listen to children: Provide opportunities for junior players to express their views, raise concerns and participate in decisions affecting their welfare.

· Respond appropriately to concerns: Take all safeguarding concerns, allegations and disclosures seriously and respond promptly in accordance with ECB procedures and statutory requirements.

· Protect confidentiality: Restrict access to safeguarding information to those who need it to protect a child or discharge their safeguarding responsibilities.

· Review our arrangements: Regularly review this policy and associated procedures to ensure they remain appropriate, effective and consistent with current ECB guidance.

3. SCOPE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

This policy applies to all Club activities involving children, including:

• Junior training sessions, matches and competitions.

• Junior cricket festivals, tours and other cricket-related events.

• Junior participation in senior or open-age cricket.

• Changing rooms, showering facilities and other Club facilities.

• Travel to and from matches, training sessions and Club events.

• Social activities organised or supported by the Club.

• Communications between Club representatives and junior players.

3.1 Club Committee

The Club Committee is responsible for ensuring that appropriate safeguarding policies, procedures and resources are in place and that safeguarding is treated as a priority throughout the organisation.

3.2 Club Safeguarding Officer

The Club Safeguarding Officer is responsible for providing safeguarding guidance, receiving and responding to concerns, maintaining appropriate records and liaising with the ECB, County Safeguarding Officer and relevant external agencies where necessary.

The Safeguarding Officer’s contact details must be made readily available to junior players, parents, carers, coaches and Club members.

3.3 Coaches, Team Managers and Captains

Coaches, team managers and captains must actively promote safeguarding, maintain appropriate standards of supervision, follow Club procedures and report any concerns without delay.

Captains of senior teams have an additional responsibility to ensure that junior players participating in open-age cricket are welcomed, appropriately supported and protected.

3.4 Senior Players and Club Members

All senior players and Club members are expected to behave appropriately towards junior players, respect their boundaries and comply with this policy.

No individual should assume that safeguarding is solely the responsibility of the junior section or the Club Safeguarding Officer.

3.5 Parents and Carers

Parents and carers are responsible for supporting the Club’s safeguarding arrangements, providing relevant information about their child, obtaining the necessary permissions for participation and making appropriate travel arrangements.

They should raise concerns promptly with the Club Safeguarding Officer or another appropriate safeguarding contact.

4. JUNIOR PLAYERS PARTICIPATING IN SENIOR CRICKET

The Club recognises that participation in senior or open-age cricket can provide valuable opportunities for junior players to develop their skills, confidence and understanding of the game.

However, the involvement of players under 18 in adult cricket introduces additional safeguarding considerations. Junior players must not be expected to manage these risks independently.

The Club will ensure that junior participation in senior cricket is appropriately assessed, authorised and supported.

4.1 Eligibility and suitability

The selection of a junior player for senior cricket must comply with current ECB guidance, including any applicable age, ability, safety and competition requirements.

The Club will consider the player’s maturity, experience, ability, physical development and readiness to participate in an adult environment.

Selection must not be based solely on sporting ability or the immediate needs of a senior team.

4.2 Parental consent

Appropriate written parental or carer consent must be obtained before a junior player participates in senior cricket, in accordance with ECB requirements.

The junior player’s views should also be considered. A player must not be pressured into playing in an adult team or continuing to participate if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

Consent must not be treated as a substitute for the Club’s safeguarding responsibilities.

4.3 Supervision and support

The senior team captain and relevant team officials must understand their responsibilities towards any junior player in their team.

They must ensure that the junior player:

•Is welcomed and treated respectfully by senior teammates.

•Knows who to approach if they need assistance or have a concern.

•Is appropriately supervised during Club activities.

•Is not subjected to bullying, intimidation, inappropriate language, hazing or unwanted physical contact.

•Is not exposed to inappropriate adult behaviour or activities.

•Is given appropriate consideration in team arrangements, including changing facilities and transport.

The Club will take reasonable steps to ensure that a junior player is not left in a situation where they are isolated from appropriate support or placed at unnecessary safeguarding risk.

4.4 Changing rooms and showers

The requirements in Section 5 of this policy apply to all junior players participating in senior cricket.

A junior player’s selection for an adult team does not remove their entitlement to appropriate safeguarding arrangements.

4.5 Concerns during senior cricket

Any concern about a junior player’s welfare, treatment or experience within a senior team must be reported promptly to the Club Safeguarding Officer.

The fact that the player has been selected for, or consented to participate in, senior cricket must never be used as a reason to dismiss a safeguarding concern.

5. CHANGING ROOMS AND SHOWERING FACILITIES

The Club recognises that changing rooms and showers are environments in which children may be particularly vulnerable. Appropriate arrangements must be made to protect their privacy, dignity and safety.

These requirements apply at the Club’s home ground and at away grounds, tournaments and other venues used for Club cricket.

5.1 Separation of juniors and senior players

As the Club’s standard safeguarding arrangement, junior players under the age of 18 must not be alone in the changing room with a senior player.

No junior player should be pressured into changing or showering with adults to avoid inconvenience or to fit in with a senior team.

Adults must not deliberately create situations in which they are alone with a junior player in a changing room or showering area.

5.2 Privacy, dignity and conduct

All players and adults must respect the privacy and dignity of others.

The following are prohibited in changing rooms and showering facilities:

• Bullying, intimidation, harassment or inappropriate comments.

• Inappropriate physical contact or behaviour.

• Taking photographs, videos or other images of individuals changing or showering.

• Using mobile phones or image-capturing devices in a manner that compromises privacy or breaches applicable Club rules.

• Entering facilities in disregard of the arrangements in place for junior players.

• Any conduct that makes a junior player feel unsafe, embarrassed, pressured or

6. TRANSPORT TO AND FROM MATCHES AND TRAINING

Sonning Cricket Club recognises that transport arrangements can create safeguarding risks, particularly when junior players travel with adult senior players or other adults who are not their parents or carers.

The Club’s standard position is that parents and carers are responsible for arranging and overseeing their child’s transport to and from matches, training sessions and Club events.

6.1 Parental responsibility for transport

Parents and carers must make their own arrangements to ensure that their child can travel safely to and from Club activities.

This includes away matches, senior fixtures, tournaments, training sessions and other cricket-related events.

Parents and carers are responsible for deciding whether a proposed travel arrangement is appropriate for their child, including any arrangement involving another parent, an adult Club member or a senior player.

6.2 Lifts with senior players and other adults

Parents or carers who independently arrange for their child to travel with a senior player or another adult do so as a private arrangement.

They must make that arrangement directly with the adult concerned and satisfy themselves that it is suitable for their child.

The Club will not arrange, coordinate or guarantee lifts provided by senior players.

A junior player must not be placed under pressure to accept a lift from a senior player, coach, captain or other adult.

Parents and carers should consider the following before agreeing to a lift:

• Who will be driving and whether the driver is appropriately licensed and insured.

• The journey’s destination, timing and expected duration.

• Whether other passengers will be present.

• Whether the parent or carer is comfortable with the proposed arrangements.

• How the child can contact their parent or carer if plans change or they feel uncomfortable.

Where practicable, parents and carers should consider arrangements that avoid a junior player travelling alone with an unrelated adult.

6.3 Club activities and supervision

The distinction between transport responsibility and safeguarding responsibility must be understood.

Although parents and carers are responsible for arranging their child’s travel, the Club retains its safeguarding responsibilities during Club activities and must respond appropriately to any safeguarding concern that comes to its attention.

Coaches and team officials are responsible for children in their care during the relevant Club activity, in accordance with the Club’s supervision arrangements.

6.4 Changes to travel arrangements

Parents and carers should inform the relevant team official if their child’s collection arrangements change or if there is a foreseeable risk that their child may be left without suitable transport.

Junior players should know whom to contact if they are unable to locate their parent or carer or if their planned transport does not arrive.

If a child is left without a safe means of getting home, the responsible Club official must take reasonable steps to ensure the child remains safe while contacting the parent or carer and, where necessary, seeking safeguarding advice.

A child must not simply be left unattended because the scheduled activity has ended.

6.5 Transport concerns

Any concern involving inappropriate conduct during a journey, an unauthorised change to travel arrangements, pressure to accept a lift or other safeguarding issue must be reported to the Club Safeguarding Officer.

Such concerns will be assessed and managed in accordance with ECB safeguarding procedures.

7. RECRUITMENT, TRAINING AND CONDUCT

The Club will ensure that adults working with children are appointed and supported in accordance with applicable ECB requirements and relevant legislation.

This includes appropriate recruitment checks, safeguarding training, codes of conduct and ongoing suitability where required for the role.

All coaches, team managers, captains and relevant volunteers must understand their responsibility to maintain professional and appropriate boundaries with junior players.

Adults must not use their position within the Club to exploit, intimidate, manipulate or otherwise harm a child.

The Club expects all members to challenge inappropriate behaviour where safe to do so and to report concerns through the appropriate channels.

8. ONE-TO-ONE COACHING

Sonning Cricket Club is committed to ensuring that all coaching provided to junior players is delivered by appropriately qualified individuals in a safe, professional and supportive environment.

No one-to-one coaching session involving a junior player may take place unless the coach holds, as a minimum, the ECB Foundation Coach qualification, or an equivalent qualification formally recognised by the ECB.

This requirement applies to all one-to-one coaching arranged, delivered or promoted through the Club, whether conducted at the Club’s ground, an external facility or another location.

In addition to meeting the minimum qualification requirement, coaches must comply with all applicable ECB safeguarding requirements, including any relevant eligibility, vetting, training and suitability requirements.

The following principles must be observed:

•Qualifications: Coaches must hold the minimum qualification specified above before undertaking one-to-one coaching with a junior player. An individual who does not meet this requirement must not deliver such sessions.

•Parental consent: Appropriate parental or carer consent must be obtained before a one-to-one coaching session takes place.

•Transparency: The arrangements for the session, including its location, timing and duration, must be communicated to the parent or carer in advance.

•Safe environment: Sessions must take place in an appropriate setting, with suitable safeguarding arrangements in place. Coaches must avoid situations that unnecessarily isolate them from other adults or place a junior player at risk.

•Professional boundaries: Coaches must maintain appropriate professional boundaries and communicate with junior players in accordance with ECB safeguarding guidance and Club procedures.

•Reporting concerns: Any safeguarding concern arising before, during or after a coaching session must be reported promptly to the Club Safeguarding Officer in accordance with the Club’s reporting procedures.

The Club recognises that individual coaching can be beneficial to a junior player’s development. However, the player’s welfare must always take precedence over coaching convenience, individual performance objectives or commercial considerations.

Failure to comply with this section may result in the suspension of coaching activity and further action under the Club’s safeguarding and disciplinary procedures.

9. LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND PARENTS

Sonning Cricket Club will promote an environment in which junior players feel able to speak openly about their experiences.

Children should be encouraged to raise concerns about their safety, treatment, selection, supervision, changing facilities, transport or any other aspect of their involvement in cricket.

Parents and carers are encouraged to communicate concerns and provide feedback about the Club’s safeguarding arrangements.

All concerns must be treated respectfully and without prejudice. No child or parent should be made to feel that raising a concern will adversely affect selection, playing opportunities or their standing within the Club.

10. REPORTING SAFEGUARDING CONCERNS

Any person who has a safeguarding concern about a child, or who receives a disclosure from a child, must take it seriously and report it promptly.

Concerns may relate to suspected abuse or neglect, inappropriate behaviour, poor practice, bullying, harassment, breaches of this policy or any other matter affecting a child’s welfare.

The following procedure must be followed:

· Listen and take the concern seriously. If a child speaks about something that has happened, remain calm, listen carefully and avoid leading questions.

· Do not promise confidentiality. Explain that information may need to be shared with people who can help keep the child safe.

Record the concern. Make an accurate, factual record of what was reported or observed, including dates, times and relevant details.

· Report promptly. Contact the Club Safeguarding Officer as soon as possible and follow the applicable ECB reporting procedures.

· Escalate where necessary. If the concern relates to the Club Safeguarding Officer, or that person is unavailable, contact the appropriate County Safeguarding Officer or ECB safeguarding contact.

· Act immediately in an emergency. Where a child is in immediate danger or requires urgent medical assistance, contact the emergency services.

Concerns must not be investigated independently by Club members. Decisions about referrals, further enquiries and information-sharing must follow the relevant safeguarding procedures.

The Club will not tolerate retaliation against anyone who raises a safeguarding concern in good faith.

11. CONFIDENTIALITY AND RECORD KEEPING

Safeguarding information must be handled sensitively and stored securely.

Access to records will be restricted to individuals who need the information to protect a child or fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities.

Information may be shared with the ECB, County Safeguarding Officer, statutory safeguarding agencies, the police or other appropriate authorities where required to protect a child or comply with applicable procedures and legal obligations.

Confidentiality must never be used as a reason to withhold information necessary to safeguard a child.

12. POLICY REVIEW AND APPROVAL

This policy will be reviewed at least annually by the Club Safeguarding Officer and Club Committee, and sooner if required following changes to ECB guidance, legislation, Club activities or safeguarding practice.

All Club members, coaches, captains, volunteers, parents and carers are expected to familiarise themselves with the provisions relevant to them.

Failure to comply with this policy may result in appropriate action under the Club’s disciplinary procedures and, where necessary, referral to the ECB or relevant external authorities.

Sonning Cricket Club is committed to ensuring that every child can enjoy cricket in a safe, respectful and supportive environment. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

13. CLUB SAFEGUARDING CONTACTS

Club Safeguarding Officer: Tom Shaw

Email: [email protected]