BCEW place a lot of importance on welfare & safeguarding within our clubs.
Therefore our former Welfare & Safeguarding Director George Ferguson has written an excellent guide on the role of club welfare officers.
Role of designated Welfare & Safeguarding Officer
Designated Welfare & Safeguarding Officer
* Have a Disclosure and Baring Service (DBS)
* You may wish to consider appointing a Deputy in case of sickness or non-attendance
Responsibilities
1. As Designated Welfare & Safeguarding Officer you are the first point of contact for all within your club to go to for advice if they are concerned about a child/young person and all should always know how to contact you or your Deputy
2. Safeguarding training and knowledge – it would be useful to have completed a Safeguard Children and Young People course)
3. You are responsible for ensuring that the Club’s safeguarding policy is kept up to date and complete
4. Ensure that you comply with safe recruitment procedures for new members e.g. induction
5. Assess information from members regarding concerns about children/young people and make decisions about whether these concerns are sufficient enough to notify key organisations
6. Ensure that concerns are logged and stored securely
7. Have joint responsibility with Club management committee or Board of Trustees to ensure that safeguarding policy and related policies and procedures are followed and regularly updated
8. Responsible for promoting a safe environment for children and young people
9. You know the contact details of relevant statutory agencies e.g. Children’s Social Work Services (CSWS), Police, Local Safeguarding Children Board, and the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for allegations within your club
It is not the responsibility of you the designated Welfare Safeguarding Officer to decide whether a child/young person has been abused or not – that is the responsibility of investigative statutory agencies such as Children’s Social Work Services or the Police. However keeping children/young people safe is everybody’s business and all should know who to go to and how to report any concerns they may have about a child/young person being harmed or at risk of being harmed.
We are here for advice, guidance, and support. If you have any concerns or have been notified about concerns of others, please do contact our current Welfare & Safeguarding Director Michael Parsons (pictured below) as soon as possible:
Michael Parsons
BCEW Welfare & Safeguarding Director
Phone: 07958 976295
Click here to e-mail Michael Parsons
You can also download a copy of our Safeguarding Poster which can be customised for your club.
List of Club Welfare Officers
Berkshire: Marian Whitehurst
Birmingham:
Bradford & District: Shiv Krishan
Cheshire:
Dorset: Sophie Probyn
Durham: Kim Pearson
Gloucestershire: Sheona Page
Hampshire: Mark Oliphant
Kent: Bridget Owen
Lancashire: Angie Kurucz
Metro: Martin Symcox
Northants: Hugh Spence
RNC: Mark Fisher
Somerset: Alan Mabey
Staffordshire: Ghazi Zaki
Surrey: Heidi Langrish
Sussex: Steve Andrews
UK Womens VI Cricket: Lucy Mabey
Wavertree: Phil Green
Worcestershire: Lynne Newell
Yorkshire: Michael Parsons