Player Protection

Musselburgh Windsor Community Football Club is committed to ensuring all of our players are able to play football in an enjoyable and safe environment, which promotes inclusion and protects them from harm, poor practice, exploitation, bullying or abuse.

We are fully committed to promoting, supporting and safeguarding the wellbeing of all children in our care and recognise the child’s rights to protection as provided in Article 19 of the UNCRC: all forms of physical or mental violence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse.

Our Player Protection Policy is implemented by Scott Robertson, Player Protection Officer. He is supported by John Hood, Sam Windram and Laura Bosworth.

Scott ensures that the Club:

• Respect the rights of children as paramount.
• Promote the rights and wellbeing of children by providing opportunities for them to take part in football safely.
• Promote and implement appropriate procedures to safeguard the wellbeing of children and protect them from abuse, ensuring they know what to do and who they can speak to if they need help.
• Require members of staff and volunteers to adopt and abide by this policy and sign up to the Code of Conduct for Safeguarding Children’s Wellbeing.
• Safely recruit and select individuals who will be working with children to ensure appropriate measures have been taken and risk assessed when needed.
• Train, support and supervise its members of staff and volunteers to adopt best practice to safeguard and protect children from abuse and to reduce risks.
• Respond to any allegations of poor practice, misconduct or abuse of children in line with procedures as well as implementing, where appropriate, the relevant disciplinary and appeals procedures.
• Observe guidelines issued by local Child Protection Committees for the protection of children.
• Regularly monitor and evaluate the implementation of this policy, these procedures and associated safeguards and include children’s views in this process.

Our policy and it’s associated procedures, are reviewed at least every three years and include children’s participation and feedback on it’s content and actual experience of implementation. We also conduct a review in the event of:

• changes in legislation and guidance on the protection and safeguarding of children
• following any changes within Musselburgh Windsor
• following any issue or concern raised about the protection and safeguarding of children within Musselburgh Windsor.

Important links:
Scottish Football Association Child Wellbeing Strategy
Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP)
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)
Childline

For further information or to discuss any aspect of player protection, please contact Scott by emailing cwpo@musselburghwindsorfc.co.uk.