Safeguarding

Charlton Athletic Football Club safeguarding statement:

Charlton Athletic Football Club is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk with the expectation that all staff and volunteers share this commitment. Charlton Athletic Football Club staff recognise their duty of care to safeguard the welfare of children and young people by creating an environment that protects them from harm, allows children and young people to have a voice and is proactive in the implementation of welfare processes.

The club’s standards of practice ensure all staff are fully aware and understand their responsibilities under safeguarding legislation and are required to take relevant training and education courses in conjunction with football governing bodies. The club regularly refer to government documentation, such as Keeping Children Safe in Education and Working Together to Safeguard Children, to keep updated on best practice and current legislation on safeguarding and welfare.

Charlton Athletic Football Club key safeguarding principles:

In line with the FA’s safeguarding strategy, Charlton Athletic has a safeguarding and welfare team. The key roles of the safeguarding team are to ensure that all eligible individuals have the necessary certification; to make certain that safeguarding is embedded in the club; to promote best practice and to deal with any poor practice and welfare issues that may arise. Club welfare officers are required to attend the FA safeguarding children workshop and a welfare officer workshop in addition to having an in-date enhanced DBS/criminal records check. All the above is in place to ensure the below standards are met:

To safeguard all children and young people who interact with the club
To demonstrate best practice in safeguarding children and young people
To develop a positive and proactive welfare programme to enable all children and young people to participate in an enjoyable and safe environment
To promote high ethical standards throughout

Club policies:

Safeguarding policy
Adult safeguarding policy
Matchday safeguarding policy
Anti-bullying policy
Complaints policy
Whistleblowing policy

Reporting a safeguarding concern:

At Charlton Athletic, we have a culture of openness and accountability which are both key in preventing and dealing with any concerns. If you have concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child, young person or adult at risk at Charlton Athletic Football Club, please contact our safeguarding team. If you do not wish to contact the team, please complete this form which will go directly to the senior safeguarding manager. We have a duty to share information that you give us with other agencies if we think that a child, young person or adult could be at risk of harm. Alternatively, call 0203 839 8072 or email safeguarding@cafc.co.uk.

When a member of staff raises a concern, it is known as whistleblowing. All concerns are taken seriously and no one will suffer any detrimental treatment because of raising a genuine concern. We will listen and record all information whilst ensuring you are safe. We will maintain confidentiality, only sharing information if necessary to keep you and/or another person safe, keeping you updated throughout the process.

If you are concerned about the immediate safety of welfare of a child, young person or adult at risk, please contact:

The Police

101 (999 in an emergency)

NSPCC

0808 800 5000 (24-hour helpline)

help@nspcc.org.uk

Safeguarding awareness for parents and carers

A free 30-minute course designed to help support you make an informed choice regarding the environment your child is in. Please click here to enrol onto the course.

Further support and useful links

Childline - 0800 1111

Kidscape - 0207 730 3300 (parents helpline: Monday - Friday, 10am - 4pm)

Parentline Plus - 0808 800 2222

Anti-Bullying Alliance - organisations and individuals united against bullying

CALM - campaign against living miserably

Childline - counselling service for children and young people

Family Lives - early intervention and crisis support for families

Kooth - digital mental health and wellbeing

NSPCC - the UK’s leading children’s charity

Samaritans - here to listen 24/7

Stonewall - LGBTQ+ rights charity