Child Welfare
Aylsham Football Club acknowledges its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of every child and young person who has been entrusted to its care and is committed to working to provide a safe environment for all members. A child or young person is anyone under the age of 18 engaged in any club football activity. We subscribe to The Football Association’s child protection and best practice policy and procedures and endorse and adopt the policy statement contained in that document.
The key principles of The FA child protection policy are that:
- The child’s welfare is, and must always be, the paramount consideration.
- All children and young people have a right to be protected from abuse regardless of their age, gender, disability, culture, language, racial origin, religious beliefs or sexual orientation
- All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately
Working in partnership with other organisations, children and young people and their parents or carers is essential.
We would invite any players, parents, volunteers, coaches or managers to contact our Welfare Officer, Jenny Coles, at anytime to discuss any issues or concerns in confidence.
Here are some useful points of reference should you ever need them:
CEOP (Child Exploitation)
https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/
Childline
childline.org.uk
Tel 0800 1111.
Jenny Coles
My name is Jenny and I went to school and grew up in Aylsham. I still live in Aylsham with my husband and three sons. My youngest son currently plays for an Aylsham FC team.
I have now been a Welfare Officer for Aylsham FC for the last 7 years and give help and support around safeguarding within the club.
My role includes ensuring that all volunteers, managers and coaches complete the required Criminal Records Check and if any issues are raised through this process, they are dealt with in conjunction with the Football Association and Norfolk FA’s Child Protection Officer.
I am also the first point of contact for any concerns regarding the welfare of children involved with AFC. It is very rare that concerns are raised but as a club we see it as very important that the relevant processes are in place to deal promptly and sensitively to any problems.
For work outside of football I am part of the Pastoral/SEND team at Aylsham High School helping with pastoral support, inclusion and students mental well being. Over the last 16 years at Aylsham High School I have gained experience in safeguarding and supporting young people throughout many different situations which in turn has helped in my Football Welfare Role.
At Aylsham FC we take safeguarding very seriously and hope we can all work together to ensure players/young people have an enjoyable and safe football experience
