ChildWelfareandProtectionPolicy

The policy ensures that all applicants for coaching and volunteer posts working with young players will be thoroughly vetted. An application form giving details of previous experience in working with young people in cricket, qualification and registration details, details of DBS checks and authority of the Executive Committee will be required before any appointment will be considered.

The club has an appointed post of Welfare Officer. The Welfare Officer will have attended acceptable child protection courses, will be a practising coach within the club, will be ECB qualified and registered, and have a current valid DBS check. Through attendance at child protection courses the post holder will be qualified to deal with welfare issues, recognising the signs of welfare concerns and abuse, and be aware of the ECB's complaints and discipline procedures in line with ECB regulations.

The club is aware of the importance of health and safety in respect of all members, and has a Health and Safety Policy in place. Please refer to this document for more detail.

WICC has an Equal Opportunities Policy to ensure fair treatment for all. Please refer to this document for more detail.

The club has codes of conduct for adults working with young people, for parents and carers, volunteers and officials, and for young people. These codes have been adopted from ECB resources ('Safe Hands').

Via registration of junior players the club will hold two copies of all contact details of junior players. One copy will be held centrally in the secretary's office and one copy will be held by the Youth Coordinator.

The club recognises the value and importance of ongoing training in aiming to achieve best practice. Members involved with coaching, welfare, development and cricket related matters will be encouraged to attend suitable training offered by ECB, Northamptonshire Cricket League (NCL) and other organisations.

The club acknowledges the guidelines on the supervision of young people at WICC and will follow the guidelines of the ECB Welfare of Young People in Cricket (WYPC) policies.

The club acknowledges the guidelines on the supervision of young people at away fixtures and will follow the guidelines of the ECB WYPC policies.

The club will communicate to all club members involved in cricket including parents and carers to encourage their active participation and involvement in the youth cricket programme at WICC. This will be done via means of the website, letter, phone, fax, text messages, emails, team managers meetings, and the club notice board.

The club will display via the club website and on the club notice boards contact details for the following: WICC Welfare Officer, NCL Welfare Officer, ECB Welfare Officer, NSPCC, Childline and other Local Area Child Protection Agencies.

The protection of children is the concern of everyone in a position to help. All persons who are involved with children and young players in the club will be appraised of how to recognise child abuse and make appropriate referrals to the Designated Child Protection Officer.

Experience confirms the importance of apparently small matters needing to be taken seriously, listened to and addressed. A recurring pattern of "minor" complaints could indicate deep-seated problems that need to be addressed. All who are involved with children and young persons will take complaints seriously and report them to the Youth Coordinator. Complaints will always be acknowledged and logged.