ESSEX COUNTY CRICKET BOARD I WELFARE

Welfare:

ECCB Child Welfare:
Child welfare is a serious issue and every care must be taken to protect children from physical and mental harm. The ECCB is committed to the Safe Hands policy written by the ECB, which follows NSPCC and government guidelines. These pages contain help, advice and downloads to help Club Welfare Officers make sure that welfare is considered in every aspect of running a club. Hopefully you won’t ever need to deal with anything serious but think of the Club Welfare Officer and all the knowledge, forms and reading as insurance. Remember the team at the ECCB is here for advice on any matter or just a listening ear.

CLICK HERE - IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL CLUBS - CLICK HERE
RE: ISA launch and coverage in the media – transportation of children to and from matches, training or events

Please read the information below carefully as there is a lot of misinterpretation around in order to make a more sensational news item. Please remember that the registration does not become a requirement until November 2010.

If parents have arranged any type of car share, regular or otherwise on their own initiative and it is not organised through the coaches or any club member on behalf of the club then no CRB would be required.

If the club are arranging transportation for children on a regular basis, and therefore taking responsibility for the child’s welfare during this transportation then the situation becomes the same as it would if you owned a mini-bus and employed (volunteer or paid) a minibus driver and therefore would need to be CRB checked.

Essex Cricket’s advice has always been, and will continue to be, that it is NOT the responsibility of the club to transport children to and from matches, training or events.

An official statement form the ECB in this regard is expected very soon and will be forwarded to you all as soon as it arrives. For more information on all aspects of the new ISA system please refer to any of the links below or contact me. I will issue another email on any subject that is repeatedly raised.

ECB: http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/non-first-class/vetting-and-barring-scheme,307717,EN.html

The Criminal records Bureau: http://www.crb.gov.uk/faqs/vetting_and_barring_scheme.aspx#64

TMG handle all the ECB applications. http://www.tmgcrb.co.uk/default.asp?id=2

The ISA http://www.isa-gov.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=0

Please call or email me if you have any other queries

Club welfare officer training is now booking for winter 2009-10. Both the Safeguarding & Protecting Children (SPC) and the Time to Listen (TTL) need to be attended as well as a CRB check to be carried out. All these requirements must be renewed every three years. Click on the PDFs below for details of course content and dates.

UPDATES (APRIL 2009)
As the season gets underway its busy busy all over the county, many of you have trained or retrained over the winter and hopefully we’re all ready for anything which might come our way.
Please find attached details which could help you to implement the Safehands policy in your club. This information will go onto the website soon.

The ECB Child Protection team have asked me to highlight the following points:
CRB checks: just because a check has been carried out and a form returned to the applicant, this does not mean that the check has come out clear. The ECB will contact the club directly if one of their members CRB checks is unsatisfactory for working with children.

Investigations: Clubs are not required to make investigations. Just record whatever you see/are told and then pass it onto the County. If the ECB deem an investigation to be necessary they will inform the club and instigate it themselves.

Finally, the ISA have finally answered a question for me. What is regular contact with children? This is relevant to those of you who have occasional volunteers and those who take turns in umpiring. According to the ISA those who will need to register (and therefore those who will need a CRB) are:
‘Employees/volunteers who engage in regulated activity [which cricket is] with children and/or vulnerable adults frequently, intensively or overnight.
• Frequently, once a month or more
• Intensively, 2 or more days in every 30 day period
• Overnight, any activity between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m’

I would therefore advise at this time that the definition of regular umpiring/volunteering is once a month or more. I hope this clarifies things and that the season has started well for all.

To see new advice regarding anti discriminatory practise and recruitment & selection, please go to the Information and Advice page. CLICK HERE

Club Welfare Officers
In this section you’ll find out the role of a Club Welfare Officer and what training they will need. Click here

Information and Advice for Club Welfare Officers
This section gives help and advice on a range of matters from photography to coaching in schools and Club documents. Click here

The ECB and NSPCC have set the following Reporting Procedure chart for incidents / allegations:

ECCB County Welfare Officer
The County Welfare Officer acts as a source of advice on child protection matters to clubs and maintains communication with the ECB.