Child Protection

Volleyball England is committed to safeguarding the health and well-being of all young people playing our sport and have developed Child Protection Policy and Good Practice Guidance for our members. Volleyball England's Child Protection Policy and Good Practice Guide is available free of charge upon request from the Volleyball England Office (please supply an address for the booklet to be posted to).

The Child Protection Policy and other useful information and resources regarding Welfare are available in the Welfare section of the website.

This Child Protection Policy applies to all Volleyball England officers, employees and volunteers who come into contact with children at any event organised by or held under the authority of and/or any other body affiliated, or representative of Volleyball England. As part of our commitment to best practice in the care of children, Volleyball England expects all of our members to comply with the policy and the regulations within it.

*For the purposes of this Child Protection Policy a child is any individual under the age of 18.

Working with Sport to Keep Children Safe

Each week more than 8 million children in the UK take part in sport. They do so in a range of situations, from local groups to national competitions. But while most enjoy themselves in safety, a small number are at risk of abuse from individuals who choose sports work to gain access to children.

The majority of children who take part in sport do so in a safe and helpful atmosphere, with genuine support from coaches, volunteers and other club staff. But for the small minority of children, who are abused during sporting activities, the picture is very different.

Volleyball England recognises the need to protect children from individuals who may abuse positions of trust. In your work as a sports volunteer, there are a number of steps you can take to help safeguard children and young people in volleyball. You can also play an important role in protecting children who may be experiencing abuse in other areas of their lives.

As you will be aware the government have introducing a new service for voluntary organisations that will assist in judging an individual's suitability for engaging in work with children and vulnerable adults. This service is provided by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). Whilst the information provided by the CRB is important in terms of recruitment it must be recognise that this is only part of a much wider series of steps that need to be taken in order to create and sustain a safe environment for children.

Child Protection in your club

Contained in the Volleyball England Child Protection Policy are various forms for clubs to complete which are available for download. These forms allow the Volleyball volunteer who deals with young people to complete a CRB check and importantly help to implement a Child Centred Ethos into the running of the club such that the safeguarding of all young people becomes paramount.

More about CRB Disclosures

There are three types of disclosure about an individual's background that the Criminal Records Bureau can make available on request. The CRB provide 3 levels of criminal record check:

• A criminal conviction certificate (basic disclosure)
  
• A criminal record certificate (standard disclosure)
  
• An enhanced criminal record certificate (enhanced disclosure): the English Volleyball Association insists upon the receipt completion of enhanced disclosures.

Who needs to be checked?

Volleyball England is an umbrella organisation that can request a CRB check to be carried out for individuals. The checks are aimed at anyone who works with young people. 
  
Volleyball England would like all volunteers working with young people on a regular basis to have a CRB certificate.
 
Each disclosure will provide a different level of information and their provision will be related to the degree of supervision or access an individual has to children.

How can your club get CRB checks carried out on the volunteers working with young people?

• Step 1 The first thing your club needs to do is identify a Child Welfare Officer (CWO). This could be any responsible adult /parent who is interested in making sure young people can play and train in a safe environment. The roles and responsibilities for this role are available here: Child Welfare Officer
• Step 2 The CWO will need to identify all the club members who work with young people and so will need a CRB check. Each individual should then be issued with an Application form for Volleyball England Staff / Volunteers (CP1)  and Self Declaration form for Volleyball England Staff / Volunteers (CP2). The application and self declaration forms need to be completed by the volunteer and returned to the CWO.
• Step 3 The CWO will then follow up the references identified on the CP1 by sending a copy of the Volleyball England Standard Reference Letter (CP3)   and Volleyball England Standard Reference Return (CP4).
• Step 4 The CWO will then provide the Volleyball England Office with a list of club volunteers who need a CRB check. Criminal Records Bureau Form
• Step 5  Volleyball England will send a CRB application form to each individual. Once completed the form and the identification papers will need to be returned to Volleyball England.
• Step 6
  The form will then be processed and sent to the CRB. The disclosure certificate will be sent directly to the applicant and a copy will be sent to Volleyball England for their records.

The Volleyball England Lead Officer will contact the Club CWO if there is any information on the disclosure that raises concerns. There is no cost to the individual seeking a check as long as their work with young people is in a voluntary capacity.

• If you are concerned about an incident a Child Protection Incident Report Form (CPIRF) should be filled out and returned to the Volleyball England Child Welfare Officer.