3.       The Club has a role to play in safeguarding the welfare of all children and young people by protecting them from physical, sexual or emotional harm and from neglect or bullying. It is noted and accepted that The ECB’s child protection regulation (see The Safe Hands Booklet) applies to everyone in cricket whether in a paid or voluntary capacity. This includes those who are a volunteer, match official, helper on club tours, cricket coach, club official or medical staff.

 4.       We endorse and adopt The ECB’s child protection and best practice guidelines for recruiting volunteers and will:

 • Develop a role profile

 • Request identification documents 

 • As a minimum meet and chat with the applicant(s) and where possible conduct interviews before appointing

 • Request and follow up with two references before appointing

 • Require an ECB CRB Unit Enhanced Disclosure where appropriate in line with ECB guidelines. 

All current Club members with direct access to children and young people will be required to complete a CRB Enhanced Disclosure or self-declaration form via The ECB CRB Unit or CWO.  If there are concerns regarding the appropriateness of an individual who is already involved or who has approached us to become part of The Club guidance will be sought from The ECB. It is noted and accepted that The ECB will consider the relevance and significance of the information obtained via The ECB CRB Unit Enhanced CRB Disclosure and that all decisions will be made in the best interests of children and young people.

 It is accepted that The Club aims to prevent people with a history of relevant and significant offending from having contact with children or young people and the opportunity to influence policies or practice with children or young people. This is to prevent direct sexual or physical harm to children and to minimize the risk of ‘grooming’ within football.

 5.       The Club supports The ECB’s whistle blowing policy.  Any adult or young person with concerns about a colleague can ‘whistle blow’ by contacting The Club’s Child Welfare Officer by telephone or by writing to the current contact details shown below or by going direct to the police, social services or the NSPCC.  Whitstable Cricket Club encourages everyone to know about it and utilize it if necessary.

 6.       The Club has appointed a Club Welfare Officer (CWO) in line with The ECB’s role profile and required completion of the child protection and best practice workshop. The post holder will be involved with designated person’s training provided by The ECB.  The CWO is the first point of contact for all club members and parents or guardians regarding concerns for the welfare of any child or young person. They will liaise directly with the KCB Welfare Officer and will be familiar with the procedures for referring any concerns. They will also play a proactive role in increasing an awareness of poor practice and abuse amongst club members.

 7.       We acknowledge and endorse The ECB’s identification of bullying as a category of abuse. Bullying of any kind is not acceptable at our club.  If bullying does occur, all Players, parents or guardians should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly.  Incidents need to be reported to the CWO, a member of the committee or, in cases of serious bullying contact the KCB Welfare Officer.

 8.       Codes of conduct for players, parents or spectators, officials and coaches have been implemented by The Club In order to validate these codes of conduct the club has clear sanctions to deal with any misconduct at club level and acknowledges the possibility of potential sanctions which may be implemented by leagues or the ECB in more serious circumstances. All prospective members will be informed of these codes.

 9.       Further advice on child protection matters can be obtained from:

 • The Kent Cricket Board’s Child Protection Officer, whose details can be found in the KCB Handbook

 • The ECB

 • NSPCC Child Protection