A child is defined as anyone who is under the age of 16 years.

Newport Pagnell Youth FC will endeavour at all times through its provision of events and activities to:

• Promote the welfare, health and full development of children and protect them from all forms of harm.
• Recognise that children have rights as individuals and treat them with dignity and respect.
• Raise awareness about what children are entitled to be protected from.
• Plan events and activities so as to minimise opportunities for the children to suffer harm.
• Develop effective procedures for responding to alleged or suspected incidents of abuse.

Protecting children and volunteers

To reduce the likely situations for abuse of children and to help protect the volunteers from false accusations of abuse everyone should be aware of the following guidelines.

As a general rule it is not sensible to:

• Spend time alone with children away from others.
• To take children alone on a car journey, however short.
• Take children to their home.
• Where occasions arise when it is unavoidable, they should occur with the full knowledge and consent of the child’s parent/guardian

Volunteers should not:

• Leave a child alone with someone else.
• Be alone with a child in the changing room.
• Treat a child for an injury alone and away from others.
• Allow children to use inappropriate language unchallenged.
• Let allegations a child makes go unchallenged or unrecorded.

Volunteers will be police checked.

Newport Pagnell Youth FC will have a Child Welfare Officer on the Committee who will handle any issues of child protection as it relates to policy and procedures and as guided by the NSPCC Protection Committee.

Members of the Newport Pagnell Youth FC Committee will sign to say that they have read and agreed the details of the Child Protection Policy Statement.