As you are aware, there is currently no Face to Face training being offered by the FA which is leaving us with a bit of a gap regarding Safeguarding qualifications for coaches or for Club Welfare Officers. The FA Safeguarding and Education team have bought in some interim measures which can be used this season to ensure that some Safeguarding awareness is taking place. There is no requirement for a new coach to have the Safeguarding Children Workshop showing on their FAN record but they HAVE to have an in date enhanced FA DBS showing on their FAN record.

A new coach or club member who requires a Safeguarding qualification can take the new online Safeguarding For All course. The FA are still working on how to show this on a FAN record so the advice is currently to make sure that they have either printed or saved the certificate and they show that to the Club secretary as proof. This course is a basic safeguarding qualification and is only to be used as an interim measure this season. This course is also being used to upskill referees with no Safeguarding Qualification.

https://falearning.thefa.com/course/view.php?id=1774

Ideally a new coach should be signposted to the new online FA Playmaker course which covers a variety of basic elements of the Level 1 course, including Safeguarding, First Aid and Equalities

https://www.sheffieldfa.com/news/2020/aug/11/the-fa-playmaker-goes-live

Anyone who has previously undertaken the Safeguarding Children Workshop at any time previously can undertake the online Safeguarding Recertification. The requirement to take it within three years of the workshop has been removed for now.

https://www.thefa.com/bootroom/learning/qualifications/online-safeguarding-children-re-certification

Club Welfare Officers can be added to a club as long as they have an in date DBS and have undertaken the online Safeguarding for Committee Members training. We are aware, however, that this leaves them slightly under skilled in terms of the role so they will need additional support from their Club Committee and from the County FA.

If you have any questions about the above, please get in touch.