The NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit has received 2.5 years funding from The FA to assess each of their county and Armed Forces football associations.
Three full-time assessors from the CPSU will be travelling the length and breadth of England to assess every one of the 52 associations.
About the project
Laura Whapham, CPSU Senior Assessor, tells us a little more about the project.
What will the assessors be looking for?
The assessors will assess each county against The FA’s Safeguarding 365 criteria, which looks at evidence across areas of the business such as governance, operational delivery, case management, voice of the child and monitoring and compliance. Where relevant, the assessors will look at how examples of best practice can be shared within The FA, and to the wider sport safeguarding setting.
Why is the project so important?
This project will aim to support The FA in establishing a culture where children feel safe disclosing concerns; where they are thoroughly listened to, and their concerns are always reported and acted upon effectively.
What do you hope this project will achieve?
We hope via this contract that we can support The FA to continue to raise the standard of safeguarding across their County FA structure by providing independent scrutiny to the assessment process. We hope that this will provide crucial support for The FA in creating this positive culture.
What are you most looking forward to about the new project?
The project is a new and exciting challenge for the assessment team, who are very much looking forward to getting out and assessing County FAs face to face now that the pandemic restrictions have been lifted. The logistical issues of getting around all 52 associations in a time and cost-effective manner is slightly more of a challenge, but one we are excited to take on!