Guidance for what constitutes a safeguarding concern (to be reported to the GFA) and what is poor practice (to be reported to and managed by the club).

The Gloucestershire FA has experienced an increase in the number of low level concerns (poor practice) being reported to the County FA. Incidents of poor practice should be reported to your Club Welfare Officer in the first instance; this is behaviour that is not immediately dangerous or intentionally harmful but does set a poor example. Also known as a ‘low level concern’, they don’t meet the threshold for a safeguarding issue, but does still need to be reported and managed internally.

What is poor practice?

The list below is not exhaustive, but gives an idea of the type of behaviour which constitutes poor practice for clubs to manage without the involvement of the Gloucestershire FA. 

• Allowing rough or dangerous play
• Bullying, the use of bad language or inappropriate behaviour
• Picking players based on ability and not offering equal playing time to young players
• Putting performance over the wellbeing and safety of players
• Having a win at all costs mentality and failing to be gracious in defeat
• Lack of respect for other individuals, such as match officials, opposition coaches, players, managers and spectators
• Failing to accept a match official’s decision
• Failure to provide effective supervision for coaching sessions which should be properly planned
• Over training and exerting undue influence over players
• Not holding required FA coaching qualifications for the role being carried out
• Providing one to one coaching without any supervision or the presence of other adults
• Engaging in, or tolerating, offensive, insulting or abusive language or behaviour
• Failure to challenge poor practice in others
• First aid being administered without others being present other than in an emergency
• Failing to address the additional needs of disabled players or other vulnerable groups
• Allowing confidential information to be shared inappropriately
• Failure to respect and listen to the opinions of children and consider the rights and responsibilities of children
• Failure to display and promote consistently high standards of behaviour and appearance

Clubs should keep records of any poor practice reported, including what action was taken and what the outcome was as a result. Repeat offenders should then be referred to the GFA by the Club Welfare Officer.

When should you refer it to the Gloucestershire FA?

With poor practice being dealt with effectively by clubs’ internal processes, the County FA Designated Safeguarding Officer must be notified of more serious concerns, defined as:

• Any incidents that involve a statutory agency (e.g. Police, Social Services, LADO) 
• Repeat offenders (where any poor practice has been identified on three occasions)
• Any matters where a child could be at risk of harm
• Any matters where there could be a breach of FA Disciplinary Regulations
• Any matters that you have tried to address but continue to happen in the club*

*You can see the FA Whistleblowing Policy below, to be used if you do not think your Club Welfare Officer has adequately dealt with a concern.

Remember, if you are worried about the safety of a child or vulnerable person - this is a safeguarding concern and should be reported to us at Safeguarding@GloucestershireFA.com

If there is an immediate risk of harm, always ring 999.