Cranleigh FC received an unannounced safeguarding visit during training at Glebelands on Wednesday 26 November. The FA assessed our club set-up, training environment and coaching team, and also spoke with parents observing the session. We have been expecting a visit this season and have worked hard to ensure our club meets the standards required. If you help run the club, you will know how diligently we have been chasing qualifications and safeguarding requirements to ensure everything is in place.
We were visited by Andrew Dickinson, Head of Operations and Deputy CEO of Surrey FA. His key findings are below:
*“Our visitors were made to feel very welcome, so thank you to all involved and particularly your coaches who took time out of their sessions to speak with them.They were impressed with the sessions, the levels of player engagement, and the positivity and knowledge across the club.
During these visits we also speak with those present to understand the level of safeguarding awareness within the club. We were very impressed with the knowledge demonstrated by your members.
Please continue to promote the FA’s free online safeguarding course for parents, available here.
This was a good visit and we are very grateful for the work you do to provide football in a safe environment at Cranleigh FC. Your commitment is critical in maintaining the high standards you have at the club.”*
On behalf of the whole club, the committee would like to thank all Team Managers, Coaches and Parent Volunteers who give their time to run our teams and who completed their qualifications and training ahead of the season. All coaches are required to hold an enhanced FA DBS check, safeguarding training, first aid qualifications and the relevant football coaching certificates. These take many hours to complete and must be kept up to date. It is an excellent outcome for everyone involved that this hard work has been recognised.
Cranleigh FC has full FA accreditation and is currently recognised as a 2 Star Accredited Club – something we should all be proud of.
We would also like to draw parents’ and carers’ attention to the FA’s recommendation that all adults complete the safeguarding awareness course linked above. Protecting our young players is our shared priority. Sadly, we continue to deal with weekly complaints about verbal abuse, disrespectful behaviour and overly “passionate” sideline commentary. We must all be aware of the impact adult behaviour has on children and work together to uphold Respect across all matches and training sessions.
Thank you,
Cranleigh FC Committee
