Safeguarding & Welfare

All Clubs need to have a Club Safeguarding Officer (CSO).  We value our CSOs and want you to feel appreciated and supported in your role. Do not hesitate to contact the County Safeguarding Officer or Deputy for information and advice. The Club Safeguarding Officer will be proactive to ensure members are safeguarded, but they cannot do this alone. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

What does my club need to do?

Safeguarding children and adults in your Club will not be implemented overnight. It is a long-term and ongoing process. It is the responsibility of the whole club to implement the appropriate Safeguarding policies and procedures. The first step is:

Appointing a Club Safeguarding Officer

Your Club Safeguarding Officer will be the first point of contact for everyone within the club, the County Safeguarding Officer and the ECB for child safeguarding matters. They also will be ensuring the Club is adopting and implementing the various safeguarding activities necessary for it to demonstrate its duty of care for children and adults.

As well as being proactive and passionate about safeguarding, CSOs will need to complete an ECB DBS disclosure, complete online SSR training, plus the module for Committees and CSOs, and complete a 3 hour face-to-face Safe Hands course. Please see Safeguarding Training tab for further details.

Ideally, the club will appoint a CSO who is not a coach; it is sometimes very difficult for children to report a concern to their coach, especially if it is about them. The Club may consider appointing 2 CSOs and this is encouraged. Club Safeguarding Officers should be friendly, welcoming, professional and visible at the club. Whilst not expected to be at the club all the time, it is important children, parents, coaches and club members know who they are, how to contact them, and feel confident to contact them.

Support for the Club Safeguarding Officer

The County and Deputy County Safeguarding Officers are here to support you in your role. We are pleased to offer help and guidance; you may have an idea about good practice, have a question about possible poor practice or a concern about a child or adult protection matter – please do not hesitate to get in touch if you want any information or support.

The role of the Club Safeguarding Officer can sometimes be challenging and demanding. If you are struggling we are able to offer free confidential help delivering holistic support for medical, mental health, legal or wellbeing support. This also provides 24/7 access to a GP online. This offer extends to the immediate family of CSOs too. E mail the County Safeguarding Officer, in confidence, for access to this service provided by WeCare and Canada Life.

Please note, all possible safeguarding concerns about any club members, including players and parents, should be communicated to the County Safeguarding Officer. If you read anything in the papers of relevance, please also forward to the County Safeguarding Officer to enable us to risk assess, and safeguard (where necessary) members of your club and other clubs.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, so whatever your role in cricket, everyone should understand the importance of keeping children, young people and adults safe.  We want everyone at your club to have a good awareness of safeguarding and good practice to help develop confidence to provide the best environment for your members, to challenge poor practice and report appropriately.  The following courses are available:

Introduction to Safeguarding

This free course provides basic knowledge and advice in creating a safe cricket environment for everyone, recognising signs of abuse, what to do if you have any concerns or if you are approached by anyone with concerns. It takes about 30 minutes and is accessible via mobile, tablet or laptop.

Who is the training for?  Anyone, including parents, players, groundstaff, bar staff, children etc.  Please note, coaches and Club Safeguarding Officers may choose to complete this course, but are required to complete SSR below.

How long is it valid for?  It is recommended safeguarding training is undertaken at least every 3 years and you can complete it sooner if you require a refresher.

How do I access the training?  Via the ECB website – – Safeguarding Induction (ecb.co.uk)

Safeguarding for Specialist Roles (SSR)

This free training is designed to support individuals in cricket who have specialist roles working with children and young people.  The training is aimed at Coaches, Activators, Captains, Team Managers, Umpires, Scorers, Committee Members and Club Safeguarding Officers, but we encourage anyone who wants to, to complete it. It is made up of one 60-minute module, suitable for all roles with children, and four shorter bolt on modules of about 20 minutes and is valid for 3 years.

If you have an ECB e learning account (this primarily applies to coaches), log in, and complete the Safeguarding for Specialist Roles course. If you haven’t completed a safeguarding course before, or if the module is not available when you log into your e-learning account, please register for the course below. Please choose the most appropriate course; Club Safeguarding Officers must choose the ‘Committee Members and Club Safeguarding Officers’ option.  You must complete all of the course for it to register as completed.

• Safeguarding for Coaches and Activators
• Safeguarding for Captains and Team Managers
• Safeguarding for Umpires and Scorers
• Safeguarding for Committee Members and Club Safeguarding Officers

Coaches

Please note this replaces the Safeguarding Young Cricketers course (SYC) and this new course is mandatory for coaches to complete every 3 years to comply with Safe Hands and Clubmark requirements.  When you are due to renew your SYC training, please complete this course.

Club Safeguarding Officers

You will automatically be enrolled when you sign up to complete a Safe Hands course, or if you need to complete it before your Safe Hands course, please enrol as above.

Safe Hands Training

This face to face training is for Club Safeguarding Officers (CSOs) and goes into their role and responsibilities at the club. CSOs are vital members of the club and key to making an environment that is safe, welcoming and friendly for everyone to enjoy the game of cricket.  Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and CSOs should make all club members aware of their responsibilities.  All clubs must have at least one trained CSO.

Who is the training for?  Club Safeguarding Officers and Area Safeguarding Officers

How long is it valid for?  3 years

How do I access the training?  Our courses run between February and June.  Book your training course below.

Safe Hands Management System (SHMS) is an ECB online Club Management Tool that can be used by cricket clubs to collate the details of those with responsibilities for the management and running of Club activities such as Coaches, Team Captains, Club Safeguarding Officers, administrators etc.

To find out about how Safe Hands Management System works, who it is for and how to get access to it for your club, see our  Safe Hands Management System information page.

DBS for UK Residents

If you need a DBS for cricket, it must be an ECB DBS; the ECB will not allow you to “port in” your DBS if it was not issued for them. There is no charge for a DBS if you are a volunteer.

Who requires a DBS? 

There is a wide range of roles that require a DBS, including; Coach, Umpire, Team Manager, Team Captain. Click here to view the current list of roles that ECB require to have a DBS.

How to get a DBS?

Contact your Club ID Verifier, Club Safeguarding Officer or if you are a member of the ACO, the ACO secretary and ask them to “initiate” a DBS for you. If you cannot find anyone at your club able to do this, email us and ask for your DBS to be initiated.

ID Verifiers

We want all clubs to have an ID Verifier. This is usually the Club Safeguarding Officer but others can be considered. If your club needs a verifier, or second verifier, please e-mail the County Safeguarding Officer with your name, e-mail, date of birth, club, and role at the club.

Once you have completed your DBS application form you will need to meet with a verifier and show them 3 original documents (chosen when you completed the form). They will then complete the verifying and submit your DBS. Your DBS will usually be issued within a week or two, but they can take up to 2 months or more.

Paid Role DBS

If you require a DBS for a paid role in cricket, after your documents have been verified you will receive an email and will need to pay the DBS fee of £38 before your application can be submitted to the DBS.

DBS Update Service

Please ensure you follow the ECB guidance and sign up to the DBS Update Service. If you do not, your ECB DBS will only be valid for one year and you will be required to complete a new one after this time. You must join within 30 days of the issue of the disclosure (DBS rules).

Every year, just before the anniversary of the issue of your DBS, you will receive an e mail from the ECB asking you to click on the link and complete a quick questionnaire.  This enables them to do a status update check on your DBS.  If you fail to respond, your DBS will lapse with the ECB so please do respond.

The Update Service allows the ECB to check your DBS disclosure free of charge to ensure your criminal record has not changed.  They currently do this annually.

Joining the DBS Update Service is free of charge for volunteers and costs £13 a year for paid roles (payable to the DBS).

If you have a paid role ECB DBS, it is also considerably cheaper for you if you are a member of the DBS Update Service. If you do not join, you will need to pay £38 annually for a new DBS.

DBS Disclosures with Content

If you have received a caution, conviction, reprimand or warning which has not been filtered in line with the DBS Filtering guidance, you will be contacted by the ECB and asked to send in your DBS disclosure. This will then be risk assessed and in most cases will not affect you being able to work or volunteer within cricket. If you send the DBS disclosure in within the specified time, nobody at your Club or County will usually be told you have information on your certificate. If you do not send it in in a timely manner, it may be necessary to contact your club and let them know you have failed to complete the DBS process, and so they must not allow you to participate in the role for which you applied for the DBS. If you have any questions about this please contact the County Safeguarding Officer.

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DBS for Non-UK Residents

Overseas Player/Coach – the Government’s Points Based Managed Migration system means that cricket clubs will need to obtain a sponsor licence from the UK Borders Agency in order to bring cricketers and coaches into the country. Please see the ECB Managed Migration Section of their website.

Anyone living overseas, or who has lived overseas for 6 months or more in the last 5 years, who holds a role normally requiring a DBS disclosure will be required to complete a Non-UK Residents Vetting Form, and be cleared by the ECB, before being allowed to take up their position of Regulated Activity (eg coaches, CSOs, Umpires, Team Managers, etc).

With the ECB Non-UK Vetting Form the applicant will need to supply:

• a Police Check / Certificate of Good Conduct from the Overseas Country issued within the last 3 months and
• a copy of the photo page of their passport and
• a copy of their visa (if applicable).

NB – They should obtain the Police Check BEFORE they leave their country; it is much easier and in some countries this can only be applied for face-to-face.

For information on how to obtain a Police Check / Certificate of Good Conduct from the Overseas Country please click here.

Kent Cricket has the following safeguarding policies:

1. Safeguarding Children Policy Statement
2. Safeguarding Adults Policy Statement
3. Whistleblowing Policy
4. Bullying and Harassment Policy

We have the following policies for our Talent Pathway:

1. Player Charter
2. Parents/Guardian Charter
3. Changing Room Policy
4. Photographic Policy
5. Transport Policy
6. Anti-bullying Policy
7. Social Media Policy