Summary Guide

Safeguarding and Welfare in the Junior Premier League is our primary concern.

The Junior Premier League aspires to be the safest environment for our players. We want to ensure that all of our young people across the country, their coaches and parents can report welfare concerns.

Any reports will strictly follow FA safeguarding procedures and be handled by trained Child Welfare Staff within the Junior Premier League.

These staff aren’t there to replace club Child Welfare Officers, it is just an extra resource that allows reports to be made through a different avenue if required to ensure that each child is protected and safe. We will be working with clubs CWOs on any and all cases so there will be a fantastic level of support offered to clubs, parents and players.

If you have any queries on this or to report a concern, please contact the league welfare team on: childwelfare@junior-premier.co.uk

Guidance from the governing body for football in England, The Football Association urges the following:

Reporting: if I have a concern, how do I report it? Firstly, if you are worried about a child, it is vital you report your concerns – no action is not an option. There are 6 ways to report a concern:

  1. To your club or league Designated Safeguarding Officer – please find out from your club who these people are.
  2. To the JPL Safeguarding Team via childwelfare@junior-premier.co.uk
  3. To your County FA Designated Safeguarding Officer. A list of all County FA contact details is available HERE
  4. By emailing The FA Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@TheFA.com or by calling and asking for the team on 0800 169 1863.
  5. If urgent and you cannot contact your club, league or County Safeguarding Officer, you should call the NSPCC 24 hour helpline on 0808 800 5000.
  6. If it is an emergency because a child or children are at immediate risk, then call the Police or Children’s Social Care in your area

Whistle-Blowing

Whistle-blowing in a safeguarding context means revealing and raising concerns over misconduct or malpractice within an organisation, or within an independent structure associated with it. 

It can be used as an early-warning system or when it’s recognised that appropriate actions have not been taken. This approach or policy is adopted in many different walks of life. 

Any adult or young person with concerns about a colleague’s conduct towards a child or young person can also use whistle-blowing by emailing: Safeguarding@TheFA.com 

Alternatively, concerns can be reported: 

  • Direct to the local Police or Children’s Social Care services, or 
  • The Child Protection in Sport Unit at cpsu@nspcc.org.uk, or The NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or email: help@nspcc.org.uk