Spotlight on Safeguarding
Welcome to May's safeguarding newsletter. As we come to the end of the playing season it is time for many of us to take a breath and reset in readiness for the new season which we know will be with us before we know it. Thank you for all your support throughout the season, it's really appreciated, especially in the early months as I was settling into the role.
Moving on to next season, club/team affiliations open next month. As you will all be aware by now the FA are now mandating that all Open-age team and club officials have completed the new Player Welfare in Open-Age Course. Also, all team officials with players aged 16 and 17 years old must now have a valid Enhanced FA DBS certificate. To make it easier for this process to to be completed we will have additional verifiers dotted around the county meaning that travelling to the HFA offices is not necessary if this in inconvenient.
Please see below a handy Matrix of Requirements for all clubs/teams/league officials for the 24/25 season:
We were fortunate to be offered a bespoke session on Child Exploitation hosted by the Child Exploitation Team at West Mercia Police with a focus on Keeping Children Safe and Vulnerability. I have had very positive feedback from those who attended. If you would like a PDF copy of the presentation please let me know and I will forward it on to you. It contains some very useful and thought provoking information and would benefit anyone who works with children and parents alike. For further information about related courses please follow this link:
Exploitation and vulnerability training | West Mercia Police
Mental Health Awareness Week - 13 - 19th May
Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from Monday 13 – Sunday 19 May 2024. The theme, as set by the Mental Health Foundation, is “Movement: moving for our mental health.” This year, we want you to move your way by finding something that moves your body and mind.
Why movement matters
Being physically active is great for our bodies and our minds.
Exercise has been proven to reduce anxiety and depression, and it can help us to prevent physical illnesses. Sadly, people living with mental illness die on average 20 years younger than the general population, often from avoidable physical illness. This group is more likely to develop preventable conditions like diabetes, heart disease, bowel cancer and
breast cancer.
Our own research shows that56% of people found that exercising regularly helped them to alleviate stress and prevent burnout in their lives. (mentalhealth-uk.org)
For more in depth information on Movement and Mental Health please click here.
Play Safe 2024 - Save the date!
I know that September seems a while off but please keep this campaign in the back of your minds. If you don't know about Play Safe, it's a weekend where the whole of the FA family promotes safeguarding within football and how the various groups of people involved in football can help keep children safe. Last year, we ran a competition to see which team can be the most creative in promoting the initiative. In August we will announce our new competition for this year's campaign. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for for fun activities or competitions to highlight and promote the Play Safe initiative please get in touch.
Play your part, to make football safer for everyone, everywhere, every time.
HFA News
On Saturday 13th of April a group of 33 Ukrainians got the opportunity to watch some Championship football courtesy of Swansea City Football Club who hosted the travelling party. For many it was the first time they had been to a ‘big stadium’. The Swans gave everyone a club scarf and flag as well as making sure they all had refreshment vouchers for during the game.
Ukrainian International Mykola Kukharevych took time after the game to meet the group and have photos taken and signed autographs much to the delighted of everyone.
This is our second Ukrainian project and wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the funding we received by the Herefordshire Council to deliver something that has brought a group of people, old and young, together through football.
Local Manager Wanted
Wellington FC require a Manager/Coach for their Colts team.
The Men’s second team play in the Herefordshire Football League Division One on Saturday afternoons.
Anyone interested please contact Club Secretary Dave on 07447114506
Dates for your diary:
June 1st: Affiliation opens for 24/25 season
August DTBC: Play Safe 2024 Competition announcement
September 28 - 29th: Play Safe Weekend
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Contact us
Pay us a visit: Herefordshire County Ground, Widemarsh Common, Hereford. Office open hours 8am - 4pm, Monday to Friday
Give us a call: 01432 342179
Email us: safeguarding@herefordshirefa.com
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