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As many of you may be aware, child protection has become an important issue in all sports and cricket is no exception. At a club level, there is now a requirement for this to be taken seriously and it involves all members of the club. There are a number of actions that we must take to meet recommendations laid down by the ECB and failure to do so may see clubs expelled from their leagues. Please look at these actions, which I have listed below, as at least one of them will affect you:

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Clubs must appoint a Welfare Officer, who will sit on the club committee.

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A statement regarding child protection should be incorporated into the club’s constitution. This has been done.

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All ECB affiliated clubs must adopt the ECB "Safe Hands - Welfare of Young People in Cricket" policy.

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The club needs to ensure that all players, coaches, umpires etc. who interact with players under 18 years of age have undergone the necessary checks. These requirements came into force on 1^st April 2005. This ranges from a Criminal Record Bureau check to a Self-Declaration form. The requirements are listed in the linked document - click here.

The ECB has changed its recommendations regarding the need for all players in a team fielding juniors (under 18) to complete a self-declaration form and this now only applies to the captain and vice-captain, if they have not had a CRB check.

Members who have a direct involvement with young players will need to undergo a CRB check. Anyone who takes part in an ECB coaching course will undergo this automatically but for those of you who fall into a group requiring a CRB check and who does not have one, please read below.

Self Declaration
A copy of the Self Declaration form can be obtained by clicking here. Unless any specific issues are raised by the completed form, this is all that needs to be done. (A few speeding fines are not a problem!). All information will be treated in strict confidence and only discussed with more senior representatives of the ECB Child Welfare team if I have any concerns.

CRB Checks
Anyone needing to undergo a CRB check will need to obtain the necessary documentation. Tim Hopkins has some copies or if you contact me I will get the forms sent to you. Once you have completed the necessary parts of the form (read the instructions carefully as a number of the sections do not need to be filled in) you will need to bring it to me with the necessary documentation as proof of identity and I will sign it off. It is then sent to the ECB. In unusual circumstances eg if you are earning significant sums of money from coaching, there will be a charge but for most of you this will not apply.

For those members who may have undergone a CRB check because of other activities (work or leisure related) the ECB has decided that as from 1^st April 2005 it will cease to accept CRB certificates obtained from other organisations. This is because the amount of administration required to process and authenticate the certificates is three times that for a new CRB form.

For further information about the ECB Child Welfare policy please go to http://www.ecb.co.uk/safehands

Contacts:

ECB Welfare Case Officer:

Rebecca Ledingham
England and Wales Cricket Board
Lords Cricket Ground
London
NW8 8QZ

CBW Child Welfare Officer Brian Crockett Tel: 01639 892232

Club Child Welfare Officer

Local Social Services - Abuse Enquiries: call 029 2087 2000

In an emergency the Samaritans hold the Duty SS officers number - call 0845 7909090

Local Police Child Protection Team (Dial 999 in emergencies) - Cardiff: 029 2057 7272

NSPCC 24 Hour Freephone Helpline: 0800 800 5000