We have today published the Year 1 report and review into Building an Ever-Safer Culture, football’s united three-year safeguarding strategy, led by The FA.
The Year 1 review details how The FA is performing to meet and deliver the safeguarding measures we’ve set ourselves, as well as the steps taken to meet the recommendations from Clive Sheldon QC’s March 2021 independent report into allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse in football.
The five focus areas and strategic goals for Building an Ever-Safer Culture include:
1. LEADERSHIP & GOVERNANCE
To provide strong leadership of safeguarding across the game and deliver effective governance frameworks.
2. STANDARDS
To clearly communicate the expected standards, regulations, and policies across the game and to support those in designated safeguarding roles to drive and monitor safeguarding practice and culture.
3. PREVENTION
To create ever-safer football environments through robust recruitment processes, driving safer working practice and culture, utilising insight and delivering clear messaging and inspirational campaigns.
4. EDUCATION & EMPOWERMENT
To deliver accessible, impactful safeguarding education programmes, resources and information to help create ever-safer football environments for children and adults at risk.
5. PROTECTION
To make the reporting of concerns as easy as possible, continue to build strong partnerships with statutory agencies in managing abuse cases, provide guidance on managing low-level concerns and deliver robust case management by The FA.
Across all the focus areas in the Building an Ever-Safer Culture strategy, we’ve been making good progress and safeguarding remains a constant Board agenda item. The Year 1 review includes key achievements and progress made, as well as a series of safeguarding case studies across the game. It also highlights The FA’s priorities and targets across the five core areas for Year 2 of the strategy.
Key areas of progress highlighted in the Year 1 review and report include:
• The inaugural safeguarding in football weekend last November, which kicked-off off our ongoing Play Safe campaign to continue to drive awareness across the game
• Our new safeguarding awareness course for parents and carers, making them aware of the vital role they can play and crucially, how to report their concerns
• Child-centred innovative research we are undertaking with Chichester University, giving us a far greater insight into how children’s voices are being and can be empowered at club level
The FA will continue to produce an annual report into Safeguarding measures and protocols, and it will continue to take a leadership role in promoting and prioritising safeguarding at every level of the game.
For further information on safeguarding and how to report concerns, please CLICK HERE.
Download Building an Ever-Safer Culture – Annual Report and Review, Year 1 HERE
