As the Club Safeguarding Officer (CSO) your primary responsibility is to champion safeguarding and wellbeing and to ensure that the club complies with the RFU Safeguarding Policy and other related matters. Your role is central to ensuring that children and vulnerable adults can participate in rugby in a safe environment. You will be the main point of contact between the RFU, CB and SRUFC in relation to safeguarding matters. You will be responsible to the club Committee and the CB Safeguarding Officer.

What kind of person should you be?

• Child and Adult at Risk Centred – you should have the knowledge and ability to ensure the child or adult at risk’s voice is central in your approach to the role.
• A good communicator – to ensure that safeguarding is a whole club responsibility, you will need to ensure that the policy and the responsibilities contained in it are communicated to everyone in the club.
• Approachable and empathetic – the range of people who may want to talk to you about sensitive matters is wide. It ranges from young players to parents through to coaches and the RFU Safeguarding Unit and CB Safeguarding Team, so being approachable and able to converse in an empathetic, meaningful and caring way (helping to build effective relationships and earn trust).
• Calm – you need to be able to remain calm and professional (in particular, if sensitive and possibly upsetting information disclosed to you).
• Confident – you should be confident in assessing the level of risk of harm, knowing when third party agencies need to be informed and in sharing information with those agencies and referring matters to the RFU Safeguarding Team or CB Safeguarding Manager.
• Able to organise and maintain records – understand the requirements of collating and administering paperwork and information received in a confidential and secure manner, with the process of DBS checks being part of the role. To perform this element, you will need to be organised and maintain records.
• A multi-tasker – As the first point of contact for concerns and complaints in the club, you will need to be able to investigate or refer the concern / complaint whilst also interacting with the club committee.
• Statutory and regulatory understanding - have an understanding of Statutory agencies (e.g. police, social care or the local authority designated officer (LADO)) and their role in child protection and safeguarding and understand how to apply the RFU Safeguarding Children Policy (Regulation 21, as well as Regulation 9 and 15 together with the RFU Safeguarding toolkit).

The core responsibilities of the role:

• Act as the first point of contact for the club and with the RFU Safeguarding Unit in relation to concerns or complaints relating to children and adults at risk and DBS checks.
• Ensure that everyone in the club is aware of who you are and how you can be reached should they have any queries / concerns regarding safeguarding in the club.
• Encourage an environment where the voice of the child or adult at risk is central to the club and its policies and procedures, and that club feedback is actively sought out and acted upon (where possible).
• Promote the RFU Safeguarding Policy within the club and ensure it is adhered to.
• Ensure all safeguarding concerns are reported appropriately to the CB Safeguarding Manager (CBSM), the RFU Safeguarding team and/or the appropriate statutory agencies in a timely fashion, in line with the appropriate RFU procedures.
• Ensuring everyone at the club is aware of the appropriate reporting structures regarding safeguarding concerns and champion an environment where this is common knowledge.
• Lead on the annual club safeguarding audit, with support from the Club Committee.
• Work in partnership with the club coordinators to ensure safer recruitment procedures are followed, in line with the RFU Safeguarding Children Policy and Regulation. This includes requesting references and carrying out DBS checks.
• With the support of the Club Committee, ensure the club adheres to its safeguarding responsibilities detailed in the annual Club Safeguarding Audit.
• Ensure the club is proactive in making sure its staff and volunteers who are required to carry out safeguarding training.
• Support all safeguarding concerns or queries volunteers, staff or members have, and ensure the committee is updated on safeguarding issues.
• Ensure SRUFC’s safeguarding policy is accessible to everyone and up to date; ensure safeguarding information and contacts are readily available on the club website.
• Sit as part of the SRUFC’s committee, particularly when considering its safeguarding matters.
• Request and process DBS applications for all eligible volunteers at your club.

The commitment from you:

The workload will be heavier over the summer due to the influx of new volunteers. Ensuring the mandatory in touch and safeguarding training has been carried out and processing DBS checks for these individuals will be a priority at this time. After this, the role will be more about monitoring the club’s activities and dealing with any issues that arise, as well as processing any further DBS checks for other newcomers and dealing with renewals throughout the season.

What do you get out of it?

This is an opportunity to positively influence the experience of children and vulnerable adults within the club and to ensure everyone can enjoy rugby in a safe environment. Due to the nature of the position, all CSO’s will have to have a valid and up to date RFU DBS check.