Safeguarding Policy

Ezekiel Football Academy is committed to creating a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for all children and young people who attend our sessions, camps and school programmes. Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, and we take a safeguarding-first approach to coaching.

We follow applicable safeguarding principles for children's activities in England and aim to meet the standards expected of youth football providers. This policy is reviewed regularly and updated as our procedures are formalised.

We are appointing a designated Safeguarding Officer who will be the first point of contact for any safeguarding concern. Their name and contact details will be published here once confirmed.

If you have an immediate concern about a child's safety, contact the emergency services on 999 or your local children's social care team. Our Safeguarding Officer supports internal reporting and follow-up.

Our coaching approach prioritises appropriate staff supervision ratios for the ages and group sizes we coach. Sessions are delivered with more than one responsible adult present wherever possible, and children are never left unsupervised.

All coaches and staff are expected to model our values — respect, encouragement and inclusion — and to uphold professional boundaries at all times.

We are committed to ensuring all coaches and staff working with children hold appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. FA qualifications, safeguarding training (e.g. Safeguarding Children in Football) and first aid training will be verified and recorded before staff deliver sessions.

We will publish confirmed credentials on our coaches page once verified. We never display unverified qualifications.

We collect emergency contact details and relevant medical information at registration (for example, for holiday camps) so we can respond appropriately in the event of illness or injury. This information is handled securely with restricted access and shared only with the staff who need it.

In an emergency, we will contact the parent/guardian emergency contact as soon as it is safe to do so and seek appropriate medical attention.

We seek parental consent for participation, emergency medical treatment and — separately — for photography and video, as set out in our Photography Consent policy. Parents and guardians can withdraw consent at any time by contacting us.

Anyone — a child, parent, school or member of the public — can raise a safeguarding concern. Email our Safeguarding Officer (contact details to be confirmed) or hello@ezekielfootballacademy.co.uk. We take every concern seriously and will respond without delay.