Why is it important for my club to have a Club Welfare Officer?
The main purpose of a club welfare officer is to assist with the safeguarding and protection of children and young people within a club, and to promote the club’s policies and procedures on this. They also act as the main point of contact to deal with any concerns around Safeguarding within your club. we ask that, where possible, the Club Welfare Officer does not also hold the position of club coach, so that there is someone who is independent should there be an issue with delivery of the session.
What knowledge, skills and training should a Club Welfare Officer have?
A club welfare officer should be friendly, approachable and confident enough to deal with sensitive and confidential matters discreetly and tactfully.
They should also be good listeners and effective communicators.
If you are based in England or Wales, it is essential that club welfare officers complete the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport and Physical Activity e-learning course for a basic understanding of safeguarding and also the UK Coaching Time To Listen Welfare Officer course. This course will enable them to understand welfare issues in a sport specific context, learn how to handle situations if they have any concerns, know where to go for extra support and signpost appropriately to other services.
Details on how to book both of these courses can be found here: Training – British Taekwondo
If you are based in Scotland or Northern Ireland please contact safeguarding@britishtaekwondo.org as the process is slightly different.
All Club Welfare Officers will need to have a criminal record check. British Taekwondo will contact Club Welfare Officers about this as payment can not be taken via The Hub in this instance.
It is also a good idea for club welfare officers to familiarise themselves with the British Taekwondo Safeguarding policy, which will assist in the role.
Upon completion of safeguarding training, Club Welfare Officers should forward a copy of their course certificates to safeguarding@britishtaekwondo.org to help us to ensure that appropriately qualified volunteers are operating in clubs and so we can keep our records up-to-date.
If a club fails to have a compliant Welfare Officer by 1st June 2024 then removal of British Taekwondo club affiliation will be considered.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best wishes,
Sarah Howard
Safeguarding, HR & Compliance Manager
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