All BF affiliated Clubs & Events must have a Welfare Officer in place.
The Club Welfare Officer (CWO) should not be a coach working within the club nor someone personally connected to the coaches (eg family member or in a relationship with the coach or one of their family members). This is to protect both the Club Welfare Officer and the individual reporting any concerns from any potential conflict of interest.
Where possible we advise clubs to set up a generic “welfare@xxx” email address to be used by the welfare officer, this can then be widely published on the club’s website and posters at the club. It will not only avoid personal email addresses from being put into the public domain but also allows continuity of access to the email should their be a change in welfare officer.
British Fencing will grant a 12 month “in training” period for identified volunteers to train up to meet the full Club Welfare Officer standard.
A detailed Step by Step Guide to Becoming a Welfare Officer can be found here.
England/Wales
If a club has policies and procedures in place then we would recommend that after attending an SPC course, trainee CWOs familiarise themselves with the policies and procedures and then attend the CSPU Time to Listen course.
Scotland
All Scottish welfare courses are available from www.safeguardinginsport.org.uk.
BF courses can be found here https://www.britishfencing.com/welfare-zone/welfare-courses-zone/ and additional courses will be run on-demand, so please contact us if you can’t find a suitable course in your area.
Other welfare qualifications may be accepted in some cases – these should be submitted to equality@britishfencing.com.
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