PDA acknowledges its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of every child and young person and is committed to providing a safe environment for all. We recognise that a child is anyone under the age of 18.
PDA endorses and adopts the following key safeguarding principles:
- the child’s welfare is, and must always be, the paramount consideration
- all children and young people have a right to be protected from abuse regardless of their age, gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, faith or belief
- all suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately
- working in partnership with other organisations, children and young people and their parents/carers is essential.
- We acknowledge that every child or young person who plays or participates in football should be able to take part in an enjoyable and safe environment and be protected from poor practice and abuse. PDA recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.
PDA has a role to play in safeguarding the welfare of all children and young people by protecting them from physical, sexual or emotional harm and from neglect or bullying. It
is noted and accepted that The FA’s Safeguarding Children Regulations apply to everyone in football whether in a paid or voluntary capacity, including coaches/managers, volunteers, match officials.
PDA endorse and adopt The FA’s Safer Recruitment guidelines and we will:
- Specify what the role is and what tasks it involves
- Request identification documents
- As a minimum meet and chat with the applicant(s) and where possible interview people before appointing them
- Where eligible require an FA- accepted DBS enhanced with barred list Check, in line with The FA’s current Safeguarding Children Policy and Regulations.
- All current PDA coaches working in eligible roles with children and young people, are required to hold an in-date FA accepted DBS enhanced with barring list check as part of safer recruitment practice.
If there are concerns regarding the appropriateness of an individual who is already involved or who has approached us to become part of PDA guidance will be sought from the County Football Association (CFA).
It is noted and accepted that The FA will consider the relevance and significance of the information obtained via the DBS process and that all suitability decisions will be made in accordance with legislation and in the best interests of children and young people.
It is accepted that The FA aims to prevent people with a history of relevant and significant offending from having contact with children or young people and the opportunity to influence policies or practice with children or young people. This is to prevent direct sexual or physical harm to children and to minimise the risk of ‘grooming’ within football.
PDA supports The FA’s Whistle Blowing policy which requires any adult or young person with concerns about an adult in a position of trust within football can ‘whistle blow’ by contacting The FA Safeguarding Team on 0800 169 1863 or by emailing Safeguarding@TheFA.com
PDA encourages everyone to know about The FA’s Whistle Blowing Policy and to utilise it if necessary.
PDA has appointed a Club Welfare Officer in line with The FA’s role profile who has completed the Safeguarding Children and Welfare Officers Workshop. The post holder will be involved with ongoing Welfare Officer training provided by The FA and/or CFA. The CWO is the first point of contact for all club members regarding concerns about the welfare of any child or young person. The CWO will liaise directly with the CFA Designated Safeguarding Officer and will be familiar with the procedures for referring any concerns. The CWO will also play a proactive role in increasing awareness of respect, poor practice and abuse amongst club members.
PDA acknowledge and endorse The FA’s identification of bullying as a category of abuse. Bullying of any kind is not acceptable at our club. If bullying does occur, all players and parents/carers should know that incidents will be dealt with appropriately. Incidents need to be reported to the PDA welfare officer and in cases of serious bullying the CFA Designated Safeguarding Officer may be contacted.
Codes of conduct for Players, Parents/ Spectators, Officials and Coaches (as required by the CPSU Safeguarding Standards) have been implemented by PDA. In order to police these codes of conduct the club has clear actions it will take regarding repeated or serious misconduct at club level and acknowledges the possibility of potential sanctions which may be implemented by the CFA in more serious circumstances.
In PDA safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and we know that inaction is not an option. If anyone is worried about a child, it is important that they report their concerns to Daniel Hebditch, who will deal with reported concerns as follows:
- Our CWO will manage poor practice and where necessary seek advice from the County FA Designated Safeguarding Officer (CFA DSO).
- Our CWO will make referrals about more serious concerns to the County FA DSO, or in an emergency contact the Police or Children’s Social Care.
- We will ensure that if the child needs immediate medical treatment that we take them to a hospital or call an ambulance and tell them it is a child protection concern.
- Our CWO will keep records of the actions taken and keep the County FA DSO informed.
PDA understands and accepts our collective responsibility to adhere to our safeguarding children policy and procedures.
- The FA’s Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures (including the anti-bullying policy) are available via: TheFA.com/football-rule-governance/safeguarding/section-1-footballs-safeguarding-framework
- The FA’s Safer Recruitment guidance is available via: TheFA.com/football-rules-governance/safeguarding/section-3-safer-recruitment-and-dbs-checks
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PDA Coaching Refund Policy
PDA Coaching LTD keeps costs as low as possible while still offering an excellent experience for our players.
At PDA Coaching LTD we are sympathetic to changes in circumstances that can occur following the booking of one of our courses online. Our policy is based on being open and transparent with our customers.
Prior to the season the registration fees are used to fund our operating budget, which includes uniforms, equipment etc. Because of this if you accept your child’s place within one of our Centres without starting a leaving fee will be due.
Refunds
Circumstances where we will NOT refund
We are unable to offer a refund for instances where a participant misses an after-school / Soccer camp session. We are a service-based company and must cover costs such as hire of venues and payment of coaches. Sessions still need to go ahead whether your child attends or not. Our dates and session times are published online at www.pdacoaching.com at the start of each course so unfortunately we cannot offer a refund for sessions/ days/ weeks missed mid-course because of other family commitments or doctor’s appointments, for example. Nor can we offer a refund mid-course because a participant decides that they do not wish to attend anymore. Most of our after-school courses occur in 5 to 7-week blocks and so enrolling on a course signifies a commitment to attend for that time period.
We are unable to offer a refund for an event that is no fault of either party (PDA Coaching or Customer). Examples of this are measures enforced by the government preventing us from delivering the session planned, natural disasters (e.g floods) AND Damage to the venue we planned to use for the session (e.g. caused by a fire, vandalism etc.). We will try and reschedule the session planned however, due to future sessions already being in place and staff’s time being occupied by this, we may be unable to reschedule the session and it will be cancelled indefinitely.
Circumstances where we MAY offer a refund
In the case of injuries that prevent the player from playing, refunds may be issued upon receiving a doctors note but will be evaluated by Danny our Director.
We only offer a full refund (be it at after school clubs or holiday camps) in extreme circumstances where there has been severe hardship or tragic family event.We also reserve the right to decline this offer if we feel the system is being abused/ taken advantage of.
Circumstances where we WILL offer a refund
If for any reason we as a company are unable to fulfil the allotted sessions (e.g. if the coach was ill and we were unable to find a suitable replacement), then we would initially attempt to run the session at an alternate date, offer a voucher for future provisions OR offer a voucher for an alternative camp/club. ONLY if we cannot offer a voucher for a future provision OR an alternative provision then we will refund the customer in full for the sessions missed.
If a course is double booked by mistake we can either offer a credit for this for the full amount or a refund however this will have tax/vat and our stripe fee subtracted from the initial fee paid. These offers are only valid if we are notified within 72 hours of the booking.
Credit Notes
On our full day camps (Soccer Schools) , we will offer a credit note for a player who misses a full day due to illness or family circumstances where they cannot attend following the initial booking. This credit is valid for 12 months from the date when the session was missed and should be claimed by making us aware within 14 days of the absence. We also reserve the right to decline this offer if we feel the system is being abused/ repeatedly taken advantage of.
Additionally, we are unable to apply credit notes to sessions missed at after school clubs as this is not logistically feasible and does not allow us to cover our costs.
If a credit is offered but the customer would prefer a refund we may offer this depending on the circumstances however if a refund is offered. Deducted from the refund would be our stripe fee/ vat and an admin charge for processing the refund.
If a course is booked accidentally or the customer / child no longer wants to attend only a credit will be offered in these circumstances.
As a company we always try to be open and transparent about our refunds policy with our valued customers. Any queries about our refunds and credits policy should be directed to info@pdacoaching.com
By signing a participant on to one of our provisions we understand that you have read through all the terms and conditions in this document and agree to abide by everything described throughout.
PDA Social Media Policy
PDA aims to ensure children, young people, coaches, and adults in a position of trust are not subjected to improper online behaviour or improper allegations.
PDA ensures all content hosted on their website, social network areas and any associated message boards or blogs abides by the Rules and Regulations of The Football Association.
THE RULES:
It is against FA rules to post comments that are or maybe perceived as:
- Offensive;
- Insulting;
- Abusive;
- Threatening;
- Racist;
- Discriminatory;
- Any other reference that may cause offensive or harm to others.
Any such comment made on PDA social media and/or social networking sites regarding PDA staff or PDA players may result in disciplinary action being taken in line with The FA’s disciplinary policies and procedures.
Comments made on websites that are threatening, abusive or racist could lead to legal action being taken against those responsible for posting or hosting them. Comments made may attract libel claims and legal action through the civil courts if they are untrue or defamatory. - Children and young people should be advised by their coaches, parents/carers and Club Welfare Officer to always tell an adult they trust about communications that make them feel uncomfortable or where they’ve been asked not to tell their parent/ carer about the communication.
Photography and Filming
Parents, children and PDA look forward to celebrating and or publicising footballing successes by photographing children at matches and events. Documenting a child’s involvement and progress through the season both by film and photos is widely accepted as contributing to the enjoyment of the game. It’s also recognised some coaches find it helpful to use photographs or film as a coaching tool to support a player’s development.
If your son or daughter has accepted there place with PDA Coaching you have accepted that PDA Coaching has the right to photograph and film your son/daughter and use these photos / footage on our social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Website)
Please send us an email if you wish to opt out of your son or daughter featuring in any VEO match footage, on our website or any photos being taken of them.
