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ECB SAFE HANDS POLICY
Our Commitment
Cricket is a game which unites communities and improves lives. Across
England and Wales, the enjoyment, structure, fitness, and friendship which cricket
brings to children is of immense value to them in their formative years. Our aim
is to harness the power of the game for their benefit and to inspire a generation.
Cricket should be a game for everyone. Children are the future of our sport, so it is vital that they
experience cricket in a safe, friendly, secure, and enjoyable environment, The safety of all children
who are participating in cricket is our paramount concern.
Everyone involved in cricket, as a player, coach, official, administrator, staff member, volunteer,
spectator, parent, or carer has a role to play. Individually and collectively, it is our actions, both on and off the
field which can help in creating a safe and inclusive culture.
Safeguarding amounts to the actions we all take to promote and maintain the wellbeing of all
participants, especially children. It is our responsibility to protect the rights of children to live free
from abuse and harm. This responsibility goes beyond today and tomorrow. We all have a role to play in
ensuring that a culture of safeguarding is embedded in our cricketing organisations for the future.
It is the ECB’s vision that every individual and club should have the appropriate resources and the
confidence to create a supportive environment in which children can thrive. A welcoming, inclusive,
safe, and diverse environment is at the heart of this commitment.
The ECB is committed to ensuring:
• Appropriate policies, guidance, training, standards, and structures are in place to promote
safe and welcoming environments for children. These reflect current legislation and statutory
guidance and are developed with statutory agencies and relevant government departments
• There are clear and accessible systems which support the prompt reporting of safeguarding
concerns
• Safeguarding concerns are investigated proportionately and appropriately, in a timely manner in
consultation with statutory agencies
• Our approach to risks and development of practice is continuously reviewed and developed.
Our Policy
The ECB has developed this overarching policy for safeguarding children in cricket. A separate
policy for
safeguarding adults can be found here . It is a mandatory requirement that all County Boards,
affiliated
clubs and leagues adopt and implement the ECB Safe Hands Policy. Having a strong safeguarding
policy is the first step to ensuring children in cricket are safe, however a policy alone will not
achieve
this. The ECB will provide the cricket network with the appropriate resources and support to fulfil
their
safeguarding responsibilities.
We break these responsibilities down to Having the Right People in Place, Creating the Right
Culture
and Environment and Reporting and Responding to Safeguarding Concerns.
ECB SAFEGUARDING 3
HAVING THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN PLACE
Our game and our leaders
Effective safeguarding requires strong, positive leadership and robust
governance
from all those in leadership roles across cricket. The successful
implementation ofOur safeguarding policy and guidance depends on inspiring, driven leadership to
champion their importance and accelerate their purpose. Whilst safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, specific individuals across the ECB, counties,
clubs, and other cricket organisations hold additional responsibility for embedding our Safe Hands Policy.
It is the ECB’s role to work alongside stakeholders to provide appropriate resources to support
those across the cricket network to achieve this.
Each cricket club or organisation should have a designated lead for safeguarding. Larger clubs and
organisations should appoint a senior board level lead or committee member with the required
knowledge, skills, and experience to provide strategic leadership for safeguarding within their organisation.
Club Safeguarding Officers
Whilst everyone is responsible for safeguarding, Club Safeguarding Officers are vital members of
any club and are key to creating an environment which is safe, welcoming, and friendly for children.
Club
Safeguarding Officers may be responsible for a club, squad, panel, league, or other cricket
organisation, and should sit on the committee of the relevant organisation.
The Club Safeguarding Officer will undertake specialised Safe Hands training to ensure that they
are able to fulfil their role. They are the first point of contact for anyone within the club who has a
safeguarding concern. They are responsible for ensuring that the correct policies and guidance are followed, and
they are responsible for ensuring that everyone who is working with children in their club is subject to
appropriate safer recruitment processes.

County Safeguarding Officers
County Safeguarding Officers are appointed by each First Class County Club/County Cricket Board,
Foundation or National County Club to promote safeguarding to clubs, leagues, and other
organisations in each county, and provide advice and assistance regarding safeguarding matters.
Club Safeguarding Officers will be provided with the contact details for their relevant County
Safeguarding Officer as part of their county’s Safe Hands training programme.

County Safeguarding
Officers can be contacted via their county board .
Safeguarding Team
The Safeguarding Team is responsible for supporting the county network to provide consistent and
effective safeguarding. The team provide support to counties and clubs as necessary through
training, guidance, and direct support. The team are responsible for ensuring that each county is meeting
expected safeguarding standards. The Safeguarding Team are also responsible for implementing
the ECB Safeguarding Procedure for any matter which meets the threshold for investigation by the
Safeguarding Team.

ECB SAFEGUARDING 4
CREATING THE RIGHT CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
All children within cricket regardless of age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, ability, or
disability, have the right to enjoy the game in an environment that is safe from abuse of any kind. The ECB
recognises that appropriate safeguarding is not just about preventing abuse but setting high standards and
promoting a positive culture which provides the best environment for children to enjoy themselves and the
game of cricket. Within Safe Hands we provide a range of guidance to promote safe and inclusive
environments. All clubs and other bodies who wish to seek ECB support, whether financial or otherwise for
developing facilities and/or opportunities to play cricket, must have adopted and implemented the Safe Hands​
Policy and guidance.
If an external organisation is commissioned by a club, it is the commissioner’s responsibility to
ensure that the external organisation has safeguarding measures in place which meet the requirements of Safe
Hands.

Listening to children
Listening to children is the foundation of a child centred approach. This means seeking, listening
to, and considering children’s wishes and feelings both in individual decisions and in wider decisions
about delivery. The ECB promotes a listening culture in which the views of children and their
parents/carers are proactively sought and acted upon. Recognising additional vulnerability and taking this
into consideration is central to creating inclusive and safe environments.

Parents and carers
Cricket clubs cannot safeguard children in isolation, a partnership is necessary with parents and
carers so they know what to expect from us and what we can expect from them.
Safer recruitment
The ECB is committed to ensuring that all relevant posts across cricket are subject to robust safer
recruitment processes.
The ECB will provide support with national training initiatives and programmes to enable all
participants to understand their safeguarding obligations. County Cricket Boards, clubs, leagues,
and affiliated organisations will support the implementation of training at each level of the game
in line with ECB requirements.
A range of codes of conduct are available for different participants to ensure that everyone is clear
regarding expectations of behaviour and the ECB supports a culture in which any departure from
these expectations is quickly and robustly addressed.
ECB SAFEGUARDING 5
REPORTING AND RESPONDING
TO SAFEGUARDING CONCERNS
Creating an environment in which the views of children and parents are routinely sought and
listened to fosters a culture in which children and those supporting them can say when something is
worrying them. It is the ECB’s aim that everyone in cricket should feel confident to raise a concern, no
matter how small. Raising and dealing with concerns when they occur underpins a proactive safeguarding
culture.
The ECB works with the network of Club and County Safeguarding Officers to ensure that all
concerns are taken seriously and managed effectively at club, county, or national level within expected
timescales. We also work alongside our statutory partners to manage concerns when appropriate.
The ECB recognises the responsibility of statutory agencies and works within child safeguarding
procedures as detailed by current legislation and statutory guidance.
The ECB will ensure that all those participating in cricket are offered training and guidance in
recognising and responding to safeguarding issues, including identifying abuse. It is not the
responsibility of those working in cricket to determine if abuse has taken place but to act upon and
report any concerns promptly.

The ECB Safeguarding Procedure details how safeguarding investigations are managed by the
Safeguarding Team and can be found here .
The ECB and each cricket organisation also have a Whistleblowing procedure for staff and
volunteers
to follow if they feel that their safeguarding concerns are not being adequately addressed within
their organisation.
OUR SAFEGUARDING KIT BAG
Cricket is an open age and open gender sport, and this can sometimes create safeguarding
challenges. The Safe Hands Kit Bag, which accompanies this policy, provides comprehensive
guidance​
and templates relating to a range of cricket-specific issues. This has been developed in
consultation
with individuals, clubs, and counties across the cricket network to provide day to day support in
safeguarding children. That guidance and this policy together form the ECB’s Safe Hands Policy.
All our guidance can be found here: https://www.ecb.co.uk/about/policies/safeguarding/policies-
and-procedures ..
SAFEGUARDING ADULTS
The ECB has a separate policy for Safeguarding Adults which can be found here .
ECB SAFEGUARDING 6
ECB SAFEGUARDING STRATEGY 2022-2024
The safeguarding strategy is intended to inform and guide all of those involved in cricket regarding
the steps that we are taking to embed a culture of safeguarding across the game. The strategy
supports the game wide strategic plan, Inspiring Generations (2019-2024).
The strategy has been developed with key internal and external stakeholders, including young
people, who told us what we could do across the game to help them feel safe and be safe. It can be found here:
https://www.ecb.co.uk/about/policies/safeguarding/kit-bag-resources

Terms and Conditions
Tipton St John Safeguarding Policy Statement
• We ensure that all individuals working at or for the Club are recruited and appointed in accordance with ECB
Safer Recruitment guidance and relevant legislation and are committed to providing a welcoming, safe, and
fun experience for children
• We promote a listening culture where the views of children, parents/carers,volunteers and
other club members are proactively sought and acted upon. This helps us to create an
environment where people have the opportunity and confidence to raise concerns, including
concerns about poor practice, abuse and neglect
• We seek to create a partnership with parents/carers so that they know what to expect from us and what we
expect of them
• We ensure that external organisations who are delivering services on behalf of the Club have safeguarding
measures in place which meet the requirements of Safe Hands.
Reporting and Responding to Safeguarding Concerns
It is our aim that everyone at the Club should feel confident to raise a concern, no matter how small. We believe
that raising and dealing with concerns quickly, when they occur, supports a proactive safeguarding culture at the
Club.
All suspicions, concerns and allegations will be taken seriously. We will follow the 3R’s with every concern:
Responding appropriately, Recording confidentiality and Reporting where necessary, ensuring that concerns
are dealt with in a fair and prompt manner.
The Club recognises that it is not the responsibility of club members to determine or investigate if abuse has
taken place, but to act upon and report any concerns promptly.
We ensure that confidential information relating to safeguarding matters is shared appropriately and only with
those who need to know. Information may need to be shared with the County Safeguarding Officer, Cricket
Regulator Safeguarding Team, or local agencies with statutory responsibility for safeguarding. If we are unsure,
we will seek advice from our County Safeguarding Officer.
Adopting the ECB’s Safe Hands Policy and Guidance
• The Club has formally adopted the ECB’s Safe Hands Policy and guidance as part of our constitution
• The Club works within the ECB Safeguarding Procedure for the management of safeguarding investigations
• We ensure that all individuals who work and volunteer at or for our Club understand how Safe Hands applies
to them.
Club Commitment
Tipton St John CC Is committed to this Safeguarding Policy Statement and will review it on an annual basis.
Date Completed – 24/1/24
Signed by – We recommend both Chair and Club Safeguarding Officer sign this on behalf of Tipton St John Cricket Club
Date of renewal – xx/1/25
Our Club Safeguarding Officer’s details are:
Name : David Birch​
Email address – birch_david@outlook.com
Phone number – 07929 822940