Play Safe Online
DO YOU KNOW HOW TO PLAY SAFE ONLINE?
It's our responsibility to keep football safe. This applies to the online environment as much as to the offline world.
We know our world really benefits from online and digital technology. Whether communicating team results or a change of venue, social activities, or sharing coaching tips and skills to encourage and support new volunteers – it helps teams and clubs to run effectively and be better connected.
For everyone to benefit safely from the online environment, it is important they follow best practice in social media and technology use. Club officials, match officials and parents/carers involved in football should understand how their safeguarding responsibilities apply online.
Advice for children
Ron says...
🗣 It’s ok to tell an adult you trust about any communications that make you feel uncomfortable.
🤔 Think carefully about what you post and share.
💚 Think about the impact on others of unkind comments or content you may share online.
🔒 Set privacy settings
#ShootShoutShare
Advice for Clubs and Leagues
DO:
Appoint an appropriate adult(s) to monitor the content of the website, who should also attend The FA’s Safeguarding Children Workshop to carry out this role;
Make sure everyone within your club/ league knows who is responsible for monitoring the content of the website and social networking areas and how to contact them;
Apply the principles within The FA’s photography guidelines. See Guidance Notes 8.3: Photographing and Filming Children;
Place the CEOP, ‘Report Abuse’ app on your web site and links to the advice offered via its ThinkUKnow.co.uk programmes which give age appropriate advice to children as well as parents/carers;
Provide a link to TheFA.com safeguarding section – TheFA.com/football-rules-governance/safeguarding;
Consider the benefits hosting message boards, forums or blogs will bring to your club/league against the potential risks. If you decide to use them ensure that they are password protected and only allow comments to be posted by individuals known and permitted access by the club/league;
Remember that the club/league is responsible for all content contained on its website, forum blogs, tweets or social networking areas;
Regularly monitor the content of the above and use The FA’s ‘Respect Codes of Conduct’ and ‘Relationships of Trust Statement’ as a guide to acceptable behaviour online;
Ensure privacy settings are locked so that that the page(s) are used explicitly for club or league matters and not as a place to meet, share personal details or have private conversations;
Get written parent/carer permission before access to view your club/league social media platforms is given to under-18s.
DON'T:
Host children’s or young people’s details where they can be seen or used by others to contact them. This includes the mobile phone and email of referees and coaches under the age of 18. Any details hosted should only be done with written parental/carer consent;
Host pictures of individuals without the express permission of parents/carers;
Post detail of individuals which may lead them to be identified e.g. school/class/ year, player profiles detailing personal information e.g. favourite foods, movies, teams etc.;
Post or host items which may be considered to be hurtful, insulting, offensive, abusive, threatening, racist or discriminatory or otherwise may cause offence or harm to another or might incite such behaviour in others;
Post or host match results for teams that are under-11. Remember the focus is on participation not outcome at this age.