Volunteering

APPOINTMENT AND SELECTION PROCEDURE

The Club will take all reasonable steps to ensure that its staff and volunteers who are working with children and/or young people in football, have been recruited appropriately and that the individuals work in a way that reflect the Wellbeing and Protection Values – Inclusive, Approachable, Empowering and Accountable. 

As part of this process, we aim to select the best possible candidate for the role. For those working in a role which is regulated work with children and young people, the Club will fulfil its legal duty under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 to ensure that individuals who are barred from regulated work with children are not engaged (either paid or unpaid) in regulated work with children and young people within the club.

The following procedure will be completed for all staff and volunteers who will be working in a role which requires them to be in contact with children and young people.

 

1.  Pre-application Information

 

Individuals who are applying for a position with the Club will be provided with pre-application information for the positions available and will include:

• A role description outlining the roles and responsibilities of the position
• A person specification, stating qualifications or experience of working with children required
• An application form

 

2.  Application Form

 

Applicants will be requested to complete an application form. The purpose of the application form is to obtain relevant details for the position and referee contact details.

 

3.  Review Applications and Interviews / Recruitment Conversations

  

The Club will review application forms and consider which applicants to take forward. Successful applicants will be invited to a recruitment conversation, which may take the form of an interview. Interviews or recruitment conversations will then be carried out.

 

4.  Offer of Position

 

Once a decision has been made to offer appointment, the applicant will be notified either in writing or verbally. The applicant will be given details of the position, any special requirements and any obligations e.g. agreement to the Child Wellbeing and Protection Policy, a probationary period and responsibilities of the role.  

 

The applicant will be sent a Basic Disclosure form to complete and return, unless the role involves regulated work with the Club in which case they will require to be a member of the PVG Scheme. 

 

Regulated work with Children

If the role involves regulated work with children and/or young people a PVG Scheme Membership form and self-declaration form will be sent out for the successful applicant to complete and return for processing.

 

It is recommended that the offer is formally accepted and agreed to in writing e.g. by the individual signing and dating their agreement on the offer letter and returning it to the Club. The applicant’s appointment will only be confirmed when:

• Two references have been received, checked and accepted;
• Self-declaration form has been returned and approved; and
• PVG Scheme Record/Scheme Record Update has been received and accepted.

   

5.  References

 

References will be sought for all staff and volunteers who, by virtue of their role, will be working with children and/or young people within the Club. 

 

Two references will always be requested and thoroughly checked. Where possible, at least one of these references will be from an employer or a voluntary organisation where the position required working with children and/or young people. References from relatives will not be accepted. If the applicant has no experience of working with children or young people, specific training requirements may be agreed before their appointment commences.

  

6.  Membership of the PVG Scheme

  

The Club must be registered with Disclosure Scotland or Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services.  All staff and/or volunteers carrying out regulated work with children and young people within the club must be a member of the PVG Scheme for regulated work with children.

 

Suitability for position

Should the Club receive any information via the self-declaration form and/or PVG scheme record that needs risk assessed, this will be carried out by the Club’s Safeguarding Panel. 

 

The Safeguarding Panel will consist of at least three members from the Club, including the Child Wellbeing and Protection Officer, Player Development Coordinator and Coach Development Coordinator.  This risk assessment considers any criminal conviction(s) or other information that would be considered relevant to the role. The decision of the Safeguarding Panel is by majority. The outcome of the decision with the Safeguarding Panel then contributes to the final decision of the applicant’s appointment as mentioned at point 4 above.

 

Overseas Applicants

Applicants from overseas being appointed to regulated work with children and/or young people within the club are required to join the PVG Scheme. If the applicant is applying for a position of employment they must prove their ‘right to work’ in the UK and be asked to provide a police check from their relevant country where possible. For further information see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants.

 

Where this is not possible, or in addition to the police check, the following information, where relevant to the position, will be requested:

• A statement from the governing body in the country of origin of the applicant and/or the country from which they are transferring in regard to their participation and suitability for the position.
• A statement from the international federation of the sport in regard to their participation and suitability for the position.

  

7.  Induction and Training

 

Staff and volunteers will receive an induction. This process should include clarification of the expectations, roles and responsibilities of the position and identify any training needs.

 

Newly appointed staff and volunteers should complete recommended training over an agreed period. This training will include an introduction to Child Wellbeing and Protection Policy. Further training, where the role works directly with children and young people, is then provided. 

 

8.  Probation

  

Newly appointed members of staff will complete an agreed period of probation.

  

9.     Review of ongoing suitability

 

All members of staff and volunteers will have a performance review on a regular basis. Performances reviews should include an evaluation of progress and identification of training needs.

 

All individuals in regulated work for the Club will require to complete a self-declaration form on an annual basis and apply for a Scheme Record Update every three years. This ensures we are continually risk assessing members of staff and volunteers to keep children safe.  

 

10.  New vetting information

 

If new vetting information becomes available through a self-declaration form or PVG scheme record updates, this is will be considered through a risk assessment by the Club’s Safeguarding Panel.

Should any risk be identified, it will then be necessary to follow Responding to Concerns Procedure. 

 

11.  Consideration for Children’s List or Barred Individuals

 

If Disclosure Scotland notify the Club that a member of staff or volunteer is being considered for listing, that individual will be suspended as a precaution, until the outcome of the case is determined. Suspension is not a form of disciplinary action and does not involve pre-judgment. In all cases of suspension, the best interests of the child will be the primary consideration. 

 

If Disclosure Scotland inform the club that an individual is barred, that member of staff or volunteer will be removed from regulated work with children and/or young people immediately in line with the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 section 5 duties for organisations. 

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