Children’s Officer in a Club – what it is, and what it’s not

Alongside our series of essays delving into the Irish vetting legislation, we’re going to spend a couple of weeks looking at the role of a specific officer in an organisation that works with children, with a focus on sports clubs in particular.

The role of the children’s officer in a club is a result of a club’s requirement to ensure that the protection and welfare of children is of paramount importance. In this essay we'll start to explore the role, what it is, what it's not, and how it's different from the other senior management positions in a voluntary sports club.

SKILLS

Club Children’s Officer should:

FUNCTIONS

In addition, the Officer will have the following functions:

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(Note that the above description is extracted from the FAI’s recommended best practice documentation).

VOICE OF THE CHILDREN

The job of the children’s welfare officer to have good working knowledge of the various child-welfare/protection guidelines and legislation. It is of course also the role of that officer to promote the code of ethics and good practice, and to report to the club Committee what steps the children’s welfare officer considers are required to ensure the creation of a quality atmosphere in any club.

In short, the role of the children’s welfare officer is to act as the voice of the children, at the highest levels within the club.

WHAT THE ROLE IS NOT

That said, it is clearly not the role of the children’s welfare to create new policies or practices within the club.

Instead, the role of the children’s welfare officer is, in part, to bring to the attention of the club committee, any areas that, in the opinion of the children’s welfare officer, require the club’s attention.

OBLIGATIONS X 3

Objectively speaking there are a number of different levels of obligations that the children’s welfare officer needs consider. These requirements can broadly be categorised in 3 ways:

LIABILITIES X 2

There are two broad categories of liability:

1. Civil liability

2. Criminal liability

1. NON-STATUTORY, INTERNAL, MANDATORY

An example would be the club’s internal Code of Practice, as mandated by an organisation’s National Governing Body. This is an internal club document that sets out the committee and board of directors’ views on how the club should be run.

It speaks to the general ‘duty of care’ that is owed to the children – and volunteers – in the club.

Consequences of breach: Internal disciplinary steps, potentially subject to National Governing Body disciplinary procedures as well.

Potential type of liability for breach: Civil, potential actions for negligence.

2. NON-STATUTORY, EXTERNAL, MANDATORY

Examples of this would include the Children First National Guidelines, which are the go-to advice area for all areas of children’s welfare and protection. While this is a non-statutory document (i.e. not set out in law), it’s looked upon by the courts as effectively ‘setting the standard’ of care that’s required.

Consequences of breach: National body disciplinary steps at a club level.

Potential type of liability for breach: Civil liability.

3. STATUTORY, EXTERNAL, MANDATORY

The new vetting legislation would be one example (the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016, in particular s.28 (which creates personal criminal liabilities on senior officers, directors, managers etc where an offence is committed by a club with the consent, connivance or wilful neglect of these individual members of senior management).

Consequences of breach: Criminal liability at either a club or club and directors/management level.

Potential type of liability for breach: Criminal, and civil.

SUMMARY

The appointment of a person to the role of Children’s Officer in a club is of critical importance. Certain skills are required to allow that person to carry out the position’s functions effectively.

At the end of the day, however, it’s not the job of a welfare officer to be obliged to make the case for adherence to any club’s own internal policies and procedures.

It is, however, the job of the welfare officer, as discussed, to bring any non-compliance to the attention of the senior management.

The decision of any organisation to adhere to – or deliberately or negligently set aside – one’s own policies and procedures, becomes, once alerted, the responsibility of the board of directors; and to the managing committee to whom they delegate day to day operations of any particular club.

It’s then a matter of conscience for a Children's Officer the extent to which they’re prepared to support any continued non-adherence to a club’s own policies and procedures; which is, of course, a personal call to make.