Risk Assessment for Home and Away fixtures
Type 1: Risk Assessment for home and away fixtures
Venue Risk Assessment
Associations often use the same venue for all their home representative football matches and training. In these circumstances, you will only usually need to carry our one Risk Assessment for each venue at the start of the season which can be updated as required. You will need to complete this template for the one off use of a venue eg U16 County Cup final. You will need to keep a copy of the RA for your own Association records and may be asked to share it with visiting teams, so ensure it is available on request.
Travel to away games
In addition to the home venue risk assessment, you need to consider the additional risks when playing away fixtures. A Risk Assessment should be completed for each away trip, although much of the detail will remain the same.
Travelling to away games and having trips away from home should be both safe and fun for children. It should be a chance for all children to grow in confidence, self-esteem, and skills. Parents and carers will often worry when their children are away but careful planning and preparation should help to ease those worries and demonstrate that you have taken into account the various needs of their children and the potential dangers of a trip away.
For regular away trips you will find that very little needs to change from week to week, although if you have a new team member or helper with additional needs or a different cultural background you may need to consider your planning again.
The additional areas to consider for away fixtures are highlighted in red on the risk assessment document
On the day
Some factors will need to be checked on the day – for example, the condition of the pitch – in comparison to what was anticipated. Please use this form to update your RA on the day.
Association details
|
Association name and team details (age groups) |
|
|
Date of Assessment |
|
|
Venue address
|
Name of venue
Address |
|
GPS co-ordinates/ postcode |
|
|
Lead Organisation contact |
Name
Phone
|
|
Association Welfare Officer contact, as notified to players and parents |
Name
Phone
|
For away fixtures:
|
Opposition contact details |
Name of opposition team
Lead contact name
Contact phone
|
|
Venue details (ensure you have accurate details and postcode to share with parents/carers and coaches)
|
Name of venue
Address |
|
GPS co-ordinates/postcode |
|
Policy Checklist
|
Please ensure you have the following in place (they can be downloaded from ESFA website) |
Attached to this Risk Assessment |
Checked and agreed by |
|
Safeguarding Children |
|
|
|
Social Media/Photography |
|
|
|
Anti-bullying |
|
|
|
Showering and Changing rooms |
|
|
|
Travel, Trips and Tournaments |
|
|
|
Consent for photography and filming for each player signed |
|
|
|
Codes of Conduct signed by players, coaching staff and parents/carers. |
|
|
|
Consideration |
ESFA comments |
Association actions/comments |
Risk Assessment completed |
|
Consent (As a guide all under-16s must provide parental/legal carers consent, Over 16s may self-consent for certain levels of activity at the discretion of the Association/The FA. |
Please ensure you have written consent for all players to take part in activities, including parent/carer contact details and medical information forms.
|
|
|
|
Staffing ratios |
There must always be a minimum of 2 staff members present. Follow the guidance found in note 5.5 here: Any U18s who are helping with coaching/refereeing are counted as children in the staffing ratios. You will need additional staffing when travelling by coach/minibus
|
|
|
|
Staff DBS checks |
All Association staff members working with children in district or county teams must have had an FA DBS within the last 3 years* and be approved on the ESFA affiliation portal
* there are some exemptions for 20/21 only, arising from the corona virus pandemic: please check with your NCWO if unsure |
|
|
|
Staff safeguarding education
|
All Association staff members must have regular safeguarding training. Practicing school teachers should have annual training through their LEA, everyone else (AOTTs and retired teachers) must have FA safeguarding training, which must be updated every 3 years and approved on the ESFA affiliation portal |
|
|
|
Consideration |
ESFA comments |
Association actions/comments |
Risk Assessment completed |
|
|
Suitability of changing facilities |
Consider your changing facilities. Do you have separate changing for match officials and each team? Are they lockable? Who has access? Adults should not enter changing rooms while children are changing or showering (please look at the ESFA changing and showering policy on the website) and separate facilities must be available for male/female players. Let the opposition know about the changing facilities you have available for them and any issues which they need to be aware of. Find out from the opposition what kind of changing facilities will be available- are there any issues you need to be aware of?
|
|
|
|
|
Check on the day |
||||
|
Relevant insurance is in place |
Your insurance through ESFA affiliation will cover your participation but ensure that you have checked the venue insurance with the owner for public liability. Please see further ESFA guidance on insurance If you are travelling by coach/minibus, do you have travel insurance in place? Have you checked that the vehicle has working seat belts fitted?
|
|
|
|
|
Travelling arrangements- Association transport |
Have you hired a coach/minibus? Who is responsible for the vehicle? If you are using your own driver, does he/she have appropriate insurance for transporting children? FA DBS? Consider drop off and pick up arrangements: are you going to take a register before they board the vehicle? Ensure you have parental consent for transport arrangements and hold emergency contact details for parents/carers if they are not attending, they will need to know pick up time and venue. |
|
|
|
|
Consideration |
ESFA comments |
Association actions/comments |
Risk Assessment completed |
|
|
Drop off and pick up arrangements
|
Consider the location of your venue and age of your players; is it safe for them to arrive/leave unaccompanied or will you need a parent/carer to sign them in/out of the venue? At what point will you be responsible for the players? Do you have a plan in place for late collection? Make sure that parents/carers are aware of your policy and that you have emergency and secondary contact information in case of no-show by parent/carer.
|
|
|
|
|
Check on the day |
||||
|
Travelling arrangements- where parents/carers are meeting you at the venue. |
Provide accurate location details for parents/carers for the venue and make sure they have your contact details to report any delays. If parents/carers are sharing lifts, this should be a private arrangement between them (it might be useful to share their contact details with each other) If the Association is arranging lift-sharing, this would then become the responsibility of the Association to ensure correct insurance and safeguards are in place; the driver would become an Association driver and would need to be registered with ESFA and have an FA DBS in place. It is therefore advised that sharing lifts is always a private arrangement between them. Association staff should not give lifts to players unless this is unavoidable. Risks should be considered by the committee and noted/mitigated and written consent obtained from the parent/carer It is never acceptable for your managers/coaching staff to drive a child/children alone in their car.
|
|
|
|
|
Consideration |
ESFA comments |
Association actions/comments |
Risk Assessment completed |
|
|
Playing area (Goal posts, surface, pitch markings, RESPECT barriers |
Who is responsible for ensuring the playing area is suitable and clear of damage/glass/mess? Make sure the goalposts are checked, the pitch is correctly marked and Respect barriers in place if possible.
|
|
|
|
|
Check on the day |
||||
|
First Aid
|
Every match or training session must have a designated First Aider with an in-date qualification and an appropriate First Aid kit. Ideally, a coach or manager should have an in-date FA Emergency Aid certificate. You must ensure you have your own First Aider travelling with you to away matches, you cannot rely on the opposition to provide this. Please record here your designated First Aider contact details |
|
|
|
|
Medical |
As part of the player registration process, you must collect details of any relevant medical conditions or requirements for each player. This information must be stored securely and shared with coaching staff where appropriate. Medication is the responsibility of players and parents and should not be administered by coaching staff. Actions plans must be in place for any players with additional needs. |
|
|
|
|
Medical emergency and accidents |
Do you have signed consent from parents to administer first aid? When travelling to away games, make sure you have obtained details of the nearest A&E department from your hosts and location in case of medical emergency. Please check if you required to use an ambulance as they may not head directly for the nearest A&E |
|
|
|
|
Consideration |
ESFA comments |
Association actions/comments |
Risk Assessment completed |
|
Under 18s in regulated activity. |
Many match officials used by Associations in their home fixtures are U18 and therefore children. Please pay particular attention to safeguarding young match officials and ensure they have adequate facilities for changing and are provided with contact details of the Welfare Officer for your Association. You must also ensure you have emergency contact details. This also applies to coaches who are under 18.
All personnel over the age of 16 must be registered with the ESFA if they are involved in regulated activity
Young leaders and volunteers are permitted to be involved in events without DBS clearance subject to that involvement not constituting regulated activity and subject to their supervision |
|
|
|
Incidents and disciplinary reporting |
All serious safeguarding incidents must be reported to the CWO and passed to ESFA National Welfare officers within 24 hours. Any allegations of poor practice and discipline should be referred to ESFA as soon as possible for investigation. |
|
|