In the first instance any matter that gives cause for concern should be raised to the immediate direct contact point at the club, for example the team coach or admin.

If you do not feel able to raise it with them for any reason, you may approach another trusted person with an official club role at the same level, or the relevant committee member.

As part of our governance process, we prefer you do not approach the Club Chairman or President as a first point of contact. In the event that you do so they may refer you on towards the person best suited to deal with the matter.

Please do make clear whether you wish to raise an informal concern or make a formal complaint. You will normally be asked to confirm any formal complaint in writing (i.e. on email).

Dealing With Matters Raised

Upon receiving a raised matter the recipient (who should be a club official, i.e. a coach, admin, committee member – not a fellow parent or player) a three step process shall be applied to evaluate the required response.

Three Step Process

Step 1:

The receiver will raise the matter with a suitable colleague (not associated with the concern) before any further action is taken and decide jointly what the next steps should be.

Step 2:

If the matter is raised as an informal concern only, then it will be evaluated by the receiver and the informed colleague and they may take one of the following steps:

Address the concern directly and feedback that it has been handled to the person raising the concern; or

Escalate the matter to the appropriate manager or committee member (not the Chairman or President at this stage).

In either case a record of the concern raised should be made and any action taken, to be filed with the Club Secretary.

Step 3

If the matter is raised as a formal complaint, then it should be immediately escalated to a committee member within the club for further review. A written record of the escalation should be made to the Club Secretary.

Wherever practical and appropriate we seek to resolve concerns informally in the first instance. Specific reviews and any actions arising will be handled on a case-by-case basis.