Northwood Town Cricket Club
Code of Conduct
Northwood Town Cricket Club EST 1973 
Code of Conduct
This code of conduct has been prepared to ensure that all cricket and social activities at Northwood Town Cricket Club are conducted fairly, sensibly and enjoyably. It is expected that anyone connected with Northwood Town Cricket Club – member, junior cricketer, parent, player, friend or spectator will adhere to these guidelines.
Code of Conduct for Members and Adult Cricketers
Respect the rights, dignity and worth of every person within the context of Cricket and promote the positive aspects of Cricket e.g. fair play and sporting behaviour
Treat everyone equally and not discriminate on the grounds of age, gender, disability, race, ethnic origin, nationality, colour, parental or marital status, religious belief, class or social background, sexual preference or political belief. Additionally not to condone, or allow to pass unchallenged, any form of discrimination if witnessed
Display high standards of behaviour, conducting themselves fairly and properly – on or off the field of play and will NOT:
· engage in crude, abusive and personal “sledging” of other players or officials · use abusive hand signals
· engage in verbal or physical abuse or hostility to other players or members of the public, or audibly use foul language when berating themselves
Encourage all participants to learn the Laws and rules and play within them, respecting the decisions of match officials and not engage in excessive and/or intimidatory appealing.
Not smoke, drink or use banned substances whilst actively working with Young People in the Club, nor provide Young People with alcohol when they are under the care of the Club. Follow ECB guidelines set out in the “Safe Hands – Cricket’s Policy for Safeguarding Children’ and any other relevant guidelines issued. Children learn by example, so language and behaviour should be moderated when children are present. Also respect Young People’s opinions when making decisions about their participation in Cricket.
In addition to the above, all Club Officers and Appointed Volunteers will:
· Hold relevant qualifications and be covered by appropriate insurance
· Always work in an open environment (i.e. avoid private or unobserved situations) · Know and understand the ECB’s ‘Safe Hands – Cricket’s Policy for Safeguarding Children’
Pay promptly any subscriptions, match fees, event ticket money or similar and not retain collected club money without prior consent of the Treasurer.
When selected to play at Northwood Town Cricket Club, assist colleagues in assembling sightscreens, putting out and collecting boundary markers, etc. and making the opposition feel welcome to Northwood Town Cricket Club.
Northwood Town Cricket Club EST 1973 
Code of Conduct for Junior Cricketers
Northwood Town Cricket Club is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of all its members. Northwood Town Cricket Club believes that it is important that members, coaches, administrators and parents/carers or guardians associated with the club should, at all times, show respect and understanding for the safety and welfare of others.
Therefore, members are encouraged to be open at all times and to share any concerns or complaints that they may have about any aspect of the club with their coach.
As a member of Northwood Town Cricket Club you are expected to abide by the following junior code of conduct:
· All members must play within the rules of cricket and respect officials and their decisions.
· All members must respect the rights, dignity and worth of all participants regardless of gender, ability, cultural background or religion.
· All members must respect their opponents.
· Members should keep to agreed timings for training and competitions or inform their coach or team manager if they are going to be late.
· All members must abide by instructions given by coaches and team managers, especially with regard to safety.
· Members must wear suitable kit for training and match sessions, as agreed with the coach or team manager:
o Correct footwear is essential (Trainers / Cricket boots)
o White shirt – preferably Northwood Town Cricket Club cricket shirt.
o Correct protective equipment when batting or wicket keeping, see Youth Safety Policy
· Members must pay any subscriptions or other fees promptly. Junior membership fee includes match fees, coaching and net training (please note that membership does not guarantee team selection)
· Junior members are not allowed to smoke, consume alcohol or drugs of any kind on club premises or whilst representing the club elsewhere.
Northwood Town Cricket Club EST 1973 
Code of Conduct for Parents
Encourage your child to know the Laws of Cricket and play within them. They should also understand the ’Spirit of Cricket’. Ensure that they always play fairly and never argue with officials.
Acknowledge good performances by both teams. Parents and players should be gracious in victory and accept defeat sensibly and with dignity. Help your child to recognise good performance, not just results.
All language used should be appropriate to the situation. Children learn best by example, all adults should be a positive role model.
Never force your child to play or openly criticise their performance.
If your child is taking any medication or has an illness that will affect their ability to participate let the coach know.
Take responsibility for organising your child’s transport to away fixtures.
When selected for matches ensure your child arrives by the stated time. If there is a problem let the manager know as soon as possible.
If you notice other adults, other than parents, hanging around the teams you should identify them to the Child Welfare Officer
Support your coaches and never attempt to coach or move a fielder during play.
Parents should comply with the club’s photography policy and be aware of the changing and showering policy.
Consider if you can assist the club with a volunteering role e.g. bar, teas, scoring, umpiring etc. Remember all the coaches and managers are volunteers.
Club officials reserve the right to speak to and where necessary take appropriate sanctions if parents do not comply with the above.
If you have any concerns about the coaches, team selection or the general running of a side make an appointment to discuss in private with the Junior Cricket Manager.
Northwood Town Cricket Club EST 1973 
Code of Conduct for Coaches
Northwood Town Cricket Club is committed to ensuring the safety of children within the club during organised cricket and practise sessions. Our cricket coaching staff adopts the following principles as recommended by Sports Coach UK:
Coaches must respect and champion the rights of every individual to participate in cricket
Coaches must develop a relationship with players and members based on openness, honesty, mutual trust and respect
Coaches must demonstrate proper personal behaviour and conduct at all times, displaying high standards of language, manner, presentation, preparation and punctuality
To maximise benefits and minimise the risks to cricketers, coaches must attain a high level of competence through appropriate qualifications and a commitment to on-going training that ensures safe and correct practise.
Additionally:
At each session the coaching staff will ensure that each child is checked against a register on arrival and that their medical details are to hand.
Coaches will be aware of the weather conditions and ensure that appropriate clothing e.g. headwear is worn and that cricketers have adequate access to water to prevent dehydration.
The coaching staff will be fully inducted into the ECB risk assessment, injury / accident procedures and their responsibilities. Northwood Town Cricket Club encourages its coaches to join the ECB Coaches Association
The coaching staff will ensure that all activities will be carried out using the appropriate equipment, and that the safety of the participants is taken into account.
Any incident involving junior cricketers at Northwood Town Cricket Club will be recorded in the Incident Book and details will be relayed to the child's parent or guardian at the earliest opportunity.
Northwood Town Cricket Club EST 1973 
Youth Welfare Policies
Safe Hands
Northwood Town Cricket Club supports the ECB Safe Hands policy. This is our set of guidelines and requirements for safeguarding children as part of its commitment to ensuring that the game provides a safe, friendly and enjoyable experience for them. The Policy is backed up by a comprehensive training and education programme, a structured implementation plan and a sensitive process to respond to concerns. It is the responsibility of the whole club to implement the appropriate Safeguarding policies and procedures.
More information on Safe Hands and associated documents are available to download at ecb.co.uk
Club Welfare Officers
A club must nominate a Club Welfare Officer who will advise and ensure that Safeguarding is being adhered to in the Club. The Club Welfare Officer must attend a ‘Safeguarding and Protecting Children workshop accredited by Sports coach UK (3 hours). The Club Welfare Officer must have a CRB Vetting Check. The Club Welfare Officer must attend the NSPCC ‘Time to Listen’ course (3 hours) advising on the role, requirements and responsibilities of child protection in Clubs.
Helmets
Any individual taking responsibility for junior players should take all reasonable steps to ensure that this guidance is followed at all times: Helmets with a faceguard or grille should be worn when batting against a hard cricket ball in matches and in practice sessions. Young players should regard a helmet with a faceguard as a normal item of protective equipment when batting, together with pads, gloves and, for boys, an abdominal protector (or box, worn in a secure manner!). Young wicket keepers should wear a helmet with a faceguard when standing up to the stumps in addition to regular wicket keeping equipment. Northwood Town Cricket Club requires all under 18s to wear a helmet in junior or senior level matches without exception, as well as in practice sessions.
Fielding
No young player in the Under 15 age group or younger shall be allowed to field closer than 8 yards (7.3 metres) from the middle stump, except behind the wicket on the off side (the slips), until the batsman has played at the ball. For players in the Under 13 age group and below the distance is 11 yards (10 metres). These minimum distances apply even if the player is wearing a helmet. Should a young player in these age groups come within the restricted distance the umpire must stop the game immediately and instruct the fielder to move back. In addition any young player in the Under 16 to Under 18 age groups, who has not reached the age of 18, must wear a helmet and, for boys, an abdominal protector (box) when fielding within 6 yards (5.5 metres) of the bat, except behind the wicket on the off side. Players should wear appropriate protective equipment whenever they are fielding in a position where they feel at risk.
Northwood Town Cricket Club EST 1973 
Changing Room Policy
At present Northwood Town Cricket Club have a limited changing and showering resource, due to this constraint Colts are expected to come to training sessions and games in the kit they will play in. However in an unlucky event that changing room and showers do need to be used the following must be adhered to:-
· Adults must not change or shower at the same time when using the same facility as children · Adults should try to change at separate times to children during matches i.e. when padding up · If Adults and children need to share a changing facility, the Club must have consent from the Parents that their child can share a changing room with Adults in the club
· If children play for Adult Teams, they and their Parents must be informed of the Club’s policy on changing arrangements
· Mixed gender teams must have access to separate male and female changing rooms · Mobile phones with cameras must not be used in changing rooms
Transport
The Club is not responsible for the safe delivery and collection of children for matches or training. This responsibility lies with the parents. When delivering or collecting a child it is the parent’s responsibility to ensure that their presence is recorded on the attendance sheet.
At the start of the season parents will be advised about planned away fixtures giving them an opportunity to make appropriate arrangements. It is not the responsibility of the Coach or Team Manager to transport, or arrange to transport, the children to and from the Club or match. Parents are encouraged to share transport with other parents whenever possible. It is the Club’s policy that coaches do not take junior players in their cars, unless it is an emergency, for example to avoid the child being left behind or if they need to go to hospital. Parents can request their child travels with a coach but in these cases it is recommended this is done in writing and others are aware of the request.
Coaches and Club Officers will be responsible for the Children in their care when on the Club premises or on arrival at opponents’ cricket grounds. The Club must receive permission from Parents/Carers for children to participate in all competitions and away fixtures / events and this is covered on the Membership Form.
Away matches
In order to demonstrate the Club’s duty of care for children in the team we have a generic protocol in place that will fit all occasions, including adult teams where one or more players are under the age of 18.
A Team Manager will be appointed with clear roles and responsibilities. Such responsibilities should include: undertake risk assessments of venues and facilities; ensure that the team has agreed to act within the Club’s Code of Conducts; establish and communicate the following information to Parent(s):Name and contact details for the Team Manager responsible for the trip; why the trip is planned, i.e. league or friendly match; when the trip will take place – date, times including time of departure if relevant and estimated time of return; location of venue and meeting points as appropriate
The Team Manager should ensure they have a written copy of the relevant emergency contact details and any medical information with them during the away trip, for all children who are taking part in the trip for whom they have a duty of care; Determine appropriate level of supervision and ensure that all Staff have a
Northwood Town Cricket Club EST 1973 
clear knowledge of their role and responsibility for the team as well as an understanding of the ECB “Safe Hands” Policy; ensure they have the name and contact number of the person acting as the ‘Club Home Contact’ i.e. a member of the Club who is not travelling away, who will act as a contact point if required in an emergency situation. The Club Home Contact should be a member of the club who has been CRB checked. The Team Manager should ensure that the ‘Club Home Contact’ is provided with the following information to enable them to fulfil their role should they need to do so: The names of the players and staff on the trip; Emergency contact names and phone numbers for each of the above persons; Details of any medical or physical needs any of these persons may have; Contact numbers for the staff which can be used whilst the staff are on the trip; Telephone numbers for the Police local to the home club
Concerning the medical welfare of players:
Medical details and relevant information must be carried by a member of Staff; Staff must be aware of any specific medical conditions that may occur i.e. epilepsy, asthma, diabetes; Staff should have access to calling the emergency services and the minimum first aid provision (a first aid kit should be carried); Staff must act in an emergency and take lifesaving action in extreme situations
If an emergency occurs, the Team Manager must: establish the nature of the emergency and names of any casualties; ensure the rest of the Team are safe and supervised; ensure all members of the party are aware of the situation and are following emergency procedures; ensure that a member of staff accompanies any casualties to hospital in the absence of their parents; notify the Police if necessary; complete an ECB incident reporting form and report the incident to the insurers; contact the ‘Club Home Contact’ who will contact Parents if absent and keep them informed about the situation
ECB Photography and Video Camera Guidelines
The ECB is keen to promote positive images of children playing Cricket and is not preventing the use of photographic or videoing equipment. However, there is evidence that some people have used sporting events as an opportunity to take inappropriate photographs or film footage of children and all clubs should be vigilant about this possibility.
Photographs / images are not to be taken at matches or training without the prior permission of the parents/carers of the children. This permission can be given by proxy by the coach of each team only after parental consent for this has been granted. The coach must arrange this prior to attending matches.
The children should be informed that a person will be taking photographs.
The children should be informed that if they have concerns they can report these to the coach or team manager.
Concerns regarding inappropriate or intrusive photography should be reported to the Club Welfare Officer and recorded in the same manner as any other child protection concern.
If the club proposes to use a child’s picture in promoting the club (e.g. website or newsletter) they will ask for parental permission and wherever possible show the image to the parents and child in advance. This ensures that they are aware of the way the image will be used to represent Cricket and the Club. The club will also seek the child’s permission to use their image. If a photograph is used, the Club will avoid naming the child.
If the club is to use video as a coaching aid, players and parents will be notified in advance that it is happening. The club will ensure due care is taken in the storing of such films. The Parents/Carers and children must provide written consent for the use of photography and video analysis, and this is on the Club’s Membership form.
Northwood Town Cricket Club EST 1973 
ECB Missing Children Guidelines
If a child for whom the club has responsibility goes missing, the following guidelines have been devised to clarify actions that should be taken. Staff will ensure the other children in club’s care are looked after appropriately while a search party is organised and the missing child’s parents will be notified of the incident. All available responsible adults will be drafted in to search in a methodical way beginning with the area in which the child has gone missing. All those searching will report back to a nominated adult at a specific point, who should remain at this point and will record events and prepare a physical description of the child (including approx. height, build, hair and eye colour as well as clothing the child was wearing and where / when they were last seen) as this will be required by the police.
If the search is unsuccessful the police will be informed, along with a report no later than 20 minutes after the child’s disappearance is noted, even if the search is not complete. Please remember most children are found within a few minutes of their disappearance. If at any stage the child is located all adults involved including the parents, searchers and police - if they are by then involved - should be informed. All missing child incidents must be notified at the very earliest opportunity to the Club Welfare Officer, who must immediately notify the County Welfare Officer, and they must then notify the ECB CPT.
Bullying
Northwood Town Cricket Club is committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for the children so they can train and play in a relaxed and secure atmosphere. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at our club. If bullying does occur, all children should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. We are a “telling” club. This means that anyone who knows that bullying is happening to any individual is expected to tell the staff and officials.
Bullying is the use of aggression with the intention of hurting another person, resulting in pain and distress to the victim.
Bullying can be:
· Emotional: being unfriendly, excluding, tormenting
· Physical: pushing, kicking, hitting, punching or any use of violence
· Racist: racial taunts, graffiti, gestures
· Sexual: unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive comments
· Homophobic: because of, or focusing on the issue of sexuality
· Verbal: name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, teasing
· Cyber: All areas of internet such as email and chat room misuse, SMS messaging, mobile calls and camera phones
No one deserves to be a victim of bullying, everybody has the right to be treated with respect. Children who are bullying need to learn different ways of behaving. Northwood Town Cricket Club has a responsibility to respond promptly and effectively to issues of bullying. All officials, coaching and non coaching staff, children and parents should have an understanding of what bullying is and know what the club policy is on bullying, and follow it when bullying is reported. Likewise all children and parents should
Northwood Town Cricket Club EST 1973 
know what the club policy is on bullying, and what they should do if bullying arises. As a club we take bullying seriously and it will not be tolerated. Children and parents should be assured that they will be supported when bullying is reported.
A child may indicate by signs or behaviour that he or she is being bullied. Adults should be aware of these possible signs and that they should investigate if a child says they are being bullied, changes their usual routine or is unwilling to go to the club; becomes withdrawn anxious, or lacking in confidence; comes home with clothes torn or belongings damaged; has possessions which are damaged or “go missing”; is frightened to say what's wrong; gives improbable excuses for any of the above.
These signs and behaviours could indicate other problems, but bullying should be considered a possibility and should be investigated.
Procedures
1. Report bullying incidents to the Club Welfare Officer
2. In cases of serious bullying, the incidents will be reported to the ECB Child Protection Team for advice via the County Welfare Officer
3. Parents should be informed and will be asked to come in to a meeting to discuss the problem 4. If necessary and appropriate, police will be consulted
5. The bullying behaviour or threats of bullying must be investigated and the bullying stopped quickly 6. An attempt will be made to help the bully change their behaviour
In cases of adults reported to be bullying cricketers under 18, the ECB must always be informed and will advise on action to be taken.
Junior Cricketers playing in Adult Matches
The ECB has issued the following guidance covering the participation of young cricketers in adult matches. This guidance applies to boys and girls and any reference to he/his should be interpreted to include she/her. Age groups are based on the age of the player at midnight on 31st August in the year preceding the current season.
The club’s duty of care also extends to Leagues that allow the participation of young players in adult teams in their League. The duty of care should be interpreted in two ways:
1. Not to place a young player in a position that involves an unreasonable risk to that young player, taking account of the circumstances of the match and the relative skills of the player
2. Not to create a situation that places members of the opposing side in a position whereby they cannot play cricket as they would normally do against adult players.
Northwood Town Cricket Club 
EST 1973
In addition the following specific requirements apply to young players in adult matches:
· All young players who have not reached their 18th birthday must wear a helmet with a faceguard when batting and when standing up to the stumps when keeping wicket (see policy above). Parental consent not to wear a helmet should not be accepted in adult matches. A young player acting as a runner must also wear a helmet even if the player he is running for is not doing so.
· The current ECB fielding regulations (see policy above) must be adhered to and enforced by the umpires and captain. The umpires are empowered by these fielding regulations to stop the game immediately if a young player comes within the restricted distance.
· The umpires and the opposing captain must be notified of the age group of all players participating in an adult match who are in the Under 19 age group or younger even if the player is not a fast bowler. This requirement also covers any young player taking the field as a substitute fielder.
· Any player in the Under 13 age group and younger must have explicit written consent from a parent or guardian before participating in adult matches. The club must also obtain the explicit prior approval of the League or Cup management before the player can play. Approval should only be given to exceptionally talented players. It is recommended that advice is sought from the County Age Group Coach or other ECB Level 3 coach as appropriate.
The guidance related to changing and showering must be adhered to.
It is strongly recommended that a parent, guardian or other identified responsible adult is present whenever a player in the Under 13 age group or younger plays in an adult match. With consent from the junior cricketers parent or guardian that responsible adult may be the elected team captains. If the captain does not want to take on the added responsibility, he may delegate to another adult player who has either filled in a self-declaration form or is CRB checked. It is also likely that an ECB qualified coach will be in attendance at the match, should captain’s wish to appoint them as responsible for all junior cricketers.