In December, we had our annual Safeguarding assessment carried out by the NSPCC, to assess the County FA against The FA Safeguarding Standard, Safeguarding 365.

We are very happy to report that we met the standard in all six areas.

The six areas of the standard are:

• Governance and leadership
• Operational delivery driving a culture of Safeguarding
• Listening to the voice of and supporting under 18’s.
• Football disciplinary
• Case management
• Compliance and monitoring.

This standard takes a deep dive into safeguarding across the county, and how the County FA works with our leagues and clubs to embed safeguarding throughout the game.

This excellent report we received would not be achievable without the help of our affiliated clubs, club welfare officers, leagues and the wider grassroots football family. So, a big thank you to you and your continued help and support to ensure football in Devon is safe and fun.

Below are some of the report’s findings.

NSPCC independent assessors conducted both an in-depth analysis of evidence submitted to Smartsheet and a one day ‘in person’ assessment of Devon FA and concluded that all Safeguarding criteria for 2023/2024 had been fully met.

The assessors identified a number of areas of good practice that are continuing to exceed the standards outlined within the criteria.

• The dedication of club officials to ensuring compliance is managed is impressive.
• Devon FA continues to demonstrate confidently how they have addressed non-compliance of teams; this is in line with the FA processes.
• The DSO continues to priorities building strong relationships within the local club community and with club welfare officers. The CPD sessions being offered to CWO’s are informative and engaging.
• The DSO has ensured that there are strong partnerships in place between Devon FA, FASCMT, the Local Safeguarding Partnerships and LADO’s.
• It was clear to assessors that the wellbeing of the young people and adults at risk is a primary concern and something that is taken very seriously.