Finding a - Charlton Park...All coaches should hold an RFU qualification (or equivalent). At...

Charlton Park RFC

60a Broad Walk

Kidbrooke

London SE3 8NB

+44 (0)20 8856 1025

‘Deeds not words’

Finding a rugby club for your child

www.charltonpark.org.uk

Charlton Park RFC YOUTH SECTION 20091 OF 17 PAGES

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Finding a rugby club




Contents1 Foreword

2 Joining a club

3 Membership and Fees

4 Expectations

5 Communication

6 Getting Involved

7 Club Policies and Procedures





1 FOREWORD

As a Parent, Carer or Guardian you will no doubt want your young person to enjoy their involvement in rugby union in a safe enjoyable environment where there are opportunities to learn and develop rugby skills but more importantly have fun.

This guide suggests questions you might ask when choosing a club for your son / daughter before making that final decision.

The questions are in Black bold, the answers from the RFU as to what the club should be telling you, is in Blue type and Charlton Park responses are in Bold red.

At Charlton Park your young person’s safety and well being are paramount to us. We take our commitment to our young players seriously and that is why we give all the new parents, carers and guardians to our club our Guide to Charlton Park RFC and it’s Youth Section.

Inside this guide we have the following:

• Club History

• Youth Development Team

• Club Facilities

• Membership information

• The 500 Club explained

• Sponsorship information

• Youth Statement of Purpose

• Training and Kit details

• Youth Playing Calendar





2 JOINING A CLUB

When looking for a suitable club for your young person you should always check:

The Coaches qualifications and experience at the club.

All coaches should hold an RFU qualification (or equivalent).

At Charlton Park all of our youth section coaches have attended and attained an RFU coaching Course at Level One or above.

The ratio of adults to young people.

The ratio’s are as follows:

Under 8s should be a maximum of 1:8

Under 12s should be a maximum of 1:12

Older age groups 1:15

At Charlton Park we have a Lead Coach and an Assistant Coaches at all our training sessions.

The club has a health and safety policy.

Charlton Park’s policy is available upon request from the Club Steward.

The club has clear codes of conduct stating expected behaviour of members, players and coaches.

The RFU Welfare of Young People in Rugby Union – Guidance which can be found on www.rfu.com has clear Codes of Conduct.

Charlton Park has clear codes of conduct for it’s Coaches and Volunteers.

The Codes of Conduct are available upon request.





What happens if there is an accident?

All Clubs should have documents procedures.

We have a fully qualified first aider at the club at all times to deal with any accidents which may occur whilst following procedures set in place in the case of accidents.

The club has a Welfare Officer and Deputy who is in attendance at the club on Sunday mornings.

It is a requirement of the RFU Child Protection Policy that all clubs have an identified Welfare Officer.

Our Welfare Officers are Andy Potts and Nick Hollier.

One of our Welfare Officers are always present during training sessions and matches, The Acting Welfare Officer is Bert Duffus.





Questions to ask:

He / She has never played rugby before; can they come along and try out a couple of sessions?

The answer should be “ yes”.

At Charlton Park we encourage young people to come along and try the sport before and we would recommend your young person to try it and our club out for a month before joining and paying membership.

When is training?

Normally on Sunday mornings.

Our training is on:

Tuesday and Thursday evenings 5.45pm until 7pm and Sunday mornings from 10am until 12 noon.

When are the matches?

Normally on Sunday mornings.

All our matches are on Sunday mornings with a kick off time at 11am although this can be subject to change. Occasionally we may have a midweek match on a Thursday but this is rare.

What kit do we need to buy?

Most clubs have a “Kit shop” where you will be able to buy the necessary kit. This will include shirt, shorts, boots and tracksuit.

THE RFU STRONGLY RECOMMENDS THAT WHEN YOUNG PEOPLE ARE PLAYING CONTACT GAMES OR PARTICIPATING IN CONTACT TRAINING SESSIONS THEY WEAR A MOUTH GUARD





We do have a Youth Section Shop and a Club Shop.

We expect every young person to have the Basic Kit in order to be able to participate in training and matches safely. Every player must bring a Gum shield to both training and matches as without this they will not be allowed to participate for safety reasons.

For training:

Boots (with studs)

Shorts or Tracksuit Bottoms – Black or Navy

T-Shirt – preferably old as may get very dirty or torn

Sweatshirt - especially for those cold nights

Socks

Gum shield – Essential

For Matches:

Boots with studs (as above)

Shorts – Preferably Club Shorts but otherwise must be Black or Navy

Warm up T-Shirt (will be given upon payment of membership fee)

Red Socks (will be given upon payment of membership fee)

Match Shirt (supplied by Club)

Gum shield – Essential





After Matches:

NUMBER ONES

Every player is expected to look smart for all matches. For away fixtures only we expect all players to turn up in number ones. For Home matches we expect all players after the match to shower and change into Number ones before collecting their meal

Trousers - (Black or Blue)

Light Blue Shirt - (Club Shirt for U17 and Colts)

Club Tie - (for U17 and Colts)

Shoes (no trainers or boots)

Jacket (if desired)

Does the Club have a Child Protection Policy?

It is a requirement of the RFU that all clubs have a Child Protection Policy.

Yes Charlton Park has a Child Protection Policy called Safeguarding and Protecting Young People which is available upon request.

How does the club manage any issues, which may arise i.e bullying?

There are identified procedures laid down by the RFU which clubs must follow. The RFU will always support clubs to manage any issues which arise.

Charlton Park will take any allegation that affects a young person’s safety and well-being seriously. Any allegations that are made are investigated fully dealt with according to the Club’s procedures.





Are the coaches qualified?

All coaches should hold an RFU qualification. Contact the Club Coaching Coordinator he / she will be able to inform you of the available qualifications.

At Charlton Park RFC all our coaches hold at least an RFU Level One Coaching Qualification and have attended the relevant Coaching Courses.

Are the adults helping with the teams checked and trained?

It is a requirement of the RFU that all adults who have regular supervisory contact with young people undertake CRB Disclosure.

Anyone who works within the youth section and has any regular contact are asked to complete an Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Disclosure. All coaches who are awaiting their CRB to be returned are supervised by a coach who has a CRB.

Does my child / young person have to share changing facilities with adult players?

No not under any circumstances.

No not under any circumstances would we allow this to happen at Charlton Park RFC.

We have structured our training sessions so that they do not clash with our adult teams and so there are no sharing of any of the dressing rooms or showers.

Does the club have social events?

The majority of clubs do for both young people and adults.

Yes we do and at Charlton Park we encourage our youth section to participate and attend all social events which are suitable for their age group. We also encourage all parents, carers and guardians to become involved as well. There are also events which are aimed at the youth section and those which are aimed at the players and their families.





3 MEMBERSHIP

How much does it cost to be a member of the Club?

This will vary.

We have a Youth, Junior and Student membership of £25 per year.

We also encourage parents, carers and guardians to become members of Charlton Park RFC 500 Club which costs them £20 per month and allows use of the gym and squash court. Every month all the 500 Club members are entered into a draw and up to £1000 is won every month.

How are away matches organised?

All clubs will organise their fixtures in line with the requirement of the RFU Continuum which can be located on www.rfu.com and the RFU structured season. In terms of transport to away fixtures, clubs are usually dependant on parental help.

Charlton Park RFC has arranged (through our close working relationship with a local school) the use of their minibus. We also have three or four drivers (volunteers from the parents and staff who have presented their documentation to the school for insurance purposes. The mini bus and drivers are fully insured through the school’s insurance.

In order to take further players to away matches we are dependent on parental help as the mini bus only holds 15 children plus the coach and driver.

Is there a first aider on site?

The RFU strongly recommends that there is always a qualified first aider present at all games and training.

There is always a first aider present on site during training sessions and matches.

We recently run a first aid training course at the club and 3 of the coaches, the administrator and 4 of the youth team attended and completed this course and are now qualified and certificated to give First Aid.





Is the Club affiliated to the RFU?

All clubs must be affiliated to the RFU.

Yes Charlton Park RFC is affiliated to the RFU.

4 EXPECTATIONS

What does the Club expect from me?

The club will expect you to:

Ensure that your son / daughter is dropped off and picked up from the club and matches and in the case of younger children there will be an expectation that a parent or a designated adult remains throughout the session.

This can be delegated but the club must be aware.

At Charlton Park we expect our parents to ensure that those under 14 years of age are dropped off and collected. We do not at present, have any players that are under 12, but when we do we would expect parents to remain at our club whilst their young person is at the club.

Adhere to the codes of conduct within the club in particular the Parents Code of Conduct.

This highlights the positive aspects of being part of a club and supporting both your own child and all the other young people in the club.

We expect all our parents to adhere to all our Codes of Conduct especially our Parents, Carers and Guardians Code of Conduct. We also expect parents to encourage any guests they may bring to our club for matches or events to adhere to the Codes of Conduct also especially our Spectators Code of Conduct.





The Club would like you to:

To become as involved in the club as much as possible. This will provide your son / daughter with the support to enjoy their rugby

All Clubs are dependent on Volunteers.

At Charlton Park we try to encourage all our parents to get involved as much or as little as they can. We are dependent on volunteers as much as other clubs and therefore we appreciate any involvement no matter how big or small from our parents.

Support the coaches by ensuring your son / daughter enjoys their rugby and plays within the laws of the game.

It is crucial to develop a positive relationship with the coaching team and to support them. If a issue does develop then manage this through the Club Welfare Officer.

We ask all our parents to support us by ensuring that their young person plays according to the rules of the game. At Charlton Park we have clear expectations of our players which say they must abide by the rules of the game and without the support of parents backing up the coaches messages about abiding by the rules of the game, it makes a coach’s role a lot harder.





What does a club expect from your child?

There is a guide for young people which details the club’s expectations which include:

• fair Play.

• listening to coaches.

• adhering to the codes of conduct.

• adhering to the laws of the game and rules of the club.

• having fun and enjoying playing rugby.

The club should have a guide for young people based on RFU guidance. Always ask to see this.

Charlton Park RFC Players Guide is available upon request – please ask our Youth Development Officer Bert Duffus for a copy.

What can you expect from the Club?

Most clubs will be welcoming and should be able to give you a guided tour and tell you some of the club events and upcoming matches for your young person’s age group. All clubs should upon request have the policies, guides and codes of conduct for you to read upon request.

At Charlton Park you can expect us to:

• Always provide a welcoming and pleasant atmosphere.

• The opportunity to meet new friends or catch up with old friends.

• The opportunity to watch rugby.

• A safe and secure environment.

• Qualified coaches and responsible volunteers.

• Relationships based on trust, honesty and respect.

• Clear lines of communication to you about your young person’s.





• fixtures, training, progress and upcoming events.

• Policies upon request to read and if required to take away (if there is none available then a copy will be sent to you within 5 working days).

At Charlton Park your young person can expect us to:

• Always provide a welcoming and pleasant atmosphere.

• The opportunity to meet and make new friends and team mates.

• The opportunity to watch and play rugby.

• A safe and secure environment.

• Qualified coaches to coach them.

• Relationships based on mutual trust, respect and honesty.

• Valued and listened to.

• Clear rules, regulations and boundaries.

• Clear codes of conduct.

• A place to belong to.

• Protection from anything which may affect their safety and wellbeing.





5 Communication

The club will need to ensure that they can contact you if required, so they should ask you for your contact details.

At Charlton Park we ask every player to complete two registration forms.

One is a club registration form, which asks for the player’s details followed by the parents and who we should contact in the case of an emergency this is then placed in your young person’s file and input onto the youth section database.

The second is an RFU Player Registration form which then gets input onto the Rugbyfirst database, which will then create a unique registration number which is then know as your young persons RFU number.

Please be assured that everything that is held both at the club and by rugbyfirst is held according to the data protection act and is never used for any other business than that of rugby. None of the details contained on either of the forms are shared with any other clubs, agencies or companies and are treated as strictly private and confidential.

Should a player decide to leave Charlton Park RFC then the details are removed from the club’s database and the club’s registration form along with the players file is archived.





6 GETTING INVOLVED

Ever thought of Volunteering?

There are many areas around a club which rely on volunteers.

Without the support of volunteers the club would not run!

There will be jobs to suit you, the time you have and that you may even enjoy!

Ask the club chairman, team manager or your son / daughters coach if you can help.

At Charlton Park RFC we love to have our parents, carers, and guardians helping out by volunteering as it says above without our volunteers parts of our club just would not run.

If you feel you have a couple of hours or days and feel you would like to become more involved then please contact our Club Volunteer Co-ordinator – Bert Duffus who will be more than pleased to help you find a suitable post.

You can contact Bert Duffus (Youth Chairman) most days at the club or you can telephone him on 07727 063 042.





7 CLUB POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The club will have the following available to you upon request:

• Health & Safety Policy.

• Child Protection Policy.

• Codes of Conduct.

• Equity Policy.

At Charlton Park all of the above policies and codes of conduct are available to you on request.

In addition to the above we also have:

• Anti-Bullying Policy.

• Roles and Responsibilities.

• Playing Codes of Conduct for Coaches & Volunteers, Parent, Carers and Guardians, Playing, Young players and Spectators.

• Parents, Carers and Guardians Guide for finding a Rugby Club.

• The Players Guide.

• A Guide to Charlton Park and it’s Youth Section.

Which are also available on request.

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