Child pro­tection

Sportfreunde 1930 Uevekoven e.V. expressly acknowledges its special responsibility towards all children and young people who are active in the club. Our aim is to give young people a safe, supportive and respectful environment in which they can play sport, gain social experience and develop as individuals. Any form of physical, psychological or sexualised violence, as well as degrading behaviour or behaviour that violates personal boundaries, is consistently rejected by the club.

Facilities

The club has two football pitches right next to each other: a grass pitch and an artificial pitch. At the grass pitch there are two changing rooms for home and visiting teams, the clubhouse (“Labor”), a referees' changing room, an equipment room and separate washrooms for women and men. A covered terrace with seating and a drinks pavilion completes the area.

At the artificial pitch there are a food and drinks container and two equipment garages; there is also seating, standing tables and parasols, as well as a covered stand with 60 seats.

Number of youth teams, coaches and team managers

The club currently looks after around 200 children and young people aged 4 to 19.
They are active in the following teams:

• Bambini/G Youth (under-7s)
• F Youth
• E Youth
• D Youth
• C Youth
• B Youth
• A Youth

In total, around 30 coaches and team managers are involved, most of them with a valid coaching licence.

The club's work is guided by basic principles of child and youth protection. Every child and every young person has a right to protection, dignity and respectful treatment. We promote a climate of trust, appreciation and freedom from discrimination. Prevention guides our actions, and children and young people are actively involved and taken seriously.

Everyone is welcome at our club, whatever their skin colour, background, religion or language. We treat each other with respect and kindness. Racist words or actions are not allowed here. If someone is excluded, insulted or treated unfairly, we step in and talk about it. We learn to understand others and to show empathy. Together we stand up for fairness, diversity and a good spirit of togetherness.

To protect against physical and psychological pressure, all coaches and team managers undertake to refrain completely from any form of violence. Training is designed so that enjoyment of the sport, individual development and team spirit are at the centre. Criticism is only ever given respectfully, objectively and constructively. Children and young people may say at any time when they have reached their limits and insist on breaks.

Abuse by parents or players towards the coaching team, the team managers or the referee is not tolerated and may lead to sanctions, which are to be agreed with the youth leadership.

Handling closeness and distance responsibly is one of the club's central guidelines. Physical contact is intended only where it serves a sporting purpose, for example to assist with exercises. Personal touching, such as hugs, only takes place by mutual consent.

Changing, showering and trips are organised so that the privacy of the children and young people is protected. One-to-one conversations or training sessions take place, as a rule, in areas visible to others.

Photos or videos may only be taken or published with the consent of the children and young people and of the parents with parental responsibility.

Worries or problems that children confide are treated confidentially and, where necessary, passed on promptly to the child protection officers.

Personal gifts to individual children are to be avoided.

Protection from sexualised abuse has the highest priority. Any sexualised behaviour, whether verbal, non-verbal or physical, is strictly prohibited. Pornographic or sexualised content must not be used or shown in the presence of minors. Boundary violations of any kind are consistently prevented, and suspected cases are reported and investigated without delay.

Cyberbullying means deliberately insulting, threatening, humiliating or harassing children and young people via digital media, social networks, messaging services, online games or other internet platforms. Because digital communication happens at any time and in any place, and is often not visible to coaches and parents, cyberbullying is often particularly distressing and can have serious emotional, social and physical consequences.

The use of digital media is an important part of our child and youth protection. Our aim is to protect our players and coaches from online abuse, to set an example of sensitive and responsible use, and to teach clear rules.

If incidents occur, everyone involved makes sure there are confidential and easily accessible ways to report them, and takes every report seriously. Where necessary, coaches and team managers work closely with the parents and make sure the children and young people affected are protected and supported.

Everyone in a position of responsibility at the club is required to exercise particular care. Coaches, team managers and officials submit an enhanced criminal record certificate every three years, which must not be more than three months old when they take up their role. In addition, before starting their role they sign the club's internal code of conduct on child and youth protection, and they regularly attend relevant training courses.

There are clear reporting and complaints procedures for children, young people and parents. The contacts are the youth leadership and the child protection officer.

Reports can also be made anonymously and are taken seriously. If there is reasonable suspicion, the Landessportbund (state sports federation), the youth welfare office and/or the police are involved.

Responsible youth welfare office:

Kreisjugendamt Heinsberg,

Contact person:

Lina Seliger, 02452/13-514,
Lina.Seliger@kreis-heinsberg.de

External specialist services are also available, including the Caritas counselling centre in Erkelenz (02431/96840, eb-erk@caritas-hs.de) and the association “Zornröschen” e.V. (02161/208886).

The current child and youth protection officer is: Jürgen Rütten
The youth leadership is represented by Markus Dohmen.

For prevention, the club relies on regular information events for coaches, team managers and parents, on promoting a culture of attentiveness throughout the club, and on workshops for children and young people. These focus on topics such as self-determination, setting boundaries, respectful behaviour and moral courage.

Breaches of the safeguarding policy lead to clearly defined consequences. Minor breaches are dealt with through educational conversations or warnings. If serious breaches are suspected, in particular violence or sexualised abuse, immediate suspension follows. Confirmed misconduct leads to expulsion from the club and may result in legal action.

The child and youth protection policy of Sportfreunde Uevekoven is continually developed further. It is reviewed every two years and adapted to new findings, legal requirements and internal experience. Feedback from the club's work feeds into the improvement process on an ongoing basis.