STOTFOLD JUNIOR FOOTBALL CLUB

1. Introduction
At Stotfold Juniors (SJFC) we place the health, safety and welfare of every child that participates in football at the centre of how we operate. This is closely followed by our commitment to providing a positive and inclusive environment for players to learn and develop their football skills under the tutelage of FA qualified coaches. Behaviours are key to providing a safe, caring, and well-ordered environment, all of which are vital to effective training and development. The policy is built on The Football Association best practice and guidelines. All members are expected to adhere to this policy.

2. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to provide clarity for all our members on the behaviours expected of everyone within the Club and how breaches of Club discipline are managed.

3. Applicability
This policy applies to players during training and match day, on all Club trips and events, on travel to and from training and match day and at any time a player is wearing SJFC clothing. Where the behaviour policy is breached and impacts upon the reputation of SJFC, this policy may still be applied at the discretion of the Executive Committee. SJFC behaviour policy is based on the premise that:
 - Every player has the right to train and develop without interruption
​ - Every coach/manager has the right to teach without interruption
- Every parent/carer can request information about their child’s behaviour
- Players represent SJFC beyond training and match day through their physical presence and their presence on social media.
The behaviour policy is a partnership between coach/manager, players, parents/carers, and committee members. All the participants in this partnership need to be aware of our standards.

4. Aims
The aims of this policy are to:
- Provide guidance on expected behaviours and conduct to all our members
- Promote values of politeness, tolerance, positivity and perseverance
- Provide a consistent approach to behaviour management
- Summarise the roles and responsibilities of everyone at SJFC with regards to behaviour management
- Foster a positive learning environment where players behave considerately and positively towards each other and to all adults within the Club
- Ensure all coaches/managers present themselves as positive role models
- Ensure that all coaches/managers understand that promoting and instilling positive behaviour is everyone’s responsibility
- Engage with parents/carers and work with them to support the behaviour of their child
The ultimate goal of this policy is to provide an environment that is safe, welcoming, friendly and caring where individuals feel able to speak appropriately and openly about their feelings and concerns.

5. Statutory Requirements
This policy is based on best practice and advice from The Football Association on Safeguarding Procedures and the Code of Conduct for players and parent/carers.

6. Definitions
Detailed below are a list of misbehaviours and serious misbehaviours that are considered unacceptable from any SJFC player. It is not feasible to foresee and have oversight over all possible unacceptable behaviours; therefore, this list should not be deemed exhaustive. Any form of misbehaviour or serious misbehaviour will be managed in accordance with section 7 of this policy.
6.1 Misbehaviour
SJFC have defined behaviour as:
- Disruption in training sessions
- Poor attitude to training sessions
- Incorrect kit for training sessions
6.2 Serious Misbehaviour
SJFC have defined misbehaviour as:
- Ignoring SJFC policy
- Repeated breaches/disregard of SJFC rules and procedures
- Use of mobile devices during training sessions
- Repeated poor punctuality to training sessions
- Aggressive/threatening behaviour
- Verbal abuse or use of foul or abusive language
- Defiance
- Insolence
- Disregard/refusal of coaches/managers instruction
- Walking away from coaches/managers without permission
- Leaving a training session without permission
- Any form of bullying
- Sexual assault, which is any unwanted sexual behaviour that causes humiliation, pain, fear or intimidation
- Vandalism
- Damage to SJFC property or property and equipment hired by SJFC
- Graffiti
- Theft
- Fighting
- Racist, sexist, homophobic or discriminatory behaviour
- Inciting/encouraging others to carry out any form of misbehaviour
6.3 Expected Behaviour
These include:
- Helping team mates and Club officials
- Showing respect for others, and the property of SJFC
- Listening to and responding to all members of SJFC
- Choosing to avoid conflict with others
Above all, acceptable behaviour means players accepting responsibility for their own actions and ensuring that they do not adversely affect the development of others.

7. Discipline Guidelines
If the behaviour and conduct of a player breaches this policy, then the club reserves the right to take the appropriate action to discipline the player. The following paragraphs outline the potential courses of action:
7.1 Time Out
A player shall be asked to sit out part of a training session or match. The Manager/Coach shall inform the parents/carers of the action taken especially if repeat offending or there is an underlying issue.
7.2 Session Withdrawal
A player shall be withdrawn from a training session or match. The Manager/Coach shall notify the parents/carers within 48 hours with an explanation for the course of action taken. This action can be imposed as a result of a one-off incident or repeated incidents of poor behaviour.
7.3 Fixed Term Exclusions
A fixed term exclusion is when a player is not allowed to attend training or matches for a specific period of time. A player can be excluded for a fixed term more than once. A fixed term exclusion is a serious sanction and only Stotfold Junior Football Club Executive Committee (SJFC-EC) has the authority to exclude a player.
To ensure fairness an investigation will be conducted by the SJFC-EC, who will rule on any action to take. During the investigation, a player may be asked to not attend a training session or match to allow a thorough investigation to be conducted. In all cases parents/carers will be informed that an incident has taken place that is being investigated. If the outcome is an exclusion for a FTE, parents/carers will be informed on the same day and the reasons for the exclusion.
Before recommencing at SJFC, the parents/carers and the player must meet with SJFC-EC for a rehabilitation meeting. A fixed term exclusion is a serious sanction and receiving multiple exclusions may lead to a permanent expulsion from SJFC.
7.4 Permanent Exclusions
A decision to permanently exclude a player is very serious and is considered as a last resort. The decision to permanently exclude shall only be taken in response to a serious one-off breach or persistent breaches of the SJFC behaviour policy, and where allowing the player to remain a player at the SJFC would seriously harm the welfare of other players or members, or the reputation of SJFC.

8. Bullying
Bullying is defined as the repetitive, intentional harming of one player or a group of players by another player or group of players, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. In accordance with this policy bullying is defined as serious misbehaviour.
Bullying is therefore:
- Deliberately hurtful
- Repeated, often over a period of time
- Difficult to defend against.
Our Anti-Bullying Policy lists the types of bullying and their definitions and can be found on our Club Website

9. Statutory Authority
Managers/Coaches have a statutory authority to report unacceptable behaviour to the SJFC-EC. This also applies to all committee members. Managers/Coaches have the authority to discipline players when the player is representing SJFC. The SJFC-EC can also discipline players for misbehaviour outside of SJFC organised events.

10. Roles and Responsibilities
Good behaviour does not happen by accident. It is the responsibility of all those concerned with SJFC to ensure good behaviour is promoted at all times and becomes culturally embedded within the Club. SJFC-EC is responsible for the governance and implementation of this policy. This also includes monitoring the policy’s effectiveness and taking appropriate action to improve the Clubs behaviour.
10.1 Stotfold Junior Football Club Executive Committee
 - Leads by example and models the behaviours expected of all its members.
- Has overall responsibility for all members and players welfare.
- Ensures that the environment encourages positive behaviour and poor behaviour is managed and appropriate learning applied.
- Communication of the behaviour policy to all members.
- Monitors how members implement this policy to ensure its applied consistently.
- Responsible for deciding course of actions to take for any breaches of this policy.
- Ensures that records are kept of all reported incidents of misbehaviour. All incidents of bullying are reported to the Child Welfare Officer.
- Is responsible for regular review of this policy.
10.2 Managers/Coaches
Our Managers and Coaches are responsible for:
- Communicating and implementing the behaviour policy with the support of the SJFC EC.
- Promoting good behaviour through positive recognition and praise.
- Modelling positive behaviour.
- Creation of a safe, calm and welcoming environment.
- Forming good relationships with parents/carers so that players can see that the benefits of good behaviours.
- Timely communication of Club business with parents/carers in a factual and clear manner.
- Recording behavioural incidents inline with The Football Association rules and guidelines.
10.3 Parents/Carers
Parents/carers and spectators are expected to:
- Work in partnership with SJFC to support implementation of this policy.
- Ensure their child adheres to the behaviour policy and the player code of conduct.
- Support their child’s development and take responsibility for their behaviour.
- Ensure their child arrives on time to training and matches.
- Ensure their child is correctly equipped for training and matches.

11. Malicious Allegations
Where a player makes an accusation against a member of SJFC and that accusation is shown to have been malicious, SJFC-EC will discipline the player in accordance with this policy.

12. Monitoring and Evaluation
The Child Welfare Officer will keep records of incidents involving misbehaviour. It is the responsibility of the SJFC-EC to monitor the rate of exclusions and to ensure that this policy is administered fairly and consistently.

13. Implementation and Review
This policy is published on our Club Website. Copies are also available to download from our website or upon request from the SJFC Secretary. To ensure topicality with The FA policy and procedures this policy will be reviewed by the SJFC-EC annually. Any updates will be published on our club website.

14. Other Policy Links
This behaviour policy is one of a number of policies that support the governance and management of SJFC.
- Exclusions policy
- Safeguarding policy
- Anti-bullying policy
- Equality policy
- Health and Safety policy
- Player Code of Conduct The Club Code of Conduct can be found within the document section of our website