# Club welfare officer



## phillip scott (16 Oct 2020)

Does your club have a welfare officer or somebody who is responsible for dealing with complaints from members, my club doesn't have one but it has been mentioned, I was curious to know if this is the norm amongst clubs.


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## PaulSB (17 Oct 2020)

I am CWO, and Secretary as it happens, for my club. Appointing a trained CWO is a requirement for clubs to be affiliated to British Cycling so I presume yours is not affiliated. It's a relatively simple task to become a CWO - the usual criminal record checks plus a 3 hour training course from a BC approved deliverer.

We've had a Welfare Officer for several years but there has never been a need for any action.

You mentioned complaints. The CWO is not necessarily the person to complain to as the remit is quite specific. In general I deal with complaints Club Sec rather than CWO.


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## phillip scott (17 Oct 2020)

Thanks for the reply that us a great help.


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## phillip scott (17 Oct 2020)

PaulSB said:


> I am CWO, and Secretary as it happens, for my club. Appointing a trained CWO is a requirement for clubs to be affiliated to British Cycling so I presume yours is not affiliated. It's a relatively simple task to become a CWO - the usual criminal record checks plus a 3 hour training course from a BC approved deliverer.
> 
> We've had a Welfare Officer for several years but there has never been a need for any action.
> 
> ...





PaulSB said:


> I am CWO, and Secretary as it happens, for my club. Appointing a trained CWO is a requirement for clubs to be affiliated to British Cycling so I presume yours is not affiliated. It's a relatively simple task to become a CWO - the usual criminal record checks plus a 3 hour training course from a BC approved deliverer.
> 
> We've had a Welfare Officer for several years but there has never been a need for any action.
> 
> You mentioned complaints. The CWO is not necessarily the person to complain to as the remit is quite specific. In general I deal with complaints Club Sec rather than CWO.



Can I just ask does this only apply for clubs that gave members under 18. I'm trying to find the information on BC website


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## phillip scott (17 Oct 2020)

Does this apply even if your club is 18 and over only?


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## mjr (17 Oct 2020)

As I understand it, some affiliations require groups accepting under 18s to have both welfare officer and a child safeguarding officer. I'm not sure about HSBC UK British Cycling: check the handbook, which is online somewhere on BritishCycling.org.uk


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## G3CWI (17 Oct 2020)

phillip scott said:


> Does this apply even if your club is 18 and over only?


Safeguarding is not just relevant to young people.


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## Sniper68 (17 Oct 2020)

Both my sons old and current CC both have a couple of Welfare Officers but I'm sure they're only there for under 18s.I'm a member of two CC(different to my sons) one has a WO,one doesn't.
Here's the description of his role:-


> > G**** is our qualified club welfare officer, a critical position to ensure the good & ethical running of our club. Lead for welcome rides and any concerns relating to members


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## PaulSB (17 Oct 2020)

phillip scott said:


> Does this apply even if your club is 18 and over only?


I can't give a specific answer to this question as my club has members under 18. You haven't commented as to why your club is considering appointing a CWO or if the club is affiliated to BC. If the club is affiliated or wishes to become affiliated BC will require the club to appoint a CWO. I think the opening lines of the BC role description for the CWO is useful:

"The Club Welfare Officer is the person with primary responsibility for managing and reporting concerns about children or *adults *at risk and for putting in to place safeguarding procedures."

British Cycling CWO Role Description

I highlighted "adults" above because it seems to me there is a common misconception a CWO is only responsible for the "safety" of those under 18. Clearly we are all painfully aware of the types of abuse young people can encounter and it's understandable this is the first thought to enter people's minds. Abuse, and so the role of a CWO, covers far more than safeguarding young people from sexual abuse. Welfare is about bullying, intimidation, poor behaviour towards others, racism, inappropriate or unwelcome attention towards the opposite sex, the list is a long one - each of these can be directed to adults and under 18s equally. When an individual attends a safeguarding course it will become clear many people in different situations can be vulnerable for a variety of reasons.

If your club decides to appoint a CWO to satisfy BC affilitiation requirements BC will wish to carry out their own DBS checks - DBS is what many still think of as CRB, Criminal Records Bureau. BC will not accept a DBS from another organisation, any potential candidate should be aware of this as it can cause difficulties in the sense the potential CWO doesn't want the hassle of going through the checks again. In reality it's much simpler to let BC do it!!

As pointed out above safeguarding is not limited to young people and in my view it is also not limited to vulnerable adults. As one example a woman can find herself the subject of inuendo, inappropriate touching, unwanted sexual attention, etc. A more mature person may feel able to deal with this themselves but it can be this fails and the target then needs the support of a CWO to address the issue. Welfare is a deep and important subject.

One last quick comment. In terms of complaints a club should make it clear to whom a member may complain. It could be one individual is responsible for receiving complaints of any type and then passing this to the relevant individual. In my club members are encouraged to speak to any committee member. On the odd ocassion there is a complaint the member tends to speak to someone he/she knows or rides with this then gets passed to the committee for discussion if needed.


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## Big T (3 Nov 2020)

I’ve been the CWO for my club for around 15 years. I did have a couple of years break but have recently re-qualified and had an up to date DBS check. I did an online course with NSPCC, which took about 3 hours and cost £25, which was reimbursed by my club. The Costs of the DBS check are borne by British Cycling.

Your club needs a CWO if you have members under 18 or your club is listed as accepting members under 18. In 15 years of being the Welfare Officer, I have never had to take any action regarding child welfare.


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## DRM (3 Nov 2020)

Don't forget that safeguarding also protects the adults, by ensuring that if they behave correctly, then there are no reasons to fear any complaints.


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## itboffin (3 Nov 2020)

Big T said:


> I’ve been the CWO for my club for around 15 years. I did have a couple of years break but have recently re-qualified and had an up to date DBS check. I did an online course with NSPCC, which took about 3 hours and cost £25, which was reimbursed by my club. The Costs of the DBS check are borne by British Cycling.
> 
> Your club needs a CWO if you have members under 18 or your club is listed as accepting members under 18. In 15 years of being the Welfare Officer, I have never had to take any action regarding child welfare.



out of interest how big is the membership of your club?


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## Big T (16 Nov 2020)

Sorry for the late reply. We have around 100 members, though very few under 18s.


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