The safeguarding standard every adult in this league must meet
Police clearance, the National Child Protection Register, and parental consent that can be withdrawn at any moment — enforced by the system, not by goodwill.
ECDL League Office ·
A safeguarding policy that lives in a PDF protects nobody. The test of one is whether the system refuses to proceed when the policy is not met.
No clearance, no role
Every adult who holds a position at a club in this league — coach, manager, team official — must hold a valid police clearance and be checked against the National Child Protection Register under the Children's Act. This is not a form we file. An official whose checks are not cleared cannot be attached to a team in the platform at all: the database rejects the record.
The same applies to referees. An unverified official cannot be appointed to a fixture.
Consent belongs to the parent, and can be taken back
A child is registered by their team manager, but the consent is their parent's. When a player is registered, their parent or guardian receives their own login. From it they control six separate permissions: taking part in matches, emergency medical treatment, photographs, video, a public player profile, and visibility to accredited scouts.
Each is granted or withdrawn independently, takes effect immediately, and is recorded with the date, the time and the account that made the change. Withdrawing photography consent removes that child from the league's published material at once. There is no negotiation and no delay.
Consent is never assumed. A player with no consent record on file is treated as not consented — the absence of a decision is never read as agreement.
What the league does not collect
The platform does not store a child's home address, their school, or any contact detail for the child themselves. All communication runs through the parent. Public player profiles carry a name, position, squad number and team — and only where a parent has specifically allowed it.
Reporting a concern
Any parent, coach or official who is worried about a child can contact the league's Designated Safeguarding Officer directly. You do not need proof and you do not need to be certain. If a child is in immediate danger, call the police on 10111 or Childline on 116.
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