Anti-Bullying Policy

As a club, we are committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all of our members, so they can participate in football in a relaxed and secure atmosphere. We ensure that we do all we can to play our part in teaching our players to treat each other with respect, and ensure that we all follow the FA Respect Codes of Conduct.

It is particularly important amongst our youth age groups – where players can be in contact through various online groups or on social media – that everyone understands the difference between banter and bullying, and that any behaviour using technology to target or upset somebody is classed as cyberbullying.

It can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between a message intended to bully someone or one a sent as a joke between friends, however, to the recipient the difference is clear. A joke, or banter, is something that everyone understands and finds funny, and nobody feels they are being unfairly singled out or targeted. This behaviour becomes bullying when the target does not find it funny, it's non-consensual or it hurts people's feelings. Although some bullying can be unintentional, this does not make it okay, and it can still be deeply upsetting or offensive.

The club has a clear anti-bullying policy, and we would urge all players, parents and supporters to make sure that they have read and fully understand this. A copy of the club anti-bullying policy can be found HERE.

As a club we take all reports of bullying seriously. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable, and if it does occur, all club members should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. Anyone who knows that bullying is happening is expected to tell our Club Welfare Officer, Clare Farmer, or any committee member.