FA Charter Standard
An FA Charter Standard Community Club
What is it?
The FA Charter Standard kitemark is awarded to football clubs who provide a high quality football experience and have a proven track record of being well run, sustainable, and importantly place child protection, quality coaching and safety above all other factors.
There are three levels of FA Charter Standard Awards for clubs to recognise the different standards:
FA Charter Standard Club
The entry level for accreditation, and achieved by LBBFC in 2004. Charter Standard recipients are required to demonstrate that they have:
- A trained Welfare Officer
- CRB-checked volunteers
- Emergency Aid-trained volunteers linked to each team
- Respect programme sign-up
- Level One coach for each youth team,
- Appropriate club administration in place and a volunteer co-ordinator.
FA Charter Standard Development Club
The next progression step is for club to be viewed as has achieved Development Standard. Development Standard Clubs must have:
- At least five teams
- Have a club development plan
- A Level 2 head coach who has also completed the specialist youth coaching module
- Club officials must attend two in-service development events per year.
FA Community Clubs
LBBFC demonstrated compliance with, and adherence to, Developmental stage requirements when awarded FA Community Club status in 2008. To have achieved , and to maintain this, LBBFC must have:
- Have at least ten teams
- Male and female football provision
- Mini-Soccer team
- An advanced 5 year development plan, and stage at least one workshop per season to improve behaviour.
- At least one coach to have completed the specialist youth coaching module 2
- One club official needs to have attended an FA mentoring course.
- The club must have a schools co-ordinator and volunteer co-ordinator in addition.
So what?
Parents looking for a club, to support their child, will find considerable comfort when choosing an FA Charter Standard Club and be assured that there will be a positive, safe, environment in which to play football.
So what is in our 5 year development plan?
The good news is we were already doing a lot of great things as a club and we just need to keep up the good work. Examples of ideas the Committee are working on are:
- Growing our teams each year and backfilling at the young age group from u7.
- Having a positive relationship with the local schools.
- Actively supporting the respect campaign and raising standards of behaviour. (To maintain our status we must continue to improve and maintain a good record).
- Being able to provide good facilities whilst growing our teams through good relationships with the local authorities, schools and land owners.
- Run award ceremonies annually.
- Ensure governance over the annual health checks.
What’s new?
There are lots of plans being worked through to take the club forward and continuing to grow. The key headlines you should be focused on for LBBFC are:- Facilities – Procure land large enough to co-locate all LBBFC teams.
- Facilities – Build a new home for LBBFC and centre of excellence for the next generation of Badgers.
- Coaches – support the pathway whether that be level 1 or 2, youth modules, or branching out into specialist areas like goalkeeping, futsal etc.
- Coaches – Increase the number of female coaches.
- Volunteers – Develop referees (10 referees within 5 years).
- Volunteers – Develop Youth Leaders through the football futures programme (this is youth leaders from 14yrs plus).
- Players – Grow the girls section, increasing the number of participants, to mirror age groups and success of our boys section.
- Players – Construct a sustainable development pathway through the age groups into the senior game (with Partner Clubs).
Annual Renewal
To do all of the above, and, to maintain this key accreditation and recognition of our hard work and great football club, needs support.
We’ve lots of new and exciting initiatives on the roadmap and as a committee we are looking for help. If you or anyone you know would be interested in joining a subcommittee to be part of building and maintaining our Community Club status then please let us know by contacting one of the committee members.
It would be great to have you involved.