Update as at November 2020
Online courses: Please note all FA safeguarding online courses are free, available 24/7 and can be taken on most internet enabled devices. They can all be found here.
Learners simply need their FA-registered email address and associated password to access a course. FA Numbers (FANs) are automatically updated when the course is completed – please allow 72 hours for this to happen.
Safeguarding For All: This new course is an introduction to safeguarding and is suitable for anyone over the age of 14.
While the Safeguarding Children Workshop is paused due to Covid-19, this course should be taken by referees, coaches and anyone else working with children who has not yet completed the Safeguarding Children Workshop. Parents and carers and anyone else volunteering or working in football are also encouraged to take this.
The course can be accessed here.
Please note: There is also a course entitled ‘The FA Playmaker, supported by BT’. This is an introduction to working in football and is for anyone who wants to help on a football activity/project or in a club (e.g. assistant coaches). This course includes the topic ‘Safeguarding for All’. If a person completes this as part of The FA Playmaker course, they do not need to complete Safeguarding for All as well.
Safeguarding Children Workshop: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Safeguarding Children Workshop is paused and is being re-written as an online course. This will be launched in spring 2021. County FA websites and the website you are reading will be updated when the course is launched.
Online Safeguarding Children Re-certification course: The FA recommends that everyone working with under-18s renews their safeguarding education every three years. Qualified coaches working in under-18s’ teams in FA Charter Standard clubs are required to do this. Referees must update their training to register for the 2021/22 season.
Re-certification must be done by completing this course and is available to anyone who has an existing Safeguarding Children Workshop (SCW) qualification or re-certification that is more than two-and-a-half years old.
Welfare Officer Workshop: This course is a requirement for everyone volunteering to be a Club Welfare Officer. The course explores the skills, attributes, roles and responsibilities of the welfare officer and the toolkit available to support the role. It focuses on the importance of safe recruitment, building blocks that help make a safer club, addressing concerns, as well as building the welfare officer’s confidence regarding how and when to seek help and advice.
This course is now being delivered as a virtual classroom.