The club runs some 14-16 teams in any one season, which is no small undertaking, and this would not be possible without the support of a large volunteer workforce. However the club also have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for children to play rugby, and in doing so require a safe volunteer recruitment process.

All volunteers are required to fill in the attached volunteer form. It is an editable form that will be treated in confidence and can be emailed to the CSO safeguarding@warringtonrufc.co.uk. If appropriate, the volunteer will be required to undertake a DBS check.

For clarity, all coaches (and volunteers who work unsupervised with children and vulnerable adults) are required to have a DBS check. This includes all Minis and Juniors coaches as a minimum. DBS checks need to be undertaken face to face with any of the Safeguarding team (safeguarding@warringtonrufc.co.uk). Further guidance - http://www.englandrugby.com/governance/safeguarding/disclosure-and-barring-service-guidance/

Essentially they need to be undertaken face to face by one the safeguarding team (see separate page). See the "Valid forms of ID" document for more detailed guidance but in summary 3 valid forms of ID are required. The check will be easier to complete if at least 2 of the following are used:

• Valid UK Driving License photo card
• Valid Passport
• Original Birth Certificate

For the 3rd item the following are the most commonly acceptable:

• Council Tax statement
• Utility bill statement
• Bank statement

Please note that if a bank or utility statement is used, it needs to be dated within the last 3 months (this has caused problems in the past).

Other information required for the check is:

• National Insurance Number
• Town and County of Birth
• Full address(es) covering the last 5 years

No documentation is required for the above 3 items, but they do need to be known and submitted online. The checks are valid for 3 years.

Please note that the RFU do NOT accept any other DBS checks. Whilst this may cause frustration, as we understand many volunteers might have DBS checks from other roles, please rest assured that this is much more inconvenient for the safeguarding team, who at times have to process in excess of 50 DBS checks each year, so please bear with us.

Before undertaking a DBS check please note:
1) Ensure that your personal record on GMS is complete and up to date with the correct details, especially name (full first name), address, and date of birth.
2) The completion of the Introduction to Safeguarding course is compulsory prior to all DBS applications.

'Introduction to Safeguarding' is a free 30 minute online awareness course that can be booked via the GMS course booking page [see attachment]. Please log in using your GMS account (do not create a new account as this will not update the correct account), select virtual courses in the course selector and once completed, ensure the course is listed in the qualifications section of your GMS record.

Further information on booking courses on GMS is here.