Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility.
Everyone involved in cricket, from All Stars to the England teams, should understand the importance of keeping people safe within our game.
We The Surrey Down League are committed to ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for everybody.
Therefore your committee endorse all our member clubs should have in place their own Club Safeguarding Officer (CSO). This includes every club not just those clubs with Junior Sections,
ALL Clubs should have a CSO.
They should also be listed on your club’s respective play-cricket website pages About Us / Officials
“Safeguarding is Law and therefore regardless of whether a sport organisation are or aren’t coming into direct contact with children and young people they have a responsibility for safeguarding and must work within the framework of legislation. Furthermore, Safeguarding adults is a responsibility for every sport and physical activity organisation. With the weight of legislation that surrounds safeguarding for both u18’s and adults, sports clubs are leaving themselves vulnerable for not engaging with safeguarding policies and procedures.”
County Safeguarding Officer – Surrey Cricket Foundation
“It is extremely unlikely that any club around the county (or country for that matter) will not have some links with U18s either through junior players, older junior wanting to play adult cricket, children that visit the club or who are related to playing members or U18s on the opposition teams that visit. As the ECB slogan says, Safeguarding is Everyone’s Responsibility.”
Assistant Director Cricket Participation, Surrey Cricket Foundation
“Safeguarding is important, and is everyone’s responsibility. We should all be aware, at Work, at our Cricket Club, at a Training Session, at a Match. To allow us to challenge behaviour, report any concerns, or seek advice from your respective Cricket Club’s Safeguarding Officer”
Safeguarding Officer – The Surrey Downs League
“People play a crucial role in safeguarding. There is a strong emphasis on people understanding the impact of their behaviour and how positive behaviours result in positive experiences”
England & Wales Cricket Board / The Cricket Regulator – Safeguarding Strategy 2025-2028
County Safeguarding Officers are appointed by each County Cricket Board in order to provide advice and assistance on safeguarding for clubs, leagues and other affiliated organisations within each county. All Club Safeguarding Officers have access to this support and the County Safeguarding Officer actively supports clubs in creating a fun and safe environment for everyone to enjoy the game.
Club Safeguarding Officers – Whilst everyone is responsible for safeguarding, the Club Safeguarding Officer will make sure the appropriate policies and procedures are in place, and that everyone in regulated activity at their club, is vetted by the ECB. They are the go-to person that others come to if they have concerns, and having attended specific training, will know what to do in order to assist, or who to ask for further help.
League Safeguarding Officers – There is a designated volunteer workforce of League Safeguarding Officers who promote and oversee best practice in safeguarding. The League Safeguarding Officer is in place to improve practices across the league, ensure clubs are compliant and be the first point of contact for any safeguarding concerns.
| Surrey Downs League Safeguarding Officer | Surrey County Safeguarding Officer |
| Paul Griffiths | Heidi Langrish |
| safeguarding@surreydowns.org | safeguarding@surreycricket.com |
| 07802 712702 | 07843 977 020 |
Club Safeguarding Training for Club Safeguarding Officers:
Club Safeguarding Officers are vital members of the club and key to making an environment safe, welcoming and friendly for everyone to enjoy the game of cricket.
Club Safeguarding Officers need to complete three sets of training:
- Safeguarding Level 2 (online)
- Safe Hands workshop – Level 3 (face to face and run by the local County Cricket Board)
These course should be updated every 3 years.
Club Safeguarding Officers must be over 18 years of age and hold a current ECB issued Enhanced DBS Certificate.
To enquire about upcoming courses for Club Safeguarding Officers please contact your local County Cricket Board. We (The Surey Downs League) have listed further down this page the dates for the ECB Safehands Workshop Face to Face training schedule including dates with Surrey Cricket
How to become a Club Safeguarding Officer (CSO)
In terms of a CSO being deemed fully trained you need to:
- Volunteer!
- Complete a Cricket Specific Disclosure & barring Service (DBS)
- Complete the free online Safeguarding for Committee Members and Club Safeguarding Officers. Candidates are automatically enrolled on this course when booking the Safe Hands Workshop (see point 4).
- Attend the Safe Hands Workshop (a face to face course for Club Safeguarding Officers) – the
current courses can be booked (also listed below) here :
https://www.surreycricketfoundation.org/safeguarding/safeguarding-officers/
Current Course Dates for ECB SafeHands Workshops with Surrey Cricket:
| ECB | Safehands | Workshops in Surrey |
| Venue | Date and Time | Availability |
| Wimbledon Cricket Club The Wimbledon Club Church Road WIMBLEDON London SW19 5AG | Wednesday 23 April 2025 6:30-9:30pm | https://booking.ecb.co.uk/wAzr5Z |
| Surrey Cricket Centre George Abbot School Woodruff Avenue BURPHAM, Guildford Surrey GU1 1XX | Monday 12 May 2025 6:30-9:30pm | https://booking.ecb.co.uk/ykPxDD |
| these ECB Safe Hands Workshops Cost £10.00 |
SAFEGUARDING COURSES FOR 2025
some updated info from the Safeguarding team at The Cricket Regulator
from the The Safeguarding Team at the Cricket Regulator, on behalf of the ECB
Following feedback from the network and an internal review, the Safeguarding Team took the decision to and revamp the current Safeguarding for Specialist Roles (SSR) course and bolt on modules.
The new suite of safeguarding courses are being created with a working date of January 2025 as follows:
Safeguarding Level 1 (SGL1)
or Introduction to Safeguarding
This free course is available for everyone involved in cricket
Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility, so whatever your role in cricket, everyone should understand the importance of keeping children, young people and adults safe.
With this in mind, we invite you, and everybody at your club or organisation, to complete our online Introduction to Safeguarding. The training provides basic knowledge and advice in creating a safe cricket environment for everyone, recognising signs of abuse, what to do if you have any concerns or if you are approached by anyone with concerns that they may have.
This training should take around 30 minutes to complete and is accessible on a laptop, tablet or mobile phone. You can access this training by clicking here.
Please note this course is not certified.
Those who have already undertaken safeguarding training in their roles such as Coaches and Safeguarding Officers are not required to complete this course, although individuals may do so if they wish.
Safeguarding Level 2 (SGL2)
is the new course from the Cricket Regulator Safeguarding Team on behalf of the ECB, which has replaced Safeguarding for Specialist Roles (SSR).
Robust safeguarding helps to keep our cricket community safe and welcoming.
This course will provide the learner with what to look out for and how to respond to concerns.
The Audience:
- Coach or Activator
- Umpire
- Committee Member
- Safeguarding Officer
The Aims and Objectives of the course:
- Create a safe and inclusive cricket environment
- Describe what a safeguarding concern is.
- Respond appropriately to concerns.
- Describe how to report and record safeguarding concerns.
This training should take around 1 hour to complete. The certification is valid for 3 years. To book this course please contact your local County Cricket Board.
Please note if you have an active accreditation on a version of SSR courses you do not need to complete this course until your re-accreditation window opens and the course is available in the Active Learning section on your dashboard as your original accreditation data will be retained. To check accreditations, you can find this in the learning history section on your dashboard.
Safeguarding Level 3 (SGL3)
A 3-hour face to face workshop led by an ECB trained tutor:
a. ECB Safe Hands Workshop (Recreational Game)
b. Safeguarding in the Talent Pathway (Performance Pathway / Professional Game).
Further details will be sent out shortly with a progress update.
Thank you for your support.
from The Safeguarding Team at the Cricket Regulator, on behalf of the ECB
Questions?
If you have any questions around safeguarding, or cricket safeguarding or DBS please reach out to our Surrey Downs League Safeguarding officer. email : safeguarding @ surreydowns.org thank you
this page was last reviewed and updated 27 March 2025