Bedfordshire FA and the University of Bedfordshire are working in partnership to proudly present the first Safeguarding Conference in Bedfordshire.
Bedfordshire FA’s Safeguarding Conference 2023 will be a unique and exciting event designed to provide learning opportunities to support the role of a Club Welfare Officer. The day will provide the opportunity for Club Welfare Officers to question, share knowledge and learn from a range of workshops delivered by our guest speakers. This event will also provide the opportunity for networking between Club Welfare Officers.
We are excited to announce that we have a speaker who is an experienced Mental Health First Aid Instructor, who has an extensive knowledge of Children and Young Peoples Mental Health. We also have guest speakers from different roles within grassroots football and the professional game.
We would like a representative from every club to attend.
VENUE: University of Bedfordshire, Polhill Avenue, Bedford, MK41 9EA.
DATE: Saturday 1st July 2023.
TIME: Registration starts at 9:00 am and the Q&A session will end at 4:00 pm.
PRICE: Free.
Kate Houghton – Kate Houghton is an experienced Mental Health First Aid instructor, trainer and workshop leader. Over the years, she has facilitated training and workshops for a variety of companies and organisations covering education, corporate and sports settings. Kate is incredibly passionate about raising awareness of mental health and equipping people with skills, tools and techniques to support others as well as themselves.
Veronique Nani – Veronique has held the role as Bedfordshire Football Association Designated Safeguarding Officer since September 2022. She is a Social Work England Registered Social Worker and gained her Social Work qualification in 2003. Throughout her social work career, she worked within various Local Authority Children Services Safeguarding teams and also held management roles within the service. Also, she worked in Youth Offending and Specialist Services for Safeguarding Adolescents and education settings, a true passion of hers, was to be able to work and support vulnerable children and young people. She is Mental Health First Aid trained and has a passion for working with children and young people who have been exposed to adverse childhood trauma and experiences. Her link to grassroots football started over 10 years ago, and her interest in football and safeguarding made her transition into Bedfordshire Football Association a perfect match.
Emma Vase – Emma has been involved with youth football since her eldest son joined AFC Oakley as a U6, he’s now nearly 20. Her first role at the club was as the Club Welfare Officer for the youth teams and then she also took on the role of club secretary. She has recently joined Bedford Town Youth FC as their CWO. Emma is also a panel member on the Judicial Appeals Board at the FA and this has been the most incredible experience ever for her. She is also the player registration officer for the Chiltern Youth Football League and has held this role since 2019, Emma loves the role she has with the league as this has provided her with the opportunity to see things from a league perspective too.
Wayne Polson – Wayne is currently working as a Player Welfare Officer at Luton Town Football Club, the main part of his role is to oversee and monitor all Academy players’ welfare, including mental and emotional wellbeing, providing and/or sourcing the appropriate training where required for players, parents and staff. He has previously held roles within Luton Town FC Community Trust to deliver sports-based programmes in hard-to-reach areas, engaging with young people and adults ranging from 11 – 25. Prior to his time with the Luton Town, he held a rewarding position as a football coach for 11 years for Arsenal FC in the community.
