Trips and Tours 

Introduction

This is a “live” document, which will be regularly reviewed and updated as and when necessary.

Definitions – In this Policy the following terms/expressions shall mean:

• Worcestershire Cricket – means Worcestershire County Cricket Club and Worcestershire Cricket Foundation
• ECB – means England and Wales Cricket Board
• Child or young person – refers to persons under the age of 18
• Safe Hands – means the ECB’s cricket policies and procedures for safeguarding children within cricket.
• Coach – any individual responsible for training, mentoring, or supervising players in cricket.

Purpose

This policy outlines the guidelines for staff, coaches and players when organizing and participating in trips and tours. It aims to ensure safety, enjoyment, and a positive experience for all participants.

Scope

This policy applies to all cricket staff, coaches and players within Worcestershire Cricket, whether on a full-time, part-time, or volunteer basis.

Policy Statement

Worcestershire Cricket is committed to providing a caring, friendly, safe environment for all of its members so that they can participate in any sport in a relaxed and secure atmosphere.

This policy is designed to ensure that Worcestershire Cricket can engage in a range of activities including trips, tours, tournaments, festivals and residentials with confidence, by having planned efficiently to attempt to ensure that everything is in place to make the event safe and enjoyable.

This policy will be followed for all tours involving children in any capacity.

For the remainder of this policy the term ‘tour’ will be used as the generic term of all excursions overseas and in the UK, including trips, festivals, tournaments and residentials. For definitions of each of these types of excursions, please see Appendix A.

Implementation

Planning and Approval

• Any proposed trip or tour must be submitted in writing to the Director of Cricket, Lead coach and the Safeguarding Lead at least 8 weeks in advance through completion of the “Tour preauthorisation form.”
• Trips should be planned to ensure inclusivity for all participants, regardless of ability.
• No player should be excluded from trips based on financial constraints. Assistance options should be made available.
• The Lead Coach will then proceed to follow the ‘Tour Organisation Flowchart’ with the appointed Tour Manager and notifying the Safeguarding Lead.
• The Tour Manager will always be an experienced full-time member of staff and has experience of supervising players of the age group(s) participating on the tour. All other members of the tour party are either full-time or part-time personnel and therefore have the relevant DBS checks in place.
• A Home contact will be nominated to act as liaison and hold detailed information.
• All required forms will be completed as required in advance, or after each tour. All Tour Documents are listed in Appendix B.
• Where deemed necessary, a pre-tour visit is carried out by an experienced member of staff and the Safeguarding Lead to view the intended method/route of travel, accommodation and playing, training and medical facilities.
• Where Worcestershire Cricket has participated previously (within the last 24 months) and are using the same method of travel and accommodation, a pre-visit will not be deemed necessary. The previous Risk Assessment will be reviewed and amended accordingly.
• Suitable accommodation (see Appendix A for definitions) is used for all tours. Host family placements are not considered.
• A plan must be in place for emergencies, including access to medical care and communication protocols.
• Before any tour travels, a ‘Tour Final Sign Off Form’ must be completed and signed by the ‘Tour Manager’, Safeguarding Lead and Lead Coach. A copy of this document will be kept by the ‘Tour Manager’ and stored by Worcestershire Cricket along with all other information and data regarding the tour.

Overseas Tournament or Hosting Overseas Teams for a Tournament

• When planning to participate in a cricket tour or tournament abroad (not Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales) or hosting a foreign team(s) in the county, permission must be granted by the Lead Coach to ensure the plans are approved and endorsed by Worcestershire Cricket.
• Once this has been obtained, approval from the ECB to participate or host an activity should also be given prior to the event.
• All risk and safeguarding plans must be in place, signed off and shared with all relevant parties at least 10 days prior to the event.

Parent/Carer Consent

• Parents/carers will be sent a ‘Parent/Carer Tour Pack’ informing them that their child is invited to attend the arranged tour. A ‘Parent Tour Consent Form’ and ‘Player Tour Medical Form’ needs to be completed, signed and returned to Worcestershire Cricket before any player will be allowed to travel.
• If at any time the player requires permission to leave school/college to attend the tour, Worcestershire Cricket will be happy to inform the school and ensure permission is gained. At no time will the player be allowed to leave school/college to attend the tour without school permission.

External Tour Companies

Worcestershire Cricket may use external companies to help with travel arrangements for a tour. These will be with registered companies whose expertise are tours for cricket teams/clubs (or

sports clubs if experience is extensive and relevant) and understanding the requirements of young people.

Parents/carers will be given the names of these companies and the company will give a presentation to the parents/carers and players before departing. This will include an outline of the location, the itinerary and opposition being played against, as well as giving the opportunity for questions from the parents/carers and players. A full tour outline and itinerary will be provided by the tour company to all parents/carers and players attending.

Risk and Safeguarding Assessments

Safeguarding planning and a risk assessment will be carried out by Worcestershire Cricket before departing and will be given to the ‘Tour Manager’, ‘Tour Safeguarding Officer’ and ‘Home Contact’. These plans and assessments can be changed while on tour if required. Any tour company used will also be asked to provide risk assessments. A copy of the completed ‘Tour Risk and Safeguarding Assessment’ will be signed off by Lead Coach and Safeguarding Lead and forwarded to any relevant organisation/body.

The risk assessment will ensure the following issues are considered and addressed:

• Travel to and from the venue including the airport/ferry port/train station
• Accommodation – location, facilities (fitness suites, pools), social areas, evacuation procedures
• Catering Facilities – hygiene, ability to cater to dietary requirements
• Playing facilities, medical requirements and changing rooms
• Local area – restaurants, leisure activities

Safeguarding Considerations:

• Accommodation ensuring children and adults DO NOT share rooms
• Missing child procedures
• Illness and injury procedures
• Any player (or staff member) with additional needs
• Mental Health support for players and staff

The ‘Tour Safeguarding Officer’ will have undertaken appropriate safeguarding and child protection training to support this aspect of their role. All staff will have been subject to appropriate safer recruitment and fully briefed (if they weren’t involved in the initial planning) on the risk assessment and safeguarding safety plan for the tour. The ‘Tour Safeguarding Officer’ will also ensure copies are available to staff and players throughout the tour.

The ‘Tour Safeguarding Officer’ will have a copy of all tourist details along with any ‘Individual Support Plans’ that might be in place for players and/or staff members.

Staffing

Worcestershire Cricket will ensure that all guidelines on staffing are adhered to for all tours and for the whole period of tours. These guidelines include staffing ratios, working and rest periods, safer recruitment and any additional support requirements that individual staff members may require.

All staff will be DBS checked and fully briefed on the tour and their role requirements. The ‘Staff Tour Details’ form will be completed by all attending staff and copies held by Worcestershire Cricket.

In the event of staff leaving a tour, Worcestershire Cricket will ensure that sufficient ratio, coaching and medical cover is in place for the remainder of the tour.

Parents/Carers

Parents/Carers are welcome to accompany any tours their child is participating in but they will not be included in the travel or accommodation arrangements made by Worcestershire Cricket.

If parents/carers do wish to attend the tour, then they will be expected to make their own arrangements for all travel, accommodation and meals, it is also expected that travel will be at different times and accommodation in a different venue to the tour party. While away they will get social time to speak to their child and if possible, visit the accommodation.

Where possible parents/carers will be allowed to attend matches, and they are expected to adhere to the Parents Code of Conduct.

Final Sign Off

Once all aspects of the tour planning have been completed, including a site visit, player and parent briefing and all checks on documentation, the ‘Tour Final Sign Off Form’ needs to be completed. This will be filled in and then signed off by the ‘Tour Manager’, Safeguarding Lead and Lead Coach. A copy of this final sign off will be taken on tour by the Tour Manager and a copy retained by the ‘Home Contact’ to be retained with all other tour information.

Review and Evaluation

Staff must undertake daily reviews of the tour through meetings of all staff (and other relevant parties) to ensure that everyone is aware of the daily details, any concerns arising and/or any change to the itinerary or arrangements. Any serious issues/concerns will be flagged back to the ‘Home Contact’ and/or the Safeguarding Lead, depending on the concern.

Any issues/concerns that are reported back to ‘Home Contact’ or Safeguarding Lead must be followed up immediately with a written report.

On return, the tour will be evaluated for future reference taking into account the tour company, facilities, any concerns arising, and game standard to inform future tour planning and arrangements. The tour review group will be headed by the Lead coach and include all relevant individuals, including but not exclusive ‘Tour Manager’, ‘Tour Safeguarding Officer’, ‘Home Contact’ and Safeguarding Lead.

The tour review group will be responsible for completing the tour evaluation and reporting to the Board of Directors and any other relevant party. The minutes and learning from this evaluation group will be shared with all relevant parties.

Monitoring and Review

The policy will be reviewed every 2 years from the date of creation, or in the following circumstances:

• Changes in legislation and/or government guidance
• As required by UK Sport and/or the ECB
• Periodic audits and/or feedback from coaches
• As a result of any other significant change or event