1. How long does the FA Charter Standard (CS) Accreditation last for?
A club receives the FA Charter Standard for as long as the clubs forfills the criteria and maintains the standard. The club will be asked to complete an annual health check form in order to keep its Charter Standard in date.
2. How long does the Charter Standard Application process take?
It depends on the set up of your club when you begin the application. Some non CS Clubs already operate whilst fully meeting the required criteria, therefore it is just a case of gathering required information and filling in the forms. However other clubs are starting from scratch and need to progress the club in order to meet the CS criteria - this is a longer process and, depending on the number of teams, can take up to 6 months.
3. What are the benefits of becoming Charter Standard?
Oxfordshire FA offers a comprehensive benefits package for CS Clubs, from free England international tickets to discounted coaching courses. For a full list please click here.
4. What happens if i can not find certificates for coaches?
It is important that copies of certificates are provided as evidence for the coach/volunteer qualifications. Clubs must do their upmost to provide these. However if a coach has misplaced a certificate, we need to be provided with their FAN number, the date of the the course taken and also the venue. We will then try to validate the coach's qualification.
5. Can we use existing CRB check information for our football coaches?
No, there is no portability. The FA require football coaches to carry out a FA specific CRB check to work in football clubs. Please contact Oxfordshire FA is you require any CRB application forms and click here for some further information.
6. Do "First Aid at Work" qualifications count as an "Emergency Aid" certificate?
First aid qualifications that are certified by "St Johns" or "The Red Cross" do count for CS applications. However club coaches must have attended a FA "Safeguarding Children" course - a non FA equivalent course is not acceptable.
7. Do all youth coaches have to be Level 1 qualified?
No. All Under 18 teams and below need one qualified FA Level 1 coach working at each age group. This is a minimum requirement, clubs are obviously encouraged to train as many coaches as they can to as higher level as they wish.
8. What happens after my club achieves Charter Standard status?
Once your club has achieved CS Status its important that you make the most of the benefits package to help your club to operate and reward the people involved. Also we recommend keeping an up to date record of all the documents/certificates involved in the application - this will make the renewal process a lot easier for your CS Coordinator.
9. Is there anyway a club can lose it Charter Standard status?
Yes. If a club has a number of discipline / welfare issues, or a poor report from a CS Match Monitoring visit, then Oxfordshire FA will begin the CS Discipline process. If a club carries out procedures to address the issues, it can continue to have Charter Standard. If not then a clubs Charter Standard Status can be suspended.
Application Support
Oxfordshire FA also provide practical support, resources and training courses to assist clubs to achieve/maintain the FA Charter Standard. For further information, please contact Owain Prosser, Oxfordshire FA Football Development Officer on 07956415583 or Owain.Prosser@OxfordshireFA.com.