ECB Safe Hands Management System – 21st April

As the new season arrives, we wanted to contact you with regard to the Safe Hands Management System (SHMS) and provide some information to assist you with making use of the system in the coming weeks.

As you may be aware, there have been some recent issues impacting the SHMS and we wanted to reassure you that we are working really hard to address these issues as quickly as possible. We do understand the frustrations this can cause for users and we are hugely appreciative of your on-going patience at this time.

DBS Update Service

On 10^th January 2023, following an internal review taking on board guidance from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and our DBS provider (Atlantic Data) and additionally feedback from the cricket network, the ECB introduced some improvements to the way our DBS application system integrates with the Disclosure and Barring Service Update Service.

The improvements will streamline the registration and annual check process for both volunteers and paid applicants and will ensure the ECB has the most up to date information regarding the roles people are undertaking in cricket and are complying with the DBS Code of Practice.

For further information related to the DBS renewal process, please visit our DBS Renewal FAQs or if you have any queries regarding these changes, please contact the ECB Customer Support Team via the Help Centre.

Club Compliance

As best practice, clubs have been encouraged to ensure that their data on the SHMS is up to date prior to the start of the season. We have also recommended that in the lead up to the season, County Boards and Foundations do some checks of the information provided by clubs to see how clubs are progressing towards this goal. We are aware that some clubs have found this challenging due to existing issues with the system. Please be assured that clubs will not be penalised for this and that we would just encourage you to continue to review your club account to ensure it provides a fair and accurate representation of the volunteer base within your club.

When the SHMS was first launched, its original focus was on cricket clubs with a junior section or that had Clubmark accreditation. The system has now been opened up to allow the ECB to meet its ambition to have all recreational clubs in England and Wales onboarded. The club compliance rules on the system were created for the original cohort of clubs and we are currently in the process of reassessing these to ensure they remain fit for purpose in allowing clubs to demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding in the recreational game. For now, we would advise for clubs to complete all that they can on the portal that is relevant, even if this means they are not able to meet all requirements to achieve club compliance. If clubs are required to reach a state of club compliance for a specific purpose (e.g. Clubmark accreditation) then we can review this on a club-by-club basis.

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your on-going engagement and support with the SHMS and the huge contribution that clubs are making to ensuring that cricket is a safe and enjoyable sport for all.

Best wishes, The ECB Safe Hands Management Team