PVG and Self Declaration

Process and Guidance

Online Applications for a Grassroots Football PVG | Important information

• To complete an online PVG application you must have a valid email address.
• You must have a MyScot Account with Disclosure Scotland. Disclosure Scotland – Online Results
• The PVG Application Request Form must be filled in and signed by an Additional Signatory, and they will check your ID. If you are unsure who your club’s additional signatory is or need help with this, email grassrootspvg@scottish-football.com
• Once your PVG has been submitted to the Grassroots Football PVG email, you will receive an email to confirm the application has been processed. You will then receive an email from Disclosure Scotland within 5-10 days with an additional online form. You must complete the application via the link within 14 days of receipt.  Please check your junk/spam folders regularly too!
• The new Grassroots PVG group means the PVG will be valid across Scottish Women’s Football, Scottish Youth Football and Scottish Para Football. Only a Grassroots Football PVG will permit activity across all relevant organisations (ie SYFA, SWF and SPF). PVGs obtained prior to the setting up of Grassroots Football PVG group will only be valid for the organisation that issued it. 
• NB if you seek only an Adult PVG for work within Scottish Para Football and thereafter, wish to work with children and young people, YOU WILL NEED AN UPDATE.
• All other aspects of the Safe Selection process should be carried out by the club as previously advised.
• Please ensure that you complete the process carefully and give full details to the additional signatory.

To receive a PVG through the Grassroots PVG group please follow the steps below:

Step 1

Applicant completes the Grassroots PVG Form on COMET (link). This includes completing the Child Wellbeing E-Learning, Mental Health training and declaration forms.

Step 2

An additional signatory attached to the club will complete the National Signatory PVG Application Request Form and check the applicant’s ID

Step 3

The completed form will be sent to grassrootspvg@scottish-football.com by the Additional Signatory

Step 4

The Grassroots PVG group will process and send the PVG Application Request Form to Disclosure Scotland. Disclosure Scotland will then email the applicant directly.

Example

Your Disclosure Scotland Application Code – T004421102

Scottish Youth Football in collaboration with Scottish Womens Football and the SFA  has invited you to complete a Scheme Record (Join) in relation to the following role: Youth Coach

Workforce(s): Children

Payment: Free as the applicant is a volunteer performing regulated work

 Step 5

Applicant will have 14 days to complete this link via the MyScot portal. If they do not have a MyScot portal, their application will not proceed.

If the link expires, they will not be able to request another one. The CWPO must email grassrootspvg@scot-football.com  with the subject heading ‘Expired Link’ and resend the application.

Step 6

Disclosure checks undertaken by Disclosure Scotland.

Step 7

Certificate issued to the applicant via the MyScot portal.

Step 8

The applicant MUST share their PVG certificate with the organisation via the MyScot portal. The Grassroots PVG group will then add the certificate to COMET and the official can be registered in their role, provided all elements of the safe selection process have been completed and there are no positive returns on the certificate. Unless the certificate is shared, the applicant is considered not to have a PVG and cannot be deployed in their role.

Step 9

If the PVG certificate contains note of previous convictions, regardless of the nature of those convictions or how long ago, a risk assessment will be carried out.  The applicant should not carry out any regulated work across SYFA, SWF or SPF.  To do this, the Safeguarding Panel of the Grassroots Football PVG group has an obligation to obtain further information pertaining to those issues before an applicant can be approved for their role. Applicants will not be added to COMET until these checks have been completed and the official has been approved.

Step 10

The Risk Assessment will be carried out by the Grassroots Football PVG Safeguarding Panel (‘the Panel’) made up of the CWPOs of SYFA, SWF, SPF, and the SFA.  They will consider all the information and issue a determination to the applicant.  This could include being cleared to volunteer, issuing conditions to the individual which much be abided by, or rejecting the application.  Applicants who disagree with any determination will have a right to Appeal.

Please note that officials should not take part in any SWF, SYFA or SPF activity until the official receives a notification from COMET that their PVG has been added to the system. It is the responsibility of the applicant to inform their club/s once they have been notified their PVG is on COMET.

Please also note that it will be mandatory as of the 1^st April 2025 for anyone in a regulated role to have a PVG.  This means that there should be no deviation from the clear guidance that until the full safe selection process is complete and a PVG validated, no regulated work should be carried out by an applicant.  Please refer to Changes to our services – Disclosure Scotland for more information.

PVG Pitfalls and Pointers

• Make sure you keep an eye out for your link from Disclosure Scotland, check spam and junk boxes.  Otherwise, it triggers a new process to get it renewed and can cause delay.
• Sometimes officials still cannot be approved due officials not completing other critical parts of the recruitment process, such as e-learning and/or declarations.Remember, until ALL aspects are completed, an official cannot coach
• CWPOs do not get automatic sight of the PVG certificate – they should ask for the issue date, and keep record of when renewal is due – five years from the issue date.  Make sure you tell your club if you have your PVG!
• If a PVG is due to be renewed, the application should be sent three months before it expires to ensure the coach can continue to coach-       The safe selection process is there to make our game safe, but also ensure officials are also protected.  Please don’t take short cuts, we know time is tight and can be pressured, but the risks of not following the steps outlined could be high.

What is a Risk Assessment?

•       A process which is undertaken when a PVG is returned with ANY convictions (regardless how minor)
•       To ascertain the suitability of the Official to fulfil their role in SWF, SYFA and SPF, and whether any safeguards are required to protect the official, club, and players.

The Risk Assessment Process

• • •       Undertaken by the Grassroots Football PVG Safeguarding Panel (‘The Panel’) is made up of the Wellbeing and Protection Officers from SWF, SYFA, SPF and ScottishFA. The Panel  may request references from clubs, and the self-declaration from the Official
    •       Sometimes a meeting with the Official is required
    •       Risk Assessment matrix completed looking at ‘Risk Factors’  and ‘Mitigation Factors’
    •       The Assessment takes into account all the circumstances of the offence(s), Officials, references, etc.
    •       The Panel will consider all of this and issue a determination to the applicant that will be binding across all three organisations. This may include a recommendation of conditions for the applicant to abide by.
    •       Recommendations can be wide-ranging, proportionate to the circumstances e.g. monitoring period, further training/learning.
    • Should an applicant disagree with the determination, they have the right to appeal via the new Grassroots Football PVG process.