The Academy’s Safeguarding Manager on empowering future generations

For Crystal Palace’s Academy Safeguarding Manager, Laura Baptiste, that number can extend anywhere up to 10, as she seeks to ensure the safety of the club’s young representatives.

Her remit spans the full range of the Academy pathway, from pre-Academy age groups right the way up to any crossover with Patrick Vieira’s first-team squad.

It is an area highly invested in by Premier League clubs across the board, crucial to the successful operation of any Academy or indeed football club – yet one seldom discussed in supporters’ circles.

Speaking on International Women's Day, Baptiste explains: "Safeguarding is about the procedures and the policies in place to keep everybody safe. That includes the children, the young people, the staff, the parents, the spectators…

“Some of it seems like second nature to people but, for example, for us to take the boys on an away trip, we have to consider: have we got enough staff? Has the driver got all of the qualifications he needs? Is the insurance covered? Do we have a risk assessment so that, if we stop at a service station, the staff know what they should be doing to keep all the children safe?

“It’s everything that helps everybody to do their day-to-day jobs in the safest possible way.”

As you might suspect, then, no two days can are ever the same in Baptiste's line of work.

“You also have to be reactive. If there are any issues or concerns with specific children or staff then the Safeguarding department need to react to that in an appropriate way.

“A child might come to you and disclose that they're unhappy because of a range of reasons, or a staff member could say they’ve seen an adult act in a certain way – so you deal with those appropriately, in line with our policies.

“It’s also being that listening ear, that critical friend – and that's what for all the departments in the club: for the Media team, for example, taking photographs, have all the children given consent? Are any of the children looked after by local authorities, meaning they can’t have their whereabouts known? There are all of these considerations.

“Empowering people to make the right choices is the best part of the job. The boys that you work with, some of them have gone through some tough times, either historically or at present, and it’s just about helping them to see how they can get themselves out of it, and showing them that all the staff are there to support them.

“We also give the staff the right means of helping young people. It’s educating and empowering, I think, that I really like.”

Fulfilling a role which requires lending strength to others is a demanding ask. For Baptiste, her desire to do so was borne from her own background and experiences as a young woman.

Born in south London, Baptiste admits she left education without a particular direction in mind – “I studied dance as a BTEC… I wish I hadn’t!”, she laughs – and started her career as a part-time youth worker for Lambeth Children Young Peoples’ Services.

“I went to different places and playgrounds, liaising with parents, and I just found that I really loved helping some of those disadvantaged parents and children, just providing them with a safe space.

“At the time, I didn’t know it – but that was Safeguarding in action.”

After four years at Lambeth, Baptiste spent a lengthy period with the City of London Police as a full-time Community Support Officer and four years at a local Primary School in Streatham as Family Support and Pastoral Care.

It was then that a personal tragedy struck – but Baptiste responded with the strength she now helps grow within others with today.

She recalled: “In 2017, my Dad passed away after a really short battle with cancer. He was just 54, and I just thought: ‘Life is way too short.’

“I'd always coached boys’ football at grassroots level, and I just loved it. I loved seeing the boys’ development, but I equally loved helping the people within it. I thought: ‘How can this experience translate into football full-time?’

“Like many people, you do a job, but you think your skills aren't transferable, or you don't even realise that you have any skills to start with.

“I went to the Kick It Out careers conference for women in Spring 2018. There weren’t many women of colour there, and the ones that were had gone through a big struggle to get to where they were.

“I just saw them and thought: ‘You know what? I’m going for it.’

“On the way home, I sent a few emails off, asking people: ‘How do I do this? What do I get what I need?’ Phil Rendell, who was Safeguarding Manager at Surrey’s FA, phoned me straight away and said: ‘You’ve got all the skills you need – just apply.’"

And so... she did.

“I applied for a job at West Ham United as their Academy Safeguarding Co-ordinator. I had no idea what it would entail, I just wanted to get involved. I was offered the job.

“The next challenge was imposter syndrome. I thought: ‘I don’t know if I can do this – this is such a big jump, in a completely different industry…’ How would I know what to do? But I always tell my kids to just themselves out of their comfort zones. I said ‘yes’ quickly – then was nervous afterwards!

“I built a relationship with the coaches straight away. I made sure I wasn’t seen as a scary Safeguarding person or the ‘inappropriate police’, but more someone who was there to run questions past.”

In that way, Baptiste’s range of career experiences empower her, just as she does Palace’s young stars: “I help with their traumas, their stresses, and dealing with that element of success and performance.

“Just being able to be a critical person, able to not only say what I need to, but also able to have the relationships to do it… definitely, my experiences in other industries have helped me with that.”

After three years in east London, Baptiste joined Crystal Palace in the autumn of 2021 as Academy Safeguarding Manager.

It is a challenging role – a balancing act of a myriad of factors – but one which Baptiste speaks passionately about, particularly when recalling her proudest moments in Academy football so far.

She smiles: “It’s having that ‘Proud Auntie moment’ of seeing the boys you've worked with from 15 or 16-years-old make their first-team debuts.

“It’s especially strong when you know that some of those boys have had struggles, and you’ve supported them through that. You know exactly what it’s taken for them to stick at it and still walk out onto a first-team pitch in the Premier League.

“I also love seeing staff’s perception and attitudes change towards the safeguarding of young people. I enjoy having conversations to help them understand safeguarding and how that protects them as staff and as people, and their impact on young people. It goes back to that education and empowerment, I think.”

Just as Baptiste works to break down barriers for young footballers, as a woman working in a traditionally male-heavy industry, she hopes to do so for more potential female professionals in the game.

“There are probably loads of barriers I've faced even getting to this point, but I've had some really strong female managers who have supported me,” she notes.

“My current manager now, Cassi [Wright, Palace Head of Safeguarding], is a big champion for women. My previous manager at West Ham, Jackie Ferdinand, was a huge champion for them, and really supported me, even when I decided to leave. When I worked at the school, my line manager was a woman.

“That’s what I want to do: I want to get to the stage where I can actively support other women to get into football – not only in support roles, but into different roles as well.

“There isn't a ceiling, so I think there's lots to be done. Certainly, in the last five years while I've been involved in football, more and more women have come into prominence in different roles, which is brilliant, and we just need to keep that going, I think.”

What advice would Baptiste have on those considering making the step?

“There are some really, really good female professionals and coaches but… it’s a struggle trying to get in. A lot of it stems from a national need for more accessible courses and the need to support more females to do their qualifications.

“The burden on women is that, if they have a family or want to have a family, the commitment is such that if you have a dream of being in football, suddenly, you might have to put that on the backburner.

“My advice would be: just apply, because you've always got barriers. I'm really good at talking myself out of things, but the more you apply for different things, the more you learn.

“Go and volunteer at your local grassroots rugby club, football club or tennis club. They all have to have Welfare Officers, which essentially leads into safeguarding. You can learn so much from local Football Associations, who might pay for you to do free courses if you are a club Welfare Officer.

“Time is precious, and the cost of living is so high, but if you can spare a few hours every week to volunteer in a setting which gives you that first-hand knowledge, you might either decide that you don't really want to do this, or it could give you that grounding and that level of understanding which is so important.”

Now living closer to her original south London home and helping to hone the talents of tomorrow, Baptiste holds in high esteem the work which Palace does to encourage a thriving, diverse community, in all aspects.

“In terms of the culture, particularly within the players that we have here at the Academy, I feel like it makes everybody a lot more relaxed. Nobody’s worried about saying or doing the wrong thing.

“That's true across the club. You can go to Selhurst, sit in the stands and smell the jerk chicken! At the Academy, you can go into the canteen and get a wide array of food. I’ve visited many football clubs as well, and this club in particular is really diverse.

“Having a black first-team manager for these boys here – particularly in the PDP [Professional Development Phase] – helps them feel like they can break through. They’ve got someone there who they feel will understand and get them.

“When I first started in football, I saw Jackie [Ferdinand], a black woman, as a Head of Safeguarding, so I knew that there wasn’t a barrier for me, she was there. It was tangible to me.

“That breaking down of barriers is equally important for staff and for players. That’s probably what sets us apart in terms of Premier League clubs.”