Every child and young person has a right to have fun and enjoy taking part in activities without the risk of being harmed or abused.
When parents and carers choose their child’s school or college, they devote a lot of time reviewing OFSTED reports, asking parents and children who attend the educational setting for their lived experiences and continue to remain vigilant about their safety whilst attending. It is vital the same attention is applied to sports clubs and physical activity providers.
Sport and physical activities often place individuals in a position of significant influence over other people. A high level of trust is placed on such individuals by parents, carers and the participants themselves. In most cases that level of trust is more than repaid through the commitment, dedication and selflessness of people involved in organising and delivering sports and activities, but occasionally that trust can be abused.
All organisations and individuals involved in sport should be aware of the risks and act promptly to deal with any concern. Safeguarding must remain a priority for all those who run, book, manage and oversee sports and extra-curricular clubs and activities.
We are working in partnership with Active Essex and NWG to launch the NWG campaign ‘Safe to Play’ here in Essex. The campaign has been funded by Sport England and aims to raise awareness of exploitation in sport and physical activity to increase safety for children. We are supporting this campaign by including some of the useful materials from the campaign that you can use in your club/setting, plus some videos to assist in developing your staff awareness and ongoing development.