Sadly, we are all aware of traumatic stories by survivors of childhood abuse at the hands of some sports coaches and adults in extra-curricular settings. The impact of abuse stays with a victim their whole life. There is also significant reputational and financial damage for these settings. The importance of ensuring effective safeguarding practices in these settings cannot be over-estimated, failure to do so could lead to abusive adults being placed in positions of trust, power and influence with children.
That is why 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.