Advice for parents and carers

We try to teach our children never to go off with strangers, but we sometimes leave them with strangers.  We might assume that sports coaches and play activity staff have been appropriately vetted and their conduct is routinely observed by the provider.  Due diligence about safeguarding starts with parents and carers.  We need to do our homework before we feel satisfied leaving our children with a sports coach/staff in extra-curricular activities.  They are a stranger to us and our children.  We urge parents and carers to ask the right questions first, these include asking and seeing evidence of the provider having suitable safeguarding policies, DBS checks and safeguarding training for their staff, first aid training and promoting exploitation awareness amongst staff and parents so any signs can be spotted and acted on early on.  This will ensure you are confident your child will be looked after properly.

Parents and carers need to also remain vigilant about the safety of their children attending clubs.  Recognise when something is not right, know who to approach to discuss these issues with and have the confidence to complain if needed.

The advice below is taken from the ‘Safe to Play’ NWG campaign funded by Sport England.

• Firstly, scrutinise their web sites  or  the information that you have been sent, do not be influenced by “glossy “pictures and  reams of  quotes from “satisfied” parents. Look for safeguarding policies, are they fully accessible and visible or are they just “referred” to on the web site, if this is the case ask yourself a question as to why they are not visible and would you really send your child there not knowing what their safeguarding arrangements are?   

• Where is the sporting activity taking place, is it Covid 19 secure?  If it’s in the grounds of a school or a leisure centre ask the Head teacher or centre manager about what due diligence has taken place to ensure that the clubs providing activities have the appropriate safeguarding procedures in place.   

• In some brochures, leaflets and websites reference will be made to staff members having coaching badges such as FiFA or FA Badges or that they are fully qualified to national standards, a good web site will show you pictures of the staff alongside their qualifications and what their coaching badges are in and who issued them, check these out.    

• DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks will be mentioned but you should be asking about the last time that they were renewed, are the club’s part of the DBS update service. Does the club have volunteers, and do they have a full DBS disclosure?   

• What safeguarding training has the staff received and can you see the evidence of when the training was delivered, did all staff attend, what about new staff as we know coaches do move around quite frequently.  

• First aid, what happens if a child is injured or taken ill, what are the club’s policies on these issues and how many at the club have full first aid certificates, this point is often missed by parents.  

These are just a few points that you need to consider, however your first point of call should be to ask direct questions of the staff running these clubs, please do not be afraid to ask challenging questions, a good club will welcome such questioning and provide you with the answers that you require. If a coach or club owner are defensive about safeguarding questions ask yourself why, we have seen so many media stories recently about children being abused by coaches that we should expect more transparency from within the industry regarding the safeguarding of children. Safeguarding children is everyone’s business and it starts with parents so please do your homework with sports activity clubs.