Last reviewed July 2024

Safeguarding in Sport

What does safeguarding in sport mean?

What does safeguarding in sport mean?



Ensuring every child has a safe environment to learn and grow, where they are protected from harm and mistreatment, whilst playing sport and being active.

  • Who are Wakefield Safeguarding Children Partnership (WSCP)?
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    The partnership is a statutory body, led by an Executive (led by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, and West Yorkshire Police) and supported by an Independent Scrutineer.
  • What does WSCP do?
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    The purpose WSCP is to support organisations to work together in a system where:
    - Children are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted
    - Organisations work together, share and have joint ownership to improve outcomes for children
    - Organisations challenge appropriately and hold one another to account
    - There is early identification and analysis of emerging safeguarding risks
    - Learning is promoted in a way that organisations can become more reflective and improve services for children and families.

  • What is the role of WSCP?
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    The WSCP Business Unit supports the work of the partnership by developing, delivering and monitoring:
    - Multi-agency safeguarding policies and procedures
    - Multi-agency and education safeguarding training
    - Quality assure safeguarding systems and practice
    - Share and embed learning to improve safeguarding systems and practice
    -Hold organisations to account

What do Sports settings need?

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Some signs that could suggest a child is being abused or exploited

  • Change in behaviour
  • Change in appearance
  • Unexplained bruises
  • Poor fitting or lack of correct clothing for sports
  • Child confides about something that has happened to them or something they have seen
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Training available for sports settings

How to respond to and report concerns?

How to respond to and report concerns?

If a child is in immediate danger or requires medical attention, call the emergency services on 999.

The NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 will also take reports on immediate safeguarding risks.

If there is no immediate danger to the child and they are not injured:

  • You should refer to the individual club’s safeguarding procedures about who to report the concerns to. Their policy must have a dedicated safeguarding lead and details of how to contact them.
  • If the club is affiliated to a national governing body, you can also report via their safeguarding procedures or their complaints procedure.
  • Seek support from your Active Partnership or your local authority’s Children’s Social Care services.
  • If there is no one else available to help or you do not feel satisfied, contact the local police.

Make sure that you keep a record of your concern,
how you reported it and to whom.

If a child raises a concern about something that they have experienced or witnessed, it is important to take the concern seriously and to assure the child that you believe what they are saying.

Download this One Minute Guide to Safeguarding in Sport click here to download

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