What you can do to encourage positive sports parents
Your relationship with parents and carers is so important and rewarding. There are a number of ways you can encourage their involvement in a way that benefits their child, as well as your club or activity.
To get parents and carers on board, you can:
- provide information about your sport's ethos, rules and expectations
- let them know who to contact for information, feedback and offers of support
- communicate clear expectations of parents (including online behaviour), which they are required to agree to – for example, a parents’ code of conduct
- inform them about the expectations of coaches and participants
- develop relationships to encourage their positive involvement and make use of their skills to support the club
- inform them about processes to raise, discuss or report any concerns, worries or issues they're unhappy about
- use a range of means to inform both them and young people about your club or activity, including induction information, meetings, leaflets, posters and newsletters
- provide reminders that they are role models for their child and other children within the club
- communicate the message that sport is fun
Every year we run a Keep Your Child Safe In Sport campaign aimed at shining a light on the importance of parents and carers' role in youth sport and the positive impact this can have. Get involved, share the messages with your sport parents and use the campaign resources on your communication platforms and at your venue.
Parent and carer workshops
You or your organisation can use this presentation as part of a face-to-face session with parents to show them how they can be a positive influence on their child's involvement in sport. Feel free to adapt it for your own use.
Meeting with parents and showing this presentation or having a more informal chat can help parents feel valued and involved in their child's sport and helps parents to support their child.
How to address challenging parental behaviour
On the rare occasions you may face situations where you need to deal more directly with problematic parental behaviour, we’ve developed some pointers to help your club or activity to address and manage this.
- promote values such as respect and listening to each other throughout the club
- promote the club's code of conduct for parents, so they know what behaviour is expected of them and the consequences of breaching this – and ensure parents and carers agree to these
- educate parents on what positive behaviour looks like
- encourage positive parental involvement as opposed to criticism
- establish a well-publicised process to investigate and respond to concerns or complaints
- provide information for children and parents about who they can talk to if they have concerns
- have a designated safeguarding person other than the coach or referee
- provide support for the officials through assistants – this is particularly important in the case of young officials
- take advantage of support from the sport’s National Governing Body or Active Partnership
Scenario discussions
We've created a number of scenarios of poor parental behaviour as an aid to discussion.
Use these examples of negative parental behaviour and the correlating responses to help staff in your organisation manage any situations which may arise in your sport.
When prevention doesn't work
When all of the above has not worked, sanctions should be identified and agreed by the management committee and communicated to all parties. If poor behaviour persists, sanctions may include:
- monitoring behaviour by a club official, or welfare or safeguarding officer
- mediation between parents and staff with the involvement of the club welfare officer
- not allowing an individual to be court, pool or pitch-side during a match or matches if their behaviour or actions are inappropriate and disruptive
- barring an individual from attending at all – preferably by making alternative arrangements for their child to get to and from the club or venue
Every effort should be made to ensure that the behaviour of a parent does not result in either parent or their child being unable to participate, although in some extreme cases this may be the final resort.
