Graham Smith is a senior safeguarding consultant with the CPSU. He recently moved from working with sports and physical activity providers in Wales to supporting those based in England, and has been reflecting on his work to strengthen safeguarding in sport.
My mission in safeguarding in sport
Sport is such an important part of my life, and every child deserves to experience the joy that comes with a safe and enjoyable sport.
Our mission at the NSPCC is to help make this happen. To do this, we all need to understand that safeguarding isn’t about compliance; it’s about creating environments where children can thrive. I now work closely with Sport England funded organisations to help them achieve this.
These organisations work towards Sport England's 10-year strategy 'Uniting the Movement' and we help them to embed safeguarding at every level of sport and physical activity. We support almost 300 partners across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Why working together matters
Sport and physical activity are a complex ecosystem. I work with partners whose aims are to increase local participation or support grassroots clubs as well as national governing bodies offering elite performance pathways and international competitions. But the goal to keep children safe is the same, and by working together in a consistent way, we can:
- learn what works from the latest research and previous cases, and embed best practice into our everyday interactions with children
- give every child the same level of protection and support by building consistent safeguarding standards across all sports and physical activity
- improve enjoyment, performance and increase participation by prioritising a child's welfare
"Sport is such an important part of my life, and every child deserves to experience the joy that comes with a safe and enjoyable sport."
Safeguarding in sport standards
To operate effectively, we all need to start with the same foundations of safeguarding. The funded partners I work with are expected to meet the NSPCC Safeguarding in Sport Standards, which cover the following key areas.
- Policy and procedures
- Practices, such as operating procedures, prevention work, codes of conduct, equity and communication
- Education and training for staff and volunteers
- Implementing and monitoring all safeguarding practices and listening to the voice of the child
- Influencing others in their safeguarding of children
These standards aim to ensure consistency across the foundations of safeguarding within the sector and provide a benchmark for safeguarding practice. But providing a thriving and enjoyable sport or physical activity environment isn’t a one-off exercise, so we also support each funded partner by reviewing their safeguarding practices against the standards every year; hopefully leading to continual improvement.
What funded system partners can access
I work with sports organisations such as the Rugby Football Union (RFU), British Judo, Boccia and Parkour as well as London Sport, Active Surrey and Energise Me. I’m still connecting with new partners and building my relationships, which brings new surprises each day because all sports are different.
Based on the organisation’s needs, my typical week could be:
- offering dedicated support and guidance with key staff
- running training and professional development opportunities, for example I recently hosted workshops on online safety and safer recruitment
- sharing resources and templates. We have a range of practical tools on our website for organisations to use and make their own.
- offering safeguarding advice to enquiries and referring to NSPCC Helpline
- connecting safe in sport volunteers to support data and insight gathering, as well as to attend events to support parents and carers
- raising awareness of the annual Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport campaign, which aims to support parents and carers whose children take part in sport or physical activity
- taking part in multi-team meetings with external partners to proactively position safeguarding in sport on wider agendas
Wider support from the NSPCC
I can also connect partners to a range of other vital services in the wider NSPCC, such as:
- Childline – online and phone support for any child with worries, available 24/7, 365 days a year.
- NSPCC Helpline – advice and referral support for any professional, parent or member of the public who is worried about a child and looking for advice.
- Onward referral to face-to-face and online interventions for any child facing specific challenges through our network of hubs across the UK.
- NSPCC Learning – access to further child protection and safeguarding learning resources for professionals in the UK.
Getting in touch with the CPSU
If you’re a new system partner or newly funded organisation, I’d encourage you to get in touch with CPSU today. We have teams assigned to each funding area: Sport England, Sport Wales, Sport Northern Ireland and UK Sport. We’re here to help.
To contact any team, email cpsu@nspcc.org.uk and your email will be sent to the correct team member, who will get in touch.
Together, we can make sport safer for everyone.