We recently launched three of our specialist training courses on the NSPCC's national training programme so that we can reach more people.
The new courses are:
- Safeguarding for management board members
- Designated safeguarding lead (DSL) for sport and leisure
- Safer sports events
In this blog, CPSU's Laura Whapham, tells us more...
Laura, tell us what has changed and why
"We’ve adapted and launched three of our most requested courses on NSPCC Learning. This means anyone involved in any kind of sport or activity with children and young people can now choose to enrol.
"As a unit, we have a lot of experience in delivering this training to the sports organisations that are funded by the sports councils, but we wanted to reach more people.
"Now that these courses are available through NSPCC Learning anyone can sign up."
How did you go about developing the course content?
"The courses are all modelled on the training we’ve been delivering for many years to the funded sport organisations that we already work with, so they’re tried and tested.
"We’ve made some adjustments to cater for a more diverse range of sports organisations, but the learning objectives of each course remains the same. We were lucky to be able to pilot the training, so we gained some valuable feedback as part of that process which has also informed the content."
How have the first few sessions gone?
"The first training sessions have gone really well, probably better than we expected. The second DSL for sport and leisure course we ran in March 2024 was fully booked which demonstrates to us how important this offer is to the wider sport network.
"The feedback we’ve received has been excellent too, which is really encouraging as we were a little worried about how diverse the audience might be, but it really does seem to be hitting the mark for attendees."
Have there been any surprises?
"I think the biggest surprise for me has been the wide range of people and organisations that we’ve had attending the courses. For example, we have had CEOs from national organisations, some really experienced safeguarding professionals wanting to gain more experience in a sport context, and we’ve had some very small independent organisations run by one or two people attend.
"What has been impressive is just how committed people are to getting safeguarding right whatever the size of the organisation."
Which courses are coming up?
"We’re really excited to be running the first safer sports events course in May. This is a course that we’ve always received lots of enquiries about and it feels very much like there has been a gap in the market in this area for a long time.
"The course will provide those in event safeguarding roles with the skills and knowledge to implement safe events for young people whether they’re small local competitions or major international tournaments."
Any future plans?
"We hope to expand this offer in the future and create even more learning opportunities. If you have any ideas for courses that we should include in our portfolio, please get in touch at cpsu@nspcc.org.uk"
Income generated from the sale of training courses is reinvested back into the NSPCC to help protect children.