Minimum safeguarding training standards

Minimum training standards are crucial when designing or looking for high quality safeguarding training. Minimum standards ensure compliance, competency and consistency in your organisation and across the sport and physical activity sector.

Below you will find our minimum training and continual professional development (CPD) expectations to help any organisation meet the CPSU Standards for Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport. 

Who needs to know about the minimum training standards?

Standard 7 includes:

“Staff and volunteers with designated or special responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children have training to enable them to develop and maintain the necessary skills and knowledge.”

This could apply to staff or volunteers who have regular supervised or unsupervised responsibility for children and young people. This includes, but is not limited to, club welfare officers, sport coaches, instructors, team managers, designated safeguarding leads, residential event leads and so on.

All organisations are encouraged to meet these minimum training standards as best practice.

• In England, all organisations that receive funding from either Sport England or UK Sport are required to meet the Standards, as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children. 
• In Wales, all National Governing Bodies (NGBs) funded by Sport Wales should achieve the CPSU Safeguarding Standards across the different levels, as set out in Working together to safeguard people: code of safeguarding practice 2022.
• In Northern Ireland, all NGBs funded by Sport Northern Ireland, must achieve the National Governing Body (NGB) Safeguarding Standards (Sport Northern Ireland organisation responsibility for safeguarding plan 2025).

Minimum requirements for safeguarding training

• delivery by a qualified safeguarding tutor, either in person or virtually
• live interaction between participants and the tutor with the opportunity to ask specific questions and receive feedback from the tutor in real time
• the opportunity to hear the views of other participants, to share experiences and learning
• the opportunity to discuss specific safeguarding issues that arise during the training with peers and the tutor
• the opportunity to work through scenarios and have discussions as a group
• the opportunity to reflect, check and test learning

The need for tutor-led delivery

• Training delivered by a tutor will facilitate the opportunity for each participant’s knowledge, approach and a nuanced understanding to be informally assessed by a professional - This cannot be achieved via elearning or on-demand options.
• Tutor-led training allows participates to explore real-life scenarios and have discussions with peers in a controlled environment with the support and experience of a qualified tutor
• A qualified tutor understands how to deliver safeguarding content and adapt delivery to the needs of the participants. They will also be able to manage any safeguarding issues that arise, as well as facilitate a safe and controlled environment.
• A good tutor will be able to informally assess each participant’s value and ensure they align with the needs of keeping children safe in sport and physical activity.

Why no more than 20 people per course? 

• Ideally your course should have 16-18 participants.
• More than 20 participants will dilute the learning, limit opportunities to ask questions or gain peer support.

Accessibility

Here are some examples of how this could be done

• If your delivery is in person, make sure the physical space is suitable for your participants (ramps, lighting, car parking, toilets, noise levels etc).
• If your delivery is virtual through an online platform, make sure the platform is private and only the invited participants can join.
• Tailor or tweak your training so its suitable for your participants, for example using British Sign Language, subtitles or captions could help D/deaf individuals. Adapting font size, colours, design, videos and animations could help people with visual impairments and those who are neurodivergent. Facilitating movement breaks or active learning can help those participants with ADHD or long-term physical health issues

Elearning

Good quality elearning should include:

• content developed by experts and experienced trainers
• opportunities to build confidence in safeguarding
• interactive elements to reflect and test a participant’s knowledge and understanding