A sample missing child procedure for clubs and organisations to follow during a sports event. The download of the sample procedure (PDF) also includes a handy flow chart, which illustrates the process.
Author: NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit
Published: 2025
What to do if a child goes missing at your event
If a child goes missing during an event, the club or organisation will apply the following procedure.
- Make sure all other children continue to be supervised appropriately while a search for the missing child takes place.
- Try to find out where the missing child was last seen. Call their mobile phone, if they have one. Let the safeguarding team know about this and delete the child's contact details after use.
- Organise the remaining available responsible adults to search the surrounding area; allocate each person to a specific area. Ask all those searching to report back within a short time, depending on the size of the area.
- If the child cannot be found after a search of the immediate surroundings, contact the child's parents or carers. Inform them of the steps being taken to find the child.
- Make a note of the circumstances in which the child has gone missing and where they were last seen. Prepare a detailed physical description of the child. Include their hair and eye colour, approximate height and build, and their clothing. This will be required by the police. Any photographs of the child taken at the event could also be useful to the police.
- Report to the police if the search is unsuccessful, and always within 20 minutes of when the child was first noticed to be missing.
- Follow police guidance if further action is recommended and stay in close contact with the police.
- Report the incident to the designated safeguarding officer of the club or organisation.
- Make sure that you inform all adults involved if the child is found at any stage, including the child’s parents or carers, everyone looking for the child and the police if a report has already been made.
