Derby City Council and Derby City Sport Forum are delighted to be able to work with and support the NWG Network with it’s Safe to Play campaign, developed in partnership with Sport England to help keep children safe whilst playing their chosen sporting activities.
We’re encouraging parents, coaches and children to know the signs that something isn’t right and have the confidence to report it.
Sport and physical activities often place individuals in a position of significant influence over other people, a high level of trust is placed on such individuals by parents, carers and the participants themselves. All organisations and individuals involved in sport should be aware of the risks and act promptly to deal with any concern.
Every child and young person has a right to have fun and enjoy taking part in activities without the risk of being harmed or abused.
With funding from Sport England, the NWG Network has created the ‘Safe To Play’ campaign to provide local sport and physical activity clubs and coaches with FREE resources to raise awareness with their members, players, parents and guardians which can be viewed on the Stop CE website
The Safe to Play campaign utilises Augmented Reality (AR)technology as a new method of engaging parents whose children play sport. The NWG Network have produced a short campaign video featuring a family scenario around sport and three short vignettes from a child, a parent and a sports coach relating to the story. The videos and resources can be accessed on the Tackling CSE in sports webpage, all from the comfort of your smart phone or tablet.
The campaign has had excellent feedback from parents who value the unique nature of the technology and the ease of use and ability to view the resources with their children, they could relate to the central character Jamie who features in the video and felt more confident after using the AR card to raise concerns and just as importantly ask the right safeguarding questions about the club.
How you can help
Please share this information with colleagues, family members and those organisations you work with so that we can promote the campaign as widely as possible and reach as many people as we can.
If you work with or know a club, coach or physical activity provider who would be interested in becoming a Safe to Play partner, then get in touch with the safeguarding in sport team at the NWG Network, the teams e-mails addresses are;
Or you can call the team on 01332 585371 and speak to them directly, they are based in Derby near Raynesway and are always more than happy to meet with any of you in person.
Social media
Please also help by promoting the campaign on social media using the hash tag:
· #safetoplay
We would like to see ‘Safe To Play’ resources featured in all our local sports clubs and coaches being proactive with parents, carers, children, young people and adults at risk to invite them to find out more about your own safeguarding arrangements and help them to download the videos from the QR code.
Parents, carers and guardians are urged to look for a club, sport, activity and coach that takes the safety and wellbeing of your child seriously. Always check whether the club or organisation is accredited or otherwise affiliated to a body (e.g. a sports governing body or national voluntary sector) as this should mean they have the right safeguarding policies and procedures in place.
Even if they are accredited, there are some key things to look for to ensure they take children's safety seriously:
· Review their website or the information you may have been sent. Do not be influenced by glossy flyers, smiley children in pictures and lots of quotes from ‘satisfied’ parents.
· Look for safeguarding policies – these should be fully accessible, visible and readily available on their website. Hard copies should also be available on request. If they are not visible or available, then please think twice about sending your child into the care of someone who does not have safeguarding arrangements in place.
· Where is the sport activity taking place? If it is in the grounds of a school or a leisure centre, then please ask the headteacher or centre manager about what due diligence has taken place to ensure the clubs providing activities have the correct safeguarding procedures in place.
· A safe recruitment process for staff and volunteers, including vetting. This means that they have appropriate references, DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks – please ask about the last time these were renewed, we recommend every three years, and also ensure the staff have the right technical qualifications for the activity.
· What safeguarding training have staff and volunteers received and can you see the evidence of when this training was delivered. What about new staff, as coaches do move around quite frequently.
· Check if they have a code of conduct/practice for sport coaches – this code provides a guide for good and safe coaching practice. A good code will be incorporated into the club and its policies, procedures, governance and training and will not be a stand-alone document.
· First Aid procedures – what happens if a child is taken ill? What are the club’s policies and how many people at the club have full first aid certificates?
· Is there a designated welfare officer/safeguarding lead? – find out who the point of contact is that you or child can speak to if you have any concerns or worries
· Parents/carers should speak with their child/children often to ensure they are happy and have no concerns. Maintaining an open dialogue with your child/children is very important.
Useful links
· NWG Network - https://www.nwgnetwork.org/
· Sport England - https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/safeguarding
· The Child Protection in Sport Unit - https://thecpsu.org.uk/
· Ann Craft Trust - https://www.anncrafttrust.org/
What to do if you have a concern
If you have any concerns about an activity/club or coach or are worried about inappropriate behaviour by anyone involved in a sports club, you can contact the NWG Network for advice on 01332 585371 or visit www.nwgnetwork.org.
For support and advice if you are worried about a child, go to the Council’s website.
If someone is in immediate danger always call 999.
Derby & Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership can be contacted at ddscp@derby.gov.uk
For more information about Derby City Sport Forum visit www.derbycitysportforum.org.uk/
