Safeguarding policies - what you need to know

a swimming pool with competitors swimming in lanes. Crowds watching from the stands

Increase your knowledge and take steps to improve safeguarding and child protection within your group.

We also ran a webinar with Jo Cartwright from the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit looking at what you need to know about safeguarding policies. You can watch the recording below.

The Child Protection in Sport Unit assists sporting organisations to develop and embed safeguarding policies and procedures, creating a safe and inclusive environment for all participants, staff and volunteers. 

They do this by:

Key resources from the Child Protection in Sport Unit

Safeguarding policy statement

A policy statement makes it clear to staff, parents and children what you and your organisation will do to keep children safe.

Sample code of conduct for parents, children and staff

We’ve developed these sample codes of conduct for you to download and adapt for your own use.

They can help you to promote positive behaviour and manage poor behaviour in your sport. 

Event safeguarding checklist

safeguarding planning checklist for sports organisations and activity providers who are running events for children and young people.

It covers each of the following areas:

  • accountability
  • recruitment
  • induction
  • duty of care
  • managing allegations and concerns
  • evaluation

Sample online safety and social media policy

This sample online-safety and social media policy (PDF) provides an example of the procedures that should support the use of social media and other online services within your club or organisation.

You can use this sample to get an idea of the types of things you should be covering in your policy and use it to create your own. 

Everyone in your organisation, including staff, children and parents should read your policy and agree to it’s terms. 

 In light of recent safeguarding concerns with some National Governing Bodies, it’s a good time to ensure your club’s safeguarding policy and procedures meet the required standards

Join Jo Cartwright from the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit to ensure your organisation meets the requirements for grant applications.

You can download the slides from the session here.

More resources on this topic

Discover more learning resources