Child Protection Training: Sport Coaching’s Safeguarding Responsibility
Abuse cases in sports coaching across the UK have had an alarming amount of publicity in recent years. Accounts ranging from very severe to more systematic examples of abuse have begun to shine a light on the issues faced by the coaching community and their safeguarding responsibilities.
Unfortunately, high-profile cases like GB’s Olympic cycling team, as well as the number of professional footballers seeking support for their mental health, don’t represent the whole picture. The sport’s coaching community stretches far across the UK and is an integral part of society. Their duty of care capacity is coming under scrutiny.
It’s as important as ever to promote only the highest quality of professional practice for coaching. Working towards the best child protection training and safer recruitment training can reinforce the great work of coaches up and down the country.
The Duty of Care in Sport Review
The Duty of Care in Sport Review was published earlier this year. Baroness Grey-Thompson was in charge of the review, which produced a number of excellent strategies to improve the quality of safeguarding within the UK’s sports and coaching sector. Sport should be accessible to everyone, so improving welfare standards across the nation is a welcoming commitment.
The proposed changes include suggestions such as a Duty of Care Charter set out by the government, as well as sports coaches being defined as “Positions of Trust”. We particularly appreciate the extent of the review. It recognises the importance of background checks for self-employed providers or those who do not work under recognised National Governing Bodies (NGBs). It also acknowledges that coaches are at risk within the sporting community.
Baroness Grey-Thompson has set an achievable standard which we must insist on reaching. As an eLearning provider, we believe our online safeguarding training and safer recruitment training courses offer a comprehensive foundation on which to fulfil any duty of care. EduCare for Sport is a reliable way to establish this authority and reinforce the standard of coaching nationwide.
Safer Recruitment Training in Sport
For larger or well-funded NGBs involved in
For smaller NGBs, self-employed coaches, or those who take part purely at an amateur level, there are still eLearning solutions available to you. Online safeguarding training offers an effective and economically viable option when resources are limited. Accessible anywhere with an internet connection,
Developing professional practice will play an essential role in improving the standard of safeguarding within the coaching community. Baroness Grey-Thompson has suggested that a national coaching licensing scheme be created to better advance this standard. This strategy holds great potential and, with correct child protection training involved, could offer a great benefit to the UK coaching community.
Unfortunately, part of the problem also lies within the sporting agencies themselves. Their inability to recognise problems and address them fails to create the supportive environment required. Support systems for coaches and participants are essential in encouraging people to speak out about abuse. They help to break down the barriers people face when reporting cases of mistreatment and provide victims with the essential tools to overcome their trauma.
EduCare for Sport® has been designed and approved by experts. By working alongside major charities and professional organisations, it has been possible to create an online safeguarding training package useful to all aspects of the UK’s sports coaching community. Find out more about EduCare for Sport® today.
Read our resource on Duty of Care in Sport – The impact on NGBs
