Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport Week 2024 - 5 Ways To Get Involved!

The feet of a group of children and young people who are sat on the floor in a circle

September 23, 2024

We are proud to support Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport Week 2024.

The theme for this years Child Protection in Sports Unit (CPSU) Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport campaign is ‘Lets build a safer sporting community for our children’ with a focus week from  7 – 11 October.

Across the focus week there are 5 things that you can do to get involved:

A team coach giving out bibs to a group of children and young people the text on the image says Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport Week Team Huddle

1. Team Huddle

The CPSU are encouraging teams and clubs to bring their sporting community together by hosting a Team Huddle.

Your Team Huddle can take place at any point in the lead up to the focus week in October.
Find out more information and download your free Team Huddle Activity Pack here.

2. Guidance for Clubs – Encouraging Positive Sports Parents
Parents play a pivotal role in sport. There are several ways that clubs and coaches can encourage their involvement that benefits their child.

Download this free document which provides tips and ideas to engage parents in their child’s sporting journey.

3. Tell Your Parents About the Week
A great way to initiate parent engagement is to make them aware of the Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport campaign week. We've provided template messages which can be utilised with parents through newsletters, team management apps, WhatsApp groups or any other ways that you communicate with parents to get them involved.

“As part of ‘Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport’ week (7 -11 October), Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) are looking to bring parents, carers, clubs and activity providers together to build a safeguarding community to keep children and young people safe. Find out more information on the CPSU website on how you can further support your child’s journey in sport.”

“As part of ‘Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport’ week (7 -11 October), Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) are encouraging parents and carers to complete a short, free online course that can help you further understand how to be part of the bigger safeguarding picture in sport. Access the course here.”

4. ‘Who to Contact’
We've created a resource to help you inform parents and children and young people who to contact for Safeguarding support.  This includes relevant links, contacts and support mechanisms to keep everyone #SafeInSport.

Download it here, add in the details relevant to your club and put up around the clubhouse, changing rooms and communal areas to highlight your commitment and raise awareness of keeping everyone #SafeInSport.

5. eLearning and Webinars
CPSU have a number of webinars covering a variety of topics in relation to keeping children safe in sport, with topics including:

  • ‘Banter vs Bullying in Sport’
  • ‘Loneliness and Mental Health’
  • ‘Racism in Safeguarding Sport’

Access them all and more here.

Additionally, in their most recent webinar ‘ADHD, Autism and Taking Part in Sport’, CPSU discuss how people in sport and activities can include and safeguard neurodivergent children and young people. In this webinar you will hear from young people with additional support needs about their experiences of taking part in sport.

The young people shared:

  • Their experiences of joining their chosen sport 
  • How coaches, staff and other adults support them to take part 
  • Any challenges they have faced in accessing or taking part in sport 

The importance of sport in their lives

We hope these 5 actions encourage you and your club to get involved with the campaign. Head over to the CPSU website for more inspiration >> Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport campaign | CPSU (thecpsu.org.uk)