Safeguarding Kit for Sports Clubs

Overview

Sports clubs provide fantastic opportunities for children to develop skills, confidence, and friendships. However, the close physical contact, changing facilities, travel arrangements, and adult–child relationships involved in sport also create safeguarding risks that must be actively managed. This kit helps sports clubs of all sizes put robust protections in place, from grassroots teams to larger academies.

Key Risks

• •Unsupervised one-to-one contact between coaches and children, particularly during transport or changing times.
• •Inappropriate physical contact disguised as coaching technique or celebration.
• •Online grooming through team messaging apps or social media groups.
• •Excessive pressure, bullying, or emotional harm from coaches or fellow players.
• •Inadequate changing room supervision leading to peer-on-peer abuse.

Policies

• •A clear code of conduct for all coaches, volunteers, and parents that sets out expected behaviour and consequences for breaches.
• •A safeguarding and child protection policy reviewed annually, with a named Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and deputy.
• •A recruitment and vetting policy requiring DBS checks, references, and safeguarding training for anyone in a position of trust.
• •A complaints and whistleblowing procedure that is accessible to children, parents, and staff alike.

Adult Conduct Boundaries

• •Coaching sessions must always be observable — avoid closed-door one-to-one sessions without a second adult present or visible.
• •Physical demonstrations should be explained verbally first and only involve necessary, minimal contact with the child's consent.
• •Adults must never share changing facilities with children or be alone with a child in changing rooms.
• •Coaches should not offer lifts to individual children without prior written parental consent and a second adult present.

Communication Boundaries

• •All digital communication with children should go through official club channels, never personal accounts or direct messages.
• •Parents or guardians should be copied on any messages sent to children under 16.
• •Social media connections between coaches and children are not permitted on personal profiles.
• •Team group chats should be monitored by at least two adults and have clear rules about appropriate content.

Image Guidance

• •Written consent must be obtained from parents before photographing or filming children, specifying how images will be used.
• •Images should focus on the activity rather than individual children, and children should be appropriately dressed for the sport.
• •Images must only be stored on official club devices or accounts and deleted when no longer needed.

Emergency Escalation

Safeguarding Checklist

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