Extracts taken from the SafeguardingSPORT online training
Designed and Developed by Paul M. Critchlow © 2025,
“The Safeguarding Blueprint – Coach Programme”, released 2 Dec 2025.
Across sporting fields, clubs, schools, academies, and freelance coaches are stepping into a new era of accountability. Parents expect safety.
Federations expect compliance. And the courts expect responsible adult behaviour. Yet many sport environments still rely on “common sense” rather than structured safeguarding.
The truth? Common sense is not a safeguarding system.
SafeguardingSPORT teaches organisations how to build predictable, calm, and safe environments—where children thrive and adults remain protected.
Delegates learn the foundations of safe communication, how to set boundaries that prevent misinterpretation, and the non-negotiable matchday behaviours that reduce conflict and risk.
One of the biggest take-aways is this:
When adults behave predictably, children feel safe.
When adults behave inconsistently, children feel afraid.
Without safeguarding structures, clubs and schools face serious consequences. Emotional harm goes unnoticed. Bullying spreads. Parents lose trust. Incidents escalate. Worst of all, a single preventable incident can destroy the reputation of a team, coach, or entire organisation.
SafeguardingSPORT doesn’t only protect children—it protects YOU. Coaches learn how to prevent false allegations, how to communicate professionally, and how to respond to concerns correctly. Clubs learn how to implement reporting systems, how to document incidents, and how to ensure no child is ever left unsupervised.
If your organisation does not have a safeguarding framework, you are operating on luck. And luck is not a strategy.
SafeguardingSPORT equips you with the systems, behaviours, and accountability structures needed to create environments your athletes—and their parents—can trust.
#SafeguardingSPORT #SafeClubsStrongClubs #ChildProtectionInSport #SportLeadership