Nequam, Catum mus, orum pris iaest perbis
Several NGBs – such as Rugby League – have followed best practice guidelines and set up youth forums
In practice safeguarding often happens in reverse. There isn’t a safeguarding team that goes around asking ‘have you got X, Y or Z in place' – but in the event of something happening, a club would be hauled over the coals and questions asked.
CPSU senior consultant Nick Slinn points out: “The standards only tell you how well you’re doing at the top; there was still a lot of work to be done at a grassroots level.” The expectation, he explains, is that once the standards have been achieved, the CSP or NGB will work with their members to make sure appropriate safeguards are applied at club level. But why the need for standards at all when there is already legislation around these issues? “There is health and safety legislation and child protection legislation that spells out the statutory obligations of all those that provide services to children,” Slinn says. “But unfortunately, in practice, safeguarding often happens in reverse. In the event of something happening, a club would be hauled over the coals
and questions asked, but there isn’t a safeguarding cops team that goes around saying, ‘Have you got X, Y or Z in place?’” A current focus for the Unit is eating
disorders. Some children may have eating disorders already, which can be made worse by their participation in sport if coaches are unaware and unwittingly reinforce negative messages around diet or body shape. In some sports, there are particular pressures around fitness, weight and diet that can actually contribute to young people developing these problems. “That’s particularly true of weight-related
sports," says Anne Tiivas, the CPSU’s director. "For example, martial arts, where you need to meet a weight category. We’ve had cases of young people being sweated out in cling-film, then being expected to
sportsmanagement.co.uk issue 3 2014 © Cybertrek 2014
perform in a competition while suffering from dehydration.”
EFFECTING CHANGE The CPSU works with CSPs and NGBs in a number of ways. Key services include consultancy, helping to develop and review policies and procedures, plus unlimited access to the wealth of resources on the Unit’s website (
thecpsu.org.uk). For lead officers, there's also access to a training programme, four support groups each year and an annual conference on child protection. On a day-to-day basis, however, much
of the support takes the form of trouble- shooting. “For example, we were recently contacted by a couple of CSPs with questions around running sports in parks,”
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