Parents in Sport Week

5 - 11 October 2020

Let's talk about keeping children safe in sport

Parents in Sport week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of the importance of parents' involvement in youth sport.

During the week the Child Protection in Sport Unit (The CPSU) will be sharing guidance on the types of things sports clubs should have in place to keep children safe, how parents can get help with any concerns and how parents' positive behaviour contributes to better experiences of sport for children.

In support of the campaign, we are asking every parent/carer with a child involved in the game to ensure they are clear about footballs safeguards.

Consistently children of all ages tell us they play football to have fun and be with friends.

Thankfully, the vast majority of children’s experience in football is positive, but sadly, for some, this isn’t the case.

From parents, carers, coaches, club administrators, volunteers, referees and welfare officers; every adult in football has a responsibility to understand and uphold safeguards.

This week we are asking every parent/carer to ensure they play their part by making sure they:

Know who coaches their child and that they are FA DBS checked and safeguarding trained.
Have the name and contact details of their club’s welfare officer in their phone.
Are clear about acceptable and unacceptable behaviours at their child’s club.
Sign up and adhere to their club’s code of conduct.
Help their child to understand their rights and know who they can talk to you if they are worried about an adult’s behaviour.
Encourage their child to speak out about anything that worries them, no matter how big or small.

Sue Ravenlaw, FA Head of Safeguarding said “Hundreds of thousands of footballs volunteers have completed The FAs safeguarding training and a DBS check. Every club with youth teams has a dedicated Club Welfare Officer and a committee that has completed safeguarding training. We want to ensure that every parent/carer is clear about the safeguards at their child’s club and understand how they can also help to keep their child safe”