Everyone has a duty of care to children and young people in their clubs whether they are a Club Welfare Officer, coach, volunteer, parent or member. A small amount of awareness about safeguarding and child protection can make a big difference to a child’s life.

Q. IS MY CURRENT EMPLOYMENT SAFEGUARDING TRAINING SUFFICIENT? 
A lot of Club Welfare Officers for BWSW and other sports have careers that require regular safeguarding training as part of their role, for example, Police Officers, Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics and Teachers. Following recommendations from The Whyte Review, the Child Protection in Sport Unit now specify that Club Welfare Officers must complete a 'SPORT SPECIFIC SAFEGUARDING COURSE'. Therefore, this is now a mandatory requirement for our Club Affiliation/Accreditation. (This training needs to be renewed every three years).

(If you believe that your current safeguarding training has the relevant sport specific content, then please reach out and share the specific content from the course and we can assess this before deciding if it is appropriate/sufficient for your volunteer role. Unfortunately, most child/adult safeguarding courses do not include such specific content).

The Minimum Requirements for BWSW sport specific safeguarding training will depend on your role within a club/centre or our sport. Please follow the below guidance to find the right course for you. 

• NSPCC CHILD PROTECTION IN SPORT?AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TRAINING – an online introductory safeguarding course for anyone who has infrequent contact with children in a sports organisation or club. This online course is recommended for ALL VOLUNTEERS AND CABLE OPERATORS who do not hold a coaching or CWO position -Book online now
  
  

• UK COACHING - SAFEGUARDING & PROTECTING CHILDREN – a 3 hour Online workshop that meets the minimum learning requirements for safeguarding. This online course is a minimum requirements for ALL COACHES and is a first level course for all Club Welfare Officers – Book Online now / England / Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland 
  
  

• UK COACHING – WELFARE OFFICER TIME TO LISTEN COURSE – an interactive face-to-face workshop giving an essential understanding of what is required of welfare officers responsible for managing and reporting concerns about children, and for putting into place procedures to safeguard children, ensuring that you have the practical knowledge required to take a child-focused approach and excel in the role. This 3 hour workshop meets the minimum requirements for ALL CLUB WELFARE OFFICERS – Book Online Now 

Once you have completed any safeguarding or child protection training, please email a copy of your certificate to BWSW HQ so we can update your record.