Safeguarding Training in Northern Ireland

Navigation menu list for sections above the current page: Home; NSPCC inform; Child Protection in Sport Unit

Northern Ireland: Safe recruitment practices and vetting checks; Codes of conduct; Advice about training; Reporting procedures; Sample forms

Safeguarding training for the sports sector in Northern Ireland

Help and advice from the Child Protection in Sport Unit

Safeguarding training in the sports sector

Safeguarding Children and Young People workshop

Designated Safeguarding Children's Officer workshop

Training good practice

Safeguarding training in the sports sector

All staff/volunteers should receive particular skills and safeguarding training appropriate to their role. Training should be updated and reviewed regularly for staff/volunteers and in line with changing legislation.

All staff/volunteers (including Designated Safeguarding Children's Officers and Management Committee members) should have safeguarding training that includes:

a basic awareness and understanding of safeguarding issues
things that should alert staff/volunteers to the possibility of abuse
reacting and responding
reporting procedures
dealing with issues such as confidentiality.

Clubs should contact their governing body to confirm if they are facilitating any workshops. The following sports in Northern Ireland have had individuals within their sport trained to enable them to deliver sport specific workshops.

Ulster Badminton
Basketball NI
Canoe Association NI
Cycling Ulster
Gaelic Athletic Association
Irish Football Association
Swim Ulster
Ulster Branch Irish Rugby Football Union

Alternatively clubs should contact their local council sports development officer for advice on accessing training.

Sport Northern Ireland offer two three-hour safeguarding workshops - Safeguarding Children and Young People in Sport and Designated Safeguarding Children's Officer (DSCO) . Participants must have attended the Safeguarding Children & Young People in Sport (awareness raising) workshop before the DSCO course as this builds on the learning from the awareness raising workshop.

back to top

Safeguarding Children and Young People workshop

By the end of the Safeguarding Children & Young People in Sport workshop participants will be able to: understand the background to safeguarding children and young people in sport.

identify best practice procedures to safeguard children and young people in sport
understand the different categories of child abuse
identify the signs of abuse
act if abuse is suspected
develop an action plan if appropriate.

Designated Safeguarding Children's Officer

The aim of this workshop is to enable participants to become familiar with the role of a Designated Safeguarding Children's Officer and develop their competence and confidence in carrying out this role within sport.

By the end of the workshop participants should be able to:

reference the legislation that pertains to safeguarding in sport and describe the main implications for the junior sports club
describe the roles and responsibilities of key personnel/agencies in the safeguarding of children in sport, particularly the role of the Designated Safeguarding Children's Officer
respond appropriately to a range of situations that give grounds for concern
discuss how you would apply skills in reporting and managing cases of poor practice and abuse within/outside sport
review the implications of the Club Framework for Safeguarding Standards in Sport within your club/organisation.

Training good practice

Training provided by any party other than Sport Northern Ireland or those sport specific tutors must be carefully selected to ensure it is sufficient. For sports organisations in the UK a minimum of three hours is advised for basic awareness raising.

This is important because:

a good understanding of the particular nature of child abuse is essential to help staff and volunteers to protect children and young people who may be suffering abuse inside or outside your organisation
some of your staff and volunteers may find it difficult to face up to the fact that child abuse could occur within your organisation
it introduces preventative measures to safeguard children and young people
your staff and volunteers may need help in being clear about what is appropriate contact with children.

In training sessions or discussions, which should be a normal part and parcel of the workings of your organisation, it is important to indicate what physical contacts are inappropriate. Coaches/volunteers should be made aware of actions which might be misunderstood or situations which might render them vulnerable.

Good practice in training means keeping a record of training needs, training provided and a note of the worker's satisfaction with the training. Where possible, someone in your club should be responsible for coordinating training.

For further information and to book to attend one of the Sport Northern Ireland workshops contact Conor Cunning, Development Assistant, at conorcunning@sportni.net or 028 9038 3809.

back to top

NSPCC Training
Courses and resources for anyone working to safeguard children.

Bookmark this page:

Delicious Digg reddit facebook StumbleUpon