Safeguarding is an essential part of ensuring everyone can enjoy the benefits of sport and physical activity, but can often seem very complex and at times overwhelming.
Active Cheshire is committed to ensuring that physical activity, sport and recreation across Cheshire & Warrington is both safe and inclusive.
Active Cheshire's role
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Active Cheshire promotes the safety and welfare of children, young people, and adults at risk engaged in sporting activities locally. We aim to contribute to safeguarding by implementing and demonstrating best practices when staff, volunteers or others are providing services, activities and programmes. To minimise the possibility of abuse to those people at risk (or potential risk) in sporting environments, Active Cheshire is committed to working in partnership with all agencies to ensure that information and training opportunities are available for coaches, staff and volunteers to guide them in best practice when working with all children, young people and adults at risk. To find out more about how we do this, download the following documents:
The information on this page should help whatever your role or perspective, but if there is anything you need to know, or that you think we’ve missed, please feel free to contact us.
To better understand the principles of safeguarding, and what support and guidance is available, visit the Child Protection in Sport Unit or the Ann Craft Trust websites.
Child Protection in Sport Unit
The Ann Craft Trust
UK Coaching offers courses to develop your skills to help you deliver excellent and inspiring coaching sessions to people from all walks of life. UK Coaching delivers both virtual and face to face Safeguarding workshops which will raise your awareness of the tell-tale signs of abuse, and give you the tools and confidence you need to deal with any issues sensitively, appropriately and effectively should the need ever arise in your coaching career.
UK Coaching Safeguarding Workshops
Welfare Officer Training: Time to Listen. Learn about the responsibilities connected with being a Welfare Officer, the skills needed to excel in the role, and how you can ensure that you’re supporting and safeguarding children effectively.
Coaches Duty of Care – It is the responsibility of every coach to provide safe, inclusive, engaging and rewarding coaching environments for all. UK Coaching Duty to Care Learning Hub provides coaches with the knowledge, confidence and coaching skills to always act with a duty to care to their participants – as well as better care for themselves.
If you have concerns that a child, young person, or adult at risk may be in immediate danger, you should contact the police immediately by calling 999 / 101 (non-emergency).
Alternatively, you can seek advice and guidance from any of the contacts or organisations listed on this page.
If you are a child or young person who needs help, please go to the Childline website or the NSPCC Helpline website.
If you are an adult concerned about yourself, a friend, or a relative, please go to the Ann Craft Trust advice page.
If you are looking for guidance as a sports club, organisation, or provider, please use the various links and information on this page, or get in touch with us directly.
Active Cheshire has designated points of contact for Safeguarding enquiries.
Feel free to contact James or Mike directly, or for general enquiries, any member of the team will be happy to help.
James Self – Safeguarding Lead Officer
Mike Watson – Deputy Safeguarding Lead Officer
safeguarding@activecheshire.org
Other useful contacts are:
Cheshire East Council
Local Safeguarding Adults Board
Email – LSAB@cheshireeast.gov.uk
Tel. – 01625 374753
Web – http://www.stopadultabuse.org.uk/home.aspx
Cheshire East Safeguarding Children’s Partnership
Email – CESCP@cheshireeast.gov.uk
Tel. – 0300 123 5012
Web – https://www.cescp.org.uk/homepage.aspx
Cheshire West and Chester Council
Local Safeguarding Adults Board
Email – accesswest@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
Tel. – 0300 123 7034
Web – https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/health-and-social-care/adult-social-care/lsab/local-safeguarding-adults-board.aspx
Cheshire West and Chester Safeguarding Children Partnership
Email – deborah.hughes@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
Tel.– 0300 123 7047
Web – https://www.cheshirewestscp.co.uk/
Warrington Borough Council
Local Safeguarding Adults Board
Tel. – 01925 443126
Web – https://www.warringtonsafeguardingpartnerships.org.uk/p/safeguarding-adults/welcome-to-warringtons-safeguarding-adults-board-wsab
Warrington Safeguarding Partnership
Tel. – 01925 443126
Web – www.warrington.gov.uk/warrington-safeguarding-partnership
There is a whole range of useful documents, toolkits, resources, and informative videos available to help you enjoy sport and physical activity in a safe environment.
Codes of Conduct & Policies are written documents that outline an organisation’s commitments, procedures and plans of actions. It’s important to embed codes of conduct and policies into your everyday operations to ensure your people know what they cover, understand their importance, behave accordingly, make appropriate decisions, and know how to respond to any issues. For further advice please go to Turning policy into practice and Putting Safeguards in Place
The following provide information and templates for developing Codes of Conduct for:
We’ve maintained our Safeguarding Standard Status (September 2023).
Active Cheshire has maintained the Safeguarding Standard of the National Standards for Safeguarding & Protecting Children in Sport; a benchmark of good practice for sports organisations developed by the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit.
We are committed to promoting good practice in the care of children and young people in sport.
The standards help organisations know what they need to do to protect children involved in sport and to minimise avoidable risks. When implemented fully they should provide parents with increased confidence and peace of mind. Most important of all, they should help create safer environments for children, where they can enjoy and get the very best from their involvement in sport.
The standards:
Help create a safe sporting environment for children and young people and protect them from harm
Provide a benchmark to assist those involved in sport to make informed decisions
Promote good practice and challenge practice that is harmful to children.
Active Cheshire works with Local Authorities, NGBs of Sport, Local Safeguarding Childrens Boards and Educational Services to ensure that safeguards against harm are in place for physical and sports activities, and signposts for any referrals.
Following achievement of the CPSU Safeguarding Standards, every sport organisation is required to have an annual review with the CPSU.
This review has a dual purpose:
Assessing whether the organisation continues to meet the Safeguarding Standards and embed this throughout their organisation.
Considering support from the CPSU to take forward plans.
Active Cheshire is an inclusive organisation committed to promoting and ensuring equality of access and opportunity to our services. Therefore should you need this in another format or language please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Connected
Active Cheshire CONNECTED will work in partnership with local trusted organisations to support communities to use new and existing infrastructure (including digital) to ensure ageing well means more years of happy, healthy life.
