Safeguarding Children and Young People
When you take part in sport, you should feel safe, and included at all times.
Anything that makes you feel scared or that hurts you is not OK. Everyone who is involved in your sport, has a role to play in keeping you safe.
Your Rights
- You have the right to be and feel safe. Nobody should hurt you physically, sexually or emotionally.
- You have the right to privacy. Your body is your body. Nobody is allowed to touch you, take photos of you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, or do anything that makes you feel upset, frightened or unsafe.
- You have a right to be treated fairly, no matter your ability, who you are or where you are from.
- You have the right to have your say. You have a right to express your views about things that are important to you. Adults should listen to what you say and take it seriously.
Your Responsibilities
These rights also come with responsibilities.
Everyone has the responsibility to respect the rights of others.
This means no one should harm you or take your rights away.
It also means that you should not do anything to stop others from enjoying their rights too!
If you feel unsafe or feel that someone is not respecting your rights, you should tell someone you trust.
This could be a coach, a parent or carer, or any adult you trust. The right person will help you with the next steps to feeling safe.
If you don’t get the help you need, you might need to talk to someone else.
Keep trying until you feel heard.
How are your rights protected when you participate in sport?
Parents, carers, coaches, volunteers and anyone involved in sport have a responsibility to keep you safe and respect your rights when you participate in sport.
9 ways adults can keep you safe
- Adults in sport must treat you with respect
- Adults in sport must treat you fairly
- Adults in sport must keep you safe and not hurt you in any way
- Adults in sport must respect your privacy
- Adults in sport must listen to you
- Adults in sport must follow the rules of their jobs at all times
- Adults in sport must support you and protect you from harm
- Adults in sport must not treat you badly because you told someone about being hurt
- Adults in sport must be allowed to work with children and young people
There are many other things that might make you feel upset, scared or embarrassed that are not mentioned here. You have a right to tell someone about anything that makes you feel unsafe or upset.
Children and Young People Safeguarding Policy
Your sport has a set of rules to make sure sport is safe, and inclusive for everyone.
These rules are written down and they also help your sport, and everyone involved to remember how to treat you. They explain what behaviours are OK and what behaviours are not OK.
They also tell you what you can do if someone hurts you or if you do not feel safe.
Resources for Children and Young People
In the Safeguarding section of the Resources page of this website, is a drop down menu with the title; 'Resources for Children and Young People'.
Click on the link above to see the section.
Find more information, based on your age group in sport.
Further links and information
There are a number of resources and links for Children and Young People of varying ages.
Select the age category for yourself or for your child or young person:
Kids Helpline:
Kids 5-12 Years - How Can We Help?
Teens 13-17 Years - We're Here To Help
Young Adults 18-25 Years - Information & Support
UNICEF Rights of the Child:
The Convention on the Rights of the Child - Children's version