Child protection achievement for CSPs
All 49 county sports partnerships have now successfully achieved the advanced level of the Standards for Safeguarding Children in Sport and have therefore completed the standards process.
The standards provide a framework or audit tool for all those involved in sport to help them create a safe sporting environment for children and young people and protect them from harm.
The standards also seek to provide a benchmark to help those involved in sport make informed decisions, promote good practice and challenge practice that is harmful to children.
County Durham Sport achieved the Advanced Level of the Safeguarding Standards in June 2009. County Durham Sport are supporting national work currently underway to develop the new Safeguarding Framework, which builds on the principles of the standards.
All national governing bodies and CSPs funded by Sport England must work towards achieving the standards, which cover 10 areas:
- Policy
- Procedures and systems
- Prevention
- Codes of practice and behaviour
- Equity
- Communication
- Education and training
- Access to advice and support
- Implementation and monitoring
- Influencing.
There are three levels of achievement, preliminary, intermediate and advanced. To qualify for the intermediate and advanced levels, organisations need to show commitment to keeping children and young people safe and demonstrate the actions they have taken to put this commitment into practice.
The tiered standards give parents, staff and volunteers confidence that the overall sporting experience for young people is being actively monitored and that safety and welfare issues are being taken seriously.
"The fact that all CSPS have now completed the Standards process is a tremendous achievement," said Mike Diaper, Sport England Director of Youth and Communities. "It rewards the hard work of many CSP staff and their key partners, and particularly the network of CSP safeguarding leads which have been at the forefront of this work. Congratulations to everyone involved."
CSPs have a critical role to play, not only in following the standards themselves but in setting an example for other local organisations. They therefore have a direct impact on the welfare children and young people taking part in sport in their county.
The Standards are administered by the Child Protection in Sport Unit which is jointly funded by the NSPCC and Sport England.
To find out more about Safeguarding Children in sport visit the CPSU website .