AT the NSPCC we are celebrating our annual Parents in Sport week all this week. This year I’m pleased to say we have the backing of Bradford City AFC, whose players provide such an inspiration to Bradford’s young footballers and fans and who are now lending their voice to our campaign off the pitch too.

For the past six years, the NSPCC and its Child Protection in Sport Unit have delivered our annual Parents in Sport Week campaign, which aims to ensure parents have access to the right resources, tools and information to feel confident their children can enjoy sport safely. Lots of parents, around one in five in a recent YouGov survey commissioned for Parents in Sport, told us they wouldn’t know who to speak to if they had worries about a child’s welfare at their club. So we hope to equip EVERY parent with the safeguarding knowledge they need, and highlight the important role parents play in youth sport.

We all want children and young people to enjoy taking part in sport and parents play a key role in that. I know from countless years stood on the sidelines of a pitch come all weathers, or providing a free taxi service for children and their teammates, how crucial a parent’s role can be in grassroots sports. So, it is important we as parents have the confidence to voice any concerns.

To that end we’ve put together a number of resources. Resources such as a free e-learning course for parents on keeping their child safe in sport. The course is free to take and is suitable for any parent of a child who takes part in sport, regardless of your level of safeguarding knowledge. It should take you around 10 minutes to complete. We have also produced a new animation which helps parents identify when something might be wrong in their child’s sport; and the online NSPCC CPSU Parents Hub, full of safeguarding information for parents. To get started there are three key safeguarding tips to remember. When selecting a local club for your child check to see if they have a child officer in post. It’s also worth checking if it has a safeguarding policy. And finally, please know that if you have any concerns the NSPCC Helpline is there, on 0808 800 5000 or help@nspcc.org.uk.

I want to thank the sports bodies, clubs and coaches who’ve supported our work every year since the campaign’s conception and worked hard to develop better relationships with parents and carers. This year’s week is perhaps even more vital given how important sport is for children’s wellbeing, helping to support their mental recovery after an especially difficult time and all the upheavals the pandemic has thrown up. We hope that by providing parents with the tools they need to spot poor practice or abuse in sport and speak out, we’re also supporting the tireless work sports clubs put into involving parents in their safeguarding process.