The Premier League and our clubs remain committed to ensuring that young people and children and adults at risk are supported during their involvement in Academy or community football, across Play Safe weekend and year-round, through appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures.
To ensure that safeguarding remains a priority across football, the Premier League has collaborated with UNICEF UK, the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit, the Ann Craft Trust and other experts, to develop the Sports Safeguarding Culture Programme, a tool that aims to assist all sports organisations and their senior leaders to better understand and develop safer and healthier workplace cultures.
The Sports Safeguarding Culture Programme, which is available for free to all sports organisations, enables senior leaders to understand their company’s current culture and develop a bespoke action plan that shapes a safe and inclusive environment for everyone.
The Sports Safeguarding Culture Programme covers four main areas - What culture is and why it is important, an audit on current safeguarding practice which generates a bespoke plan based on organisational responses, a culture assessment and guidance to help prioritise and plan next steps to improve internal culture.
Liz Twyford, Sports Programme Specialist at UNICEF UK, said: “Establishing the right culture is central to making your sport safer for children and adults, staff and players. This is why we worked alongside specialists from the Premier League and a range of expert organisations to develop the Sports Safeguarding Culture Programme.
“Our aim is to provide the sports organisations that follow this programme with tools to better understand and reflect on their culture, and insights to take the steps needed to create a culture that is both safer and higher performing. We hope that organisations across football take on this opportunity to enhance their own culture.”
Senior leaders play an important role in setting the tone and ensuring that safeguarding is recognised and delivered as a shared responsibility across all levels of an organisation.
While safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, the Premier League and Clubs have dedicated safeguarding staff with responsibility for leading on measures to promote and protect the rights, safety and well-being of children and adults at risk in Academy and community activities.
For more information visit: https://www.premierleague.com/safeguarding
For more information on the Sports Safeguarding Culture Programme, head to: https://culture.safeinsport.org/
Teachers are able to download free education resources on online safety, using the Premier League’s education programme website, Premier League Primary Stars.