Safeguarding Matters with the Ann Craft Trust

The Ann Craft Trust has launched a new campaign for sport and activity organisations to create safer cultures. The campaign aims to support the sport and activity sector to develop their safeguarding practice. This will involve learning from poor practice while recognising and celebrating successes. ACT CEO Dr. Deborah Kitson recorded this short introduction to the campaign. She explains what we&a...

Nicola chats with the ACT Safeguarding Adults in Sport team about the Safer Cultures, Safer Sport Campaign. The team discuss what we mean when we talk about "safer cultures", and how such a culture can help prevent abuse. They also talk about the three Ls that will help anyone embed a safer culture in their organisation: Listen Learn  Lead

ACT's Sarah Goff talks to Jess Phillips MP about the Domestic Abuse Bill. Thanks to years of determination, Jess has finally got the new Domestic Abuse Bill passed. She talks to Sarah about the challenges she's faced along the way, and about the many "names written in invisible ink" throughout the bill. Jess also talks about how lockdown may have made many of us rethink our att...

Sarah Goff talks to safeguarding specialist and author Catherine Lawler about domestic abuse and coercive control.  Catherine talks about her mothers' long experience of domestic abuse, and how this abuse affects the physical and mental health of the whole family. While her story is harrowing, she has lots of invaluable advice for any other families or individuals suffering from domestic abus...

Nicola talks to social worker and safeguarding consultant Ann Marie Christian about the risks of adult grooming, and the importance of hearing untold stories. Online groomers have done it so often that they now exactly who to target, and how and when to target them. They also know how soon they can expect a response. But when you know what's happening, the whole grooming process seems straigh...

Nicola chats to Sally Ann Bolton, Safeguarding Consultant at The Premier League, and Lisa Carter, Head of Safeguarding at Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. They discuss how the six principles of safeguarding work at Premier League level. The Premier League is a regulating body, and their safeguarding team is there to ensure that anyone who plays football at any level can enjoy the sport in a...

Nicola talks to Lucy Cave, Head of Communications for Progress Wrestling and Nona Morena, a Safeguarding Officer within British Professional Wrestling. They discuss the specific safeguarding concerns that exist within the world of professional wrestling. They also talk about the #SpeakingOut campaign, addressing allegations of sexual misconduct in British wrestling.

Nicola chats to Kev Murphy from The National Working Group (NWG) and Denise Richards from The Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU). They discuss the many unexpected side-effects of enforced government lockdowns, including a rise in certain forms of abuse, such as domestic abuse and online abuse. They also explore how the lockdown affected sports and activity clubs in particular, and talk about wa...

ACT Deputy CEO and Safeguarding Adults Lead Lisa Curtis talks to Bethany's Dad about his daughter's experience of organisational abuse. "People kept trying to drag me into their world. Instead, they moved into mine." Bethany was locked in a hospital for three years with no treatment. Bethany's Dad talks to ACT's Lisa Curtis about this awful story of organisational abu...

Nicola chats to ACT's Safeguarding Elite Athletes lead Kimberley Walsh about the new Safeguarding Elite Athletes Guidance Elite athletes might not always meet the criteria for being an adult risk. But that doesn't mean they won't find themselves in situations that could put them at risk. Elements of the elite athlete lifestyle can increase the risk of harm. That's why ACT recen...

ACT CEO Deborah Kitson talks to Anna-Maria Poku about the right to a family life. Article 8 of the Human Rights Act protects the rights of private and family life. Everyone has the right to live privately without government interference. Because of Article 8, the government cannot interfere with any individual's private lifestyle. The same article protects the right to enjoy family life witho...

Nicola talks to Katie and Andrea from the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) about their approach to safeguarding adults and young people. The RYA is a national governing body that oversees all sorts of sailing sports and activities. They're aiming to embed safeguarding at every level of their organisation, from the board to their volunteers. Katie and Andrea discuss the challenges of designing...

How Do People Feel Sports & Activity Organisations are Responding to Lockdown? Nicola talks to Abra Millar, an independent consultant who helped ACT study how the sport and activity sector reacted to lockdown restrictions. Abra designed two surveys. One was for sports and activity organisations, the other was for sports and activity participants. She surveyed 82 sport and activity organisation...

Nicola chats to Linda Owen, the resident "agony aunt" from the Sibs charity. Sibs supports siblings who have a brother or sister with a disability, SEND or long-term health condition. They recently released a report - "Comin Second" - about life in lockdown for siblings of disabled children. In this podcast, Linda discusses the report, explaining the particular challenges sibli...

Flyerz Hockey - A warm and safe environment where everyone can smile, be happy and benefit. In this episode of Safeguarding Matters, Nicola talks to Francis Bridgend, the head of Tumbridge Wells Flyerz. This is a hockey club for people with physical or learning disabilities or difficulties. Francis first launched the club in 2017. Five or six people turned up to the first session. Now around 25 pe...

Joanne Pell talks to Nicola Dean about her first five years as ACT's Safeguarding Adults in Sport Manager Nicola talks about some of the highlights from her first five years, as well as some of the challenges - not just for her, but for the sports sector as a whole. Safeguarding legislation for example, with all of its acronyms, can be confusing for some. But Nicola also talks about how wonde...

How are services reaching out, adapting and making a difference to children, young people and families during Covid-19? Nicola Dean talks to ACT Safeguarding Young People lead Sarah Goff about how children and young people with disabilities, and their families, have managed during lockdown.

Lisa Curtis talks to Daphne Franks, Communication Skills Teacher at Leeds Medical School, about Predatory Marriage. Daphne's mother, Joan, was 91 with severe dementia and terminal cancer . After her death in March 2016, Daphne found that a much younger man, age 68, had secretly married her five months previously. Joan never knew that she was married. And after she died, Daphne found that she...

Winter Olympian Charlotte Gilmartin talks to Nicola Dean about the considerable pressures of performing at an elite level. "Just because you're successful in sport, it doesn't mean you're happy." Charlotte Gilmartin is a 2x Winter Olympian GB short-track speed skater. Since she retired after the last Olympics, she's dedicated herself to championing safeguarding adults...

ACT CEO Deborah Kitson offers a message of support and solidarity during Covid-19 lockdown. These times are unprecedented, and challenging for all of us. It's been great to see how organisations across the UK have continued to prioritise safeguarding, even during lockdown.  Deborah also reflects on resilience and recovery, while praising our key workers for their tireless commitment to helpin...

Nicola chats with Nick Slinn from the CPSU, and ACT CEO Deborah Kitson about a long and fruitful partnership. ACT and the CPSU have been working together for some years now to help spread awareness and best practice about safeguarding adults in sport. Here they talk about how the partnership came to be, before exploring why the work they're doing is so important. 

Nicola Dean talks to our new Safeguarding Adults in Sport Manager Kimberley Walsh - who's here to focus on safeguarding elite athletes in sport. As a former elite athlete herself, Kimberley is well-placed to lead this new project. In this podcast, she talks to Nicola about her background, her plans for her role, and the difference between Sport England and UK Sport.

Complete our online questionnaires to help us develop our understanding of safeguarding adults in sport The Safeguarding Adults in Sport and Activity project is funded by Sport England to help National Governing Bodies, Active Sports Partnerships, regional partnerships and sport and activity organisations to develop best practice in safeguarding adults at risk. As part of this project we have been...

The Safeguarding Adults in Sport and Activity project is funded by Sport England to help National Governing Bodies, Active Sports Partnerships, regional partnerships and sport and activity organisations to develop best practice in safeguarding adults at risk. As part of this project we have been holding discussion forums (focus groups) with sports participants and staff to develop shared understan...

We Matter Too! is a project that addresses the needs of disabled young people facing domestic abuse. The project was funded by the Lloyds Bank Foundation as part of a series of projects looking at domestic violence. It explored gaps in domestic abuse service provisions and awareness of practitioners working with disabled young people, as identified by SafeLives and Women’s Aid . ACT, in partnershi...