10th July 2025
An Active Sussex safeguarding event explored how clubs and organisations can confidently manage lower-level concerns and navigate difficult conversations.
The session took place on Tuesday, June 24 at the American Express Stadium in Brighton, and was attended by club welfare officers, coaches and county NGB safeguarding leads from across football, climbing, school sports, rugby, bowls, cycling, racquet sports, hockey and gymnastics.
The practical face-to-face training session was coordinated by the Active Sussex Sports Welfare Team and delivered by Safer Care Training and Consultancy.
The morning session focused on providing context around lower-level concerns and exploring thresholds. In the afternoon, participants discussed case studies and collaborated in groups to respond to scenarios that could arise in their specific settings.
One participant said it gave them ‘a better understanding of the thresholds between wellbeing and safeguarding and where to go for queries,’ while another said it gave ‘real world examples that I can use to improve my own practice.’
Angela Nilmadhub-Watson and Lauren Rickson, the Sport Welfare Officers at Active Sussex, said: “Everything we deliver for clubs is shaped by local insight and lower-level concerns emerged as a common theme where many organisations felt they needed more support. We designed this session in direct response to what clubs were telling us.
“It was clear on the day just how much participants appreciated the chance to come together with others across different sports who are facing the same challenges. Having the time and space to work through real-life scenarios, share experiences and problem-solve collaboratively was really beneficial.”
If your organisation needs safeguarding guidance, you can contact our Sports Welfare Officers at Active Sussex, and find out more about how they can support you here.