The Call to Action

What is the Call to Action? 

• articulates an updated and revitalised vision for all those concerned with the safety and welfare of children and young people taking part in sport
  builds on the significant progress made by sports organisations since the creation of the Child Protection in Sport Unit in England in 2001
• updates the vision presented in the ‘Strategy for Safeguarding Children and Young People in Sport’ 2006 in line with current sport and safeguarding statutory requirements, policy, strategy and practice
• outlines the principles which guide work to safeguard children and young people in and through sport
• identifies key actions for organisations to take individually and collectively to realise the vision
• identifies the structure required to implement and review the effectiveness of the Call to Action and to ensure effective communication between stakeholders
   
• CPSU Call to Action Strategy 

Why now?

The Call to Action has been created in response to:

• the important developments in: government policy, legislation and plans both with regard to safeguarding children and with regard to sport
• new and joined up strategic plans for landscape partners in sport
• international developments in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and IOC consensus statements relevant to young athletes
• significant practice developments in safeguarding children across the sports and statutory sectors.

What do sports and statutory sector organisations need to do?

• Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people requires organisations to fulfil both their individual and collective roles and responsibilities. The majority of sports organisations have made significant progress towards achieving this. The ‘Call to Action’ seeks to ensure ownership of a shared vision across the sports and statutory sectors, to further embed and improve safeguarding practice.

National and local organisations have been asked to contribute to:

• the consultation processes to inform the overall content of the document
• identifying what they can and will contribute to safeguarding children and young people
• identify how their organisation can collaborate with others within and outside of the sports sector to ensure that children are safeguarded within and through sport make a public commitment to realising the vision
  
  For CSPs and NGBs this will involve achieving the Advanced level of the Standards for Safeguarding and continued work:
  
  
• to meet all their statutory safeguarding obligations by maintaining the Standards, and
• to embed safeguarding though the New Framework for Safeguarding Children in and through Sport

Our vision:
The overarching vision for all organisations is for children to: “play sport, stay safe, enjoy and achieve”

Our vision is that sport will lead the way in ensuring that children and young people are able to enjoy sport and achieve their potential free from all forms of abuse and exploitation. Sport cannot do this alone. It will need to work in partnership with colleagues in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors to ensure that safeguarding children.

By 2015 we should be able to see that:

• all funded national governing bodies of sport and CSPs have achieved and maintained the Advanced level of the Standards for Safeguarding Children and Young People in Sport
• all CSPs and 05/09 funded NGBs have embedded safeguarding practice through the implementation of the new Framework for Safeguarding Children in and though Sport
  all recognised NGBs are able to access support and expertise to establish appropriate safeguarding systems
  
• safeguarding practice is co-ordinated throughout a child’s life in sport from participation in schools, clubs and sports facilities through to elite sport through all organisations working confidently together
• sport and all organisations which work with sport understand each others roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children and work in partnership to achieve the best outcomes for children
• sport will have embedded best practice in the recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers including implementation of the government’s vetting and barring scheme
• sport will no longer sit outside of mainstream safeguarding but its role in safeguarding children will be recognised by government departments and by statutory agencies from national to local level, with particular reference to the new Children and Young People’s Plans