Sport Welfare Officer Network

What is the Sport Welfare Officer Network and how can we help your club?

We know the work of club welfare officers can be hard at times and it can often feel like an isolated role. We’re trying to change that.

The Sport Welfare Officer Network is here for club welfare officers.

Richard Bell, our Sports Welfare Manager can provide local support and opportunities to assist you in your volunteer roles. Whether that’s helping you meet your safeguarding responsibilities, connecting you with other club welfare officers or assisting you to grow your knowledge and skills - we are here to help.

Your sport may already have regional safeguarding staff who provide your club with support. If it does – these teams are still your primary contact. Richard works with these representatives and your National Governing Body to connect sports and promote good welfare locally.

Good welfare practice matters to everyone and together we want to help create environments in sport and physical activity which are positive and safe for all children, young people and adults.

Active Lincolnshire’s role in Sports Welfare includes a dedicated welfare manager post, funded by Sport England. Our Welfare Manager is funded to work with National Governing Bodies and their clubs to improve safeguarding and create safer environments. Their role includes offering:

• Providing guidance to clubs in safeguarding and welfare
• Signposting to and sharing resources
• Sharing and collating best practice across the sport physical activity and leisure sector
• Bringing safeguarding leads together to network and share experiences and challenges
• Signposting to training to promote a safety-first culture
• support and advocate for improved welfare standards.
• Provide good quality, up to date information about Safeguarding and Welfare to all providers in our network
• Connect into local and regional safeguarding and welfare cross-sector networks

At Active Lincolnshire, we are committed to the welfare of all. While the Sport England funding focuses our support on clubs that are affiliated with National Governing Bodies, we recognise the importance of all clubs and providers understanding and providing safe sports and activity in all environments.

Active Lincolnshire’s Welfare role does not replace existing local processes handled by the appropriate authorities; it is meant to complement them and help enhance safeguarding practices within the sport and physical activity sector. We do not manage or handle cases. Any disclosures are reported through the usual routes to the appropriate authorities.

We offer guidance and resources to non-affiliated clubs to help them maintain high safeguarding standards, reflecting our commitment to fairness, safety, and inclusion in sport.

Get in Touch

If you'd like to speak to Richard about safeguarding at your club get in touch by emailing richard.bell@activelincolnshire.com or phone 07903 266 306