For me the most important thing is safeguarding – if we are safe we can build everything else on that, but without it, what does the rest of it even mean?
Welfare and safeguarding has been key to my day job for 30 years and threaded through all of my volunteering since I was that 16 year old in the summer holiday club for children with disabilities.
Work has seen me deal with many things from modern slavery to abuse, but the training that I have had over the years and ongoing CPD both mandatory and things I choose to do myself help prepare me for my welfare roles in sport, I feel it’s especially important to try and understand how different the world is for young people in today’s world than when I was a teenager, some risk won’t ever change but in a world full of social media and technology it’s also very different with risks I never faced.
As a welfare officer I have never been busier, I see this as a good thing as it is certainly in part as a result of a greater awareness of what is and isn’t acceptable and also how to raise concerns, it does mean I am busy though! So please do remember that.
I firmly believe that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and not just that of welfare officers, you may be the person who sees or hears something and the individual at risk may not feel that they can reach out so, yes, we all have responsibility.
I am grateful that my sport is accessible and adaptable and can be accessed by almost anyone, disability is not a restriction and it is known to be great for mental health. We all have a responsibility to ensure everyone is safe.
Ask yourself, do you know who to raise concerns with, how and where to contact the appropriate person? If not maybe it’s time to just ensure that you do in case you need them.
Have a good week and stay well ❤️🏹 see you on the range
