Safeguarding & health and safety

For more information on this, visit the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. 

• A DBS check which covers the time they’ve spent in the UK (if any)
• A check carried out by the authorities in their previous country/countries of residence.

If a potential volunteer is British but has lived abroad and their role requires a DBS check, they’ll need:

• A DBS check which covers the time they’ve spent in the UK
• A police check that covers the period they were overseas.

The procedures for obtaining police checks for foreign nationals differ from country to country – click here to learn more.

A spent criminal conviction shouldn’t necessarily prevent someone volunteering. However, if someone is applying to volunteer with children or vulnerable adults and a DBS check reveals they’ve been convicted or suspected of offences against them, this will rule them out of the position.

Prospective volunteers can appeal the outcome of DBS checks in certain circumstances – click here for more information.

If you believe a child is in immediate danger, you need to contact the police.

If your club does not have the appropriate procedures in place regarding child protection, there are other organisations you can contact:

• National governing bodies: If your club or activity is affiliated with a national governing body, you can contact them with your concerns. They'll have a procedure in place on how to deal with your concern. The Child Protection in Sport Unit has a list of relevant governing body contacts – click here to see it
• Active Partnerships: If your sport is not associated with a national governing body, you can instead contact your local Active Partnership. The Child Protection in Sport Unit also has a list of relevant Active Partnership contacts – click here to see it
• Social services: You can also contact your local social services - your local authority will have a contact number for social services in your area. Click here to find your local authority.

If you’re concerned about harm to children or vulnerable adults, this should be covered by your club’s safeguarding policy, which should outline the procedure you should follow.

If your volunteer has been involved in regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults, then you do need to refer your concerns to the DBS, but they should be investigated first before a referral is made.

For more information, click on the below links:

• Club Matters –  Information on child protection
• Gov.uk – Referring your concerns
• Gov.uk – Definition of regulated activity.

For example, if another volunteer is likely to have close and unsupervised contact with someone under 18, they should go through a DBS check and your club should have a safeguarding policy. Make it clear to volunteers over 18 that these safeguarding procedures apply to some of the volunteers they’re working alongside, as well as the participants at your club.

For more information on safeguarding see the National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ website.

For more information on safeguarding see the National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ website.

Consider volunteer risk alongside other areas of risk for your club or group and as part of an overall risk assessment.

For example, if you were carrying out a risk assessment for a sports event your club was organising, you’d consider volunteers alongside sports participants, the general public and any staff.

A potential and often unrealised risk organisations face is that they unintentionally give volunteers the same rights as employees by treating them in certain ways. Click here to learn more about the differences.

You can find out more information about how sports clubs and groups can assess risk using the links below:

• The Welsh Council for Voluntary Action – Guide to Risk Assessment
• Volunteer Scotland – Good Practice Guide
• Club Matters – The Club Matters Guide to Safeguarding.

This includes:

• Players and competitors
• Volunteers and staff
• Members and supporters
• Parents or other visitors
• Competition support staff
• Contractors.

Undertaking risk assessments and having a clear sports health and safety policy will help you to manage this obligation.

Additionally, if your club has paid employees, you’ll be required to meet further health and safety standards. These clubs fall within the main scope of the Health and Safety at Work Act. They're required to ensure safe systems of work and a safe working environment for their staff and others using the premises where the work takes place.

Our Club Matters website has a wide range of information on sports health and safety for clubs. If you register, you can also access downloadable guides and checklists to help you further.