West Yorkshire Police is supporting a national campaign to urge parents, carers, and guardians to be diligent when choosing clubs and activity providers for their children over the summer break.
With the school holidays fast approaching, the force has teamed up with NWG and the ‘Safe to Play’ campaign to help safeguard children across the five districts.
The campaign provides advice and helps parents and guardians to make informed decisions about activity clubs and sports facilities here in West Yorkshire and to look out for signs that a sports club or activity club may not be as legitimate as it seems.
Activities and clubs can be advertised as a place to take your child but may not be affiliated with any sport governing body or active partnership.
It is important to look for a club, sport, activity, and coach that takes the safety and well-being of your child seriously. Always check whether the club or organisation is accredited or otherwise affiliated to an official body (e.g. a sports governing body or national voluntary sector) as this should mean they have the right safeguarding policies and procedures in place.
NWG will be supporting West Yorkshire Police by delivering training sessions to all the Safer Schools Officers across the county starting this week.
For more advice for parents, carers and guardians, please see here – https:///www.westyorkshire.police.uk/SafeToPlay
Chief Inspector Andrew Loftus of West Yorkshire Police said:
“Finding childcare over the school holidays can be difficult and children should be able to have fun and enjoy taking part in activity without the risk of being harmed or abused.
“It is crucial that children and young people are safeguarded appropriately during the school holidays, inset days and teacher training days. Along with our partners, we will strive to make sure that every child has a positive experience in sport and extra-curricular activities in a safe environment.
“We are thrilled to be able to support and share the work by NWG to help parents and guardians across West Yorkshire keep their children safe.”
West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin said:
“Keeping our children and young people safe is a priority.
“With the summer holidays fast approaching, many will be looking forward to the fantastic extra-curricular activities on offer across West Yorkshire.
“We’re urging all parents and those looking after youngsters to follow this guidance for a safe summer for all.”
The NWG Network are delighted to be working with our colleagues from West Yorkshire Police and their partners to roll out the Safe to Play campaign across the region.
The campaign has been designed to help parents make the rights choices and decisions before allowing their children to attend sports or other physical activities during the summer holiday period.
The interactive resources can be accessed using mobile phones and tablets to access a suite of short videos aimed at parents, children and the sports and physical activity communities.
Kevin Murphy, NWG Network’s safeguarding in sport lead, said:
“We want parents to be more aware of the need to check exactly who they are leaving their children with.
Treat these clubs in the same way you would when researching your child’s school. You do all the research before you decide which school to send your child to and that’s what we want parents to do with these clubs.
We know there are many clubs out there doing great work around safeguarding, and we want to see more of that. This is about encouraging a dialogue between clubs and parents.
We want safeguarding to be embedded as the number one priority of all sports clubs and activity providers. The children’s wellbeing needs to be at the forefront of everything they do.”
You can also contact NWG Network for advice on any issues related to child exploitation on 01332 585 371, or visit www.nwgnetwork.org or https:///stop-ce.org/tackling-cse-in-sports/.
If you think a crime has been committed, then please contact West Yorkshire Police via www.westyorkshire.police.uk/101LiveChat.
