Delivered by Kevin Murphy – NWG Safeguarding in Sport Lead.

Kevin has worked within children’s services in a number of roles for a significant number of years. He has been a front-line practitioner and worked his way up through the ranks to become an Operational Manager before moving on to a Head of Service for a Local Authority Children’s Service. Kevin has a wealth of experience working with vulnerable children and their families and he has a unique perspective and understanding of special educational needs and disabilities. He has a sound understanding of how young people need to be protected when engaging in community activities and has been involved in the International VOICE for Truth and Dignity project. This project involved 7 countries researching the experiences of those abused through sport and bringing that knowledge and those voices into his role.

The course content has been updated with the latest learning, developments and stats (updated 2024)

This course is aimed at anyone working within sports and physical activities who wants to broaden their understanding of abuse in sports along with multi-agency practitioners who work alongside children, young people and their families who wish to extend their understanding and practice in the field of sport

Developed in collaboration with Edge Hill University’s Professor Mike Hartill to provide a greater comprehension of the issue of sexual abuse and exploitation within sports, the course provides attendees with the historical context and prevalence of child sexual exploitation in sports within the UK and beyond.

The course looks towards developments in policy, including recent publications from IICSA (Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse) and the learning from recent major enquiries into abuse in football, gymnastics cricket and other sports. During the session, learning is enriched through the use of the voices of survivors of CSE in Sports and provides practical resources for use in practice.

NWG’s Safeguarding in Sports Team has developed a sound understanding of how young people need to be protected when engaging in sports and physical activities, the team has been involved in the Erasmus-funded “VOICE’s for Truth and Dignity” project. This project involved 7 countries researching the experiences of those abused through sport and bringing that knowledge and those voices into this training.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, delegates will be able to;

• Define Child Exploitation (CE) and recognise perpetrator modus operandi.
• Understand the historical context of exploitation and abuse within sports and how this can impact young people disclosing abuse.
• Describe the NWG process of CE and what happens within the stages of the process, including being able to give examples that are specific to the sporting arena.
• Verbalise what they have learnt about perpetrators of CE.
• Articulate the prevalence of exploitation and abuse within sports and how it can impact the physical and emotional well-being of young people.
• Consider and explain the impact perceptions of sports have on personal, organisational and societal beliefs.
• Understand the meaning of consent and its connection with exploitation and sport.
• Understand how policy has developed and how this impacts our professional roles.

The Combatting Child Exploitation in Sport course is available to book through NWG’s Eventbrite page but can also be commissioned for your organisation or service.