Skip to content.

Safeguarding in sport training

Buy now
Price

£30 per person
Format
Elearning
Duration

3 hours
CPD logo
Call us:0116 234 7246
Online:Contact us

Introductory elearning for safeguarding children and young people in sport and physical activity

Do you come into contact with babies, children and young people through sport or physical activity?

Whether you’re an official, a sports coach, paid member of sports staff or volunteer, it’s important you understand your role and responsibilities in protecting the children you work with.

Our introductory elearning course will help you develop the knowledge, awareness and confidence to recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns. You'll learn how everyday practice and culture in sport helps keep children safe.

The course reflects real‑life scenarios in sport and physical activity settings, including online environments. It helps you identify how safeguarding concerns arise and how to acknowledge them appropriately, including in situations where children may not be able to communicate directly. 

What will I learn?

By the end of the course you’ll be able to:

  • identify what is meant by child abuse and safeguarding
  • describe the types, signs and indicators of abuse and neglect
  • recognise, respond to, report and record concerns about the safety and welfare of a child or young person, including those who may not be able to communicate directly
  • understand how safeguarding risks can develop through everyday behaviours, culture and decision‑making in sport settings
  • recognise how safeguarding applies to different children, including those with additional needs
  • apply good safeguarding and child protection practice to your sport or physical activity setting
  • describe how sport and physical activity settings can put safeguards in place.

Benefits of the course

  • CPD-certified.
  • Refreshed in September 2026 with new content, realistic scenarios and improved interactivity.
  • Up-to-date and in line with the key legislation and guidance in all four UK nations. 
  • Complete at your own pace and in your own time.
  • Train anytime, anywhere and take the course as many times as you like within one year.
  • Personalised downloadable certificate of achievement.
  • Purchasing licences on behalf of your team? Easily download reports to show who has completed the course.
  • Includes film scenarios, reflective activities and tasks, interactive quizzes and expert advice to help you develop your understanding and confidence in recognising and responding to concerns.
  • Once you’ve taken the course, it doesn’t stop there. We have a range of further information, training and downloadable resources to help you protect the children you work with.
  • Income generated from the sale of our training courses is reinvested back into the NSPCC to help protect children.
98%
of our customers would recommend NSPCC training
We received 35,700 evaluation forms from people who had taken our elearning courses between 1st April 2025 - 31st March 2026. 35,019 (98.1%) said they would recommend the course they had taken.

This course is for anyone who comes into contact with babies, children and young people through sport and physical activity, for example through clubs, organisations providing sports activities or as individuals.

It’s a helpful introduction to safeguarding and child protection for anyone required by their club, sport governing body or organisation to take a course in safeguarding and child protection.

It’s suitable for those new to safeguarding as well as those looking to refresh and update their knowledge, and is most effective when complemented by interactive tutor-led safeguarding training. 

If you are a designated lead for safeguarding and child protection you may be interested in our Designated safeguarding lead for sport and leisure training.

The NSPCC Sport website has a handy guide to help you choose the right training for your role.

At the NSPCC, we work to keep children and young people safe from abuse and neglect every day.

As experts in safeguarding and child protection, we understand the issues organisations and people working with children can face. That’s why professionals trust us to provide the support, training and resources they need to help protect the children and young people they work with.

Our highly-rated training courses are developed by experts. We work with a number of organisations, experienced consultants and subject matter experts in a range of sectors to develop courses that are clear, easy-to-use, up-to-date and in line with the latest statutory guidance, and tailored to your needs.

And as a charity, income generated from the sale of our training courses is reinvested back into the NSPCC to help protect children.

This elearning course is CPD certified by the CPD Certification Service. This means you can be confident that the training meets the highest standards.

Continuing professional development, or CPD for short, helps professionals keep their skills and knowledge up to date. It demonstrates your commitment to safeguarding children and upholding the standards of your profession.

Some professional associations have mandatory CPD or safeguarding training requirements for their members, but all professionals will benefit from investing time in their CPD. And taking an online CPD course means you can train at your own pace, wherever suits you.

Our online courses will work in most browsers, though we recommend that you use Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Safari (not Firefox). You will need to make sure your browser is up to date for the course to run.

This course can be taken on PCs and Macs, as well as iPads or other tablet devices. Please note, we are unable to provide full technical support for tablet users. We do not support other mobile devices.

Having trouble with the course?

Try:

  • clearing your cache
  • accepting our cookies (essential cookies are required for the purposes of undertaking our elearning)
  • turning off private browsing
  • permitting access to videos on Vimeo
  • setting the following web domain to ‘trusted’: https://mylearning.nspcc.org.uk

Call us on 0116 234 7246 or email learning@nspcc.org.uk if you have any questions.

Buy our online course

QuantityPrice per person
1-9£30.00
10-49£27.00
50-99£25.50
100-999£24.00
Buy now

Buying for your organisation? If you would like to host this course on your learning management system call us on 0116 234 7246 or email learning@nspcc.org.uk.

“Thanks for a great course. I have done a lot of elearning courses and this is the best one. Great balance between activities, reflection and content and between reading and video.”



Coach

"I feel a lot more confident to act immediately. Before the course I would have paused, unsure what to do."



Course participant

You might also be interested in

A basketball coach watches a boy about to throw the ball
Featured

Designated safeguarding lead for sport and leisure training

Are you a designated safeguarding lead at a leisure facility or sports organisation? Our specialist trainers will help you to better understand and perform your role. 

Virtual classroom

£225 per person

See course
Two people looking as if they are listening to someone else speak
Featured

Safer recruitment training

Training to safely recruit the right staff and volunteers to ensure they are safe to work with children and young people. Available as virtual training.

Elearning or Virtual classroom

From £35 to £225

See courses
Teacher and school pupil looking at computer
Featured

Online safety training

Are you aware of how children use the internet? Take our e-safety training to help you keep the children and young people you work with safe online.

Elearning

£30 per person

See course
Browse more courses

Related resources

Two young people walking down the street
Featured

Safer activities and events

Provides advice on keeping groups of children safe during activities, events, visits, outings and overnight stays whether they’re regular or one-off.

Read more
Practical Guidance
Featured

Preventing abuse in positions of trust

Provides information on how to recognise, respond to and prevent abuse from people in a position of authority such as teachers, care workers and doctors.

See more
Adult working with a young person
Featured

Working with young volunteers

Explains what to consider when recruiting and selecting volunteers to work in your organisation as well as how you can safeguard and support them throughout.

Find out more

Further resources

Two charity trustees talking in a meeting
Featured

Safeguarding for charity trustees

Find information about the safeguarding and child protection responsibilities of charity trustees and an overview of the key legislation and guidance.

Find out more
Adult using online self-assessment tool on laptop
Featured

Safeguarding and child protection self-assessment tool

Our free online tool helps you audit your school or organisation’s current safeguarding arrangements, supporting you to make any changes and identify areas for development.

Get started
Adult listening to a child in a group setting
Featured

Voluntary and community groups

Safeguarding and child protection resources for organisations and groups providing services to children, families and communities.

See our resources