Jodi Evans talks to former International Rugby Player Rhys Thomas about his life journey and the lessons he has learnt along the way. In the early 2000s, Rhys had a thriving international sports career as a capped Welsh rugby player. But in 2012, aged just 29, he suffered a massive heart attack during training, which would change his life forever.  Rhys is now on a mission to share his unique life experiences to create positive change. He strives to help others reach their full potential...

Nicola chats with Robbie Jacques, who plays for Nottingham Lions FC, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire’s only LGBTQ+ football team. The two discuss the rising acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities in professional and grassroots football. Robbie's recently received a nomination for the Positive Role Model Award for LGBT as part of the National Diversity Awards. "I believe everyone should be comfortable doing what they love without fear of discrimination and abuse. I believe we have the potential to...

Nicola talks to Stuart Gallagher a Senior Lecturer at The University of Worcester, about a course he runs: a Post Graduate Certificate in Leading Culture Change in Safeguarding. She also chats with two students who have taken this course: Victoria Wiegleb from The English Cricket Board, and Kath Bennett from The Rugby Football Union. Stuart describes the course as "a course for people who are short on time. It's a flexible course for really busy safeguarding leaders. It respects your time,...

On Monday 20 March I had the exciting job of visiting the world famous Trent Bridge Cricket Ground in Nottinghamshire to speak to Nottinghamshire Men’s Fast Bowler Luke Fletcher and coach Paul Franks, with one of the Ann Craft Trust Safeguarding in Sport Managers, Nicola Dean. As a cricket fan living in Nottingham, it’s hard not to know the history of Trent Bridge, one of the oldest cricket grounds in the world, or about the success of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club.  Nicola and I were...

University of Nottingham student Bridget Tunney is currently volunteering to help The Ann Craft Trust promote Safeguarding Adults Week. In this podcast, she introduces herself and discusses Rugby Minds, a University of Nottingham safeguarding in sport campaign. Rugby Minds aims to improve the welfare and culture in the university men’s and women’s rugby teams. Bridget and Nicola discuss this campaign, its aims, and its parallels with The Ann Craft Trust's #SaferCultureSaferSport campaign.

Peer support networks can make a huge difference in helping organisations achieve safeguarding best practice. In this edition of Safeguarding Matters, Nicola Dean talks to  Cassi Wright, Head of Safeguarding at Crystal Palace FC, and Ashlee Byrne, Senior Safeguarding Officer for the British Horseracing Authority.  They discuss the importance of peer support in safeguarding. They also offer some tips for anyone looking to set up their own peer support network. In short - reach out to people!...

Nicola Dean and Kimberley Walsh reflect on how the #SaferCultureSaferSport campaign has progressed since its launch. Their discussion focuses on a recent seminar The Ann Craft Trust ran with Penny Briscoe OBE and Claire Cunningham of British Paralympic Association. In this seminar, they revealed how they embedded a values-based culture to make sport more accessible for everyone. Nicola and Kimberley talk about some of the key themes raised in the British Paralympic Association seminar, and...

Nicola Dean talks to Emma Gibson about her new role as Head of Safeguarding Adults in Sport at the Ann Craft Trust. Emma talks about her background in sport, and how it motivated her to work towards making sport and activity safe and accessible for everyone. The two then discuss some of the current challenges in safeguarding adults in sport, and how we're working together to meet these challenges.

Joane Pell chats with Paul Stephenson, a Senior Consultant at the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU). In May 2022, Paul hosted an online seminar as part of The Ann Craft Trust #SaferCultureSaferSport campaign: "From Recommendations to Action - Embedding Safeguarding Learning Into Practice." The seminar focused on two main areas. First, it explored how we can recognise safeguarding lessons in our organsiations. Next, it discussed how we can take these lessons one step further, and embed...

Outgoing Safeguarding Adults in Sport Manager (Wales) Ruth Ingram reflects on her time at The Ann Craft Trust. Ruth joined The Ann Craft Trust in January 2020. Just a few weeks later, the UK went into lockdown. In this farewell podcast, Ruth talks about the challenges of joining a new team on a remote basis, as well as some of the other challenges she faced in her role. But she also talks about her achievements, and on the general state of safeguarding adults in Wales.

Catherine Sykes talks to David Rose, Deputy CEO of The Football Supporters' Association (FSA). David talks about how the FSA is working to develop policies and procedures to safeguard adults in their organisation. He discusses how important it is to listen to the voices of people who use services, as this helps clubs and organisations truly meet their needs. David also shares some of his methods for engaging with FSA members. He stresses that supporters are the lifeblood of football, so...

Nicola chats with Denise Richards from The CPSU following an online conference focused on creating safer cultures in sport and activity. The conference took place over two mornings on 19 and 20 January 2022. From Learning Lessons to Taking Action, the conference challenged attendees to create a safer place for all children and adults in your organisation, whatever their role. The conference explored: How you ensure that your organisation is operating a safer culture for participants of all...

Nicola chats with Denise Richards from The CPSU following an online conference focused on creating safer cultures in sport and activity. The conference took place over two mornings on 19 and 20 January 2022. From Learning Lessons to Taking Action, the conference challenged attendees to create a safer place for all children and adults in your organisation, whatever their role.  The conference explored: How you ensure that your organisation is operating a safer culture for participants of all...

Nicola chats with Jayne Wilson, Training and Development Coordinator and Lead Safeguarding Officer for Active Lancashire.  Jayne shares lots of tips for NGBs and Active Partnerships on how they can effectively work with their local safeguarding adults board. The two also discuss the importance of accessible language in safeguarding. Jayne mentions how, initially, she found the amount of jargon and acronyms hard to understand. Finally, they talk about how safeguarding should not be a...

As part of the #SaferCultureSaferSport campaign, Nicola and Ruth talk with Fiona and Nathan from Disability Sport Wales about creating more inclusive cultures in sport and activity.

ACT's Safeguarding Children and Young People lead Sarah Goff talks to Nadine Tilbury about working with parents with learning disabilities. Nadine Tilbury is the Policy Officer at the Working Together for Parents Network, which is housed within the University of Bristol. Her work involves trying to influence what happens to parents with learning disabilities who are involved with children's service because there are concerns about how they parent their children. In this podcast, Sarah and...

Nicola and Ruth chat with Rosalind Porter, Director of Women and Girls Cricket at Oxford Cricket Club, and her two daughters, Jenny and Eloise. The podcast looks at domestic abuse and coercive control. If you've been affected by any of the issues we discuss, please remember that help and support is there if you need it. Rosalind, Jenny and Eloise's lives have been shaped by their involvement in cricket. Rosalind's ex-husband was passionate about cricket, and the whole family immersed...

Joanne talks with DBS and RFU about how safer recruitment can help create safer cultures. Guests on this Safeguarding Matters podcast include Cathy Taylor, engagement advisor at DBS, and Cath Bennet, safeguarding case manager at rugby football union. Cathy discusses how DBS supports national organisations with anything they'd like to know about safer recruitment: "We are the people you can contact for help and support, and we will try our best to help and support you."

Nicola talks to ACT Patron Sir Roger Singleton CBE about his career in safeguarding. Roger Singleton has a background in education, children’s services, management, mediation and safeguarding. He is a former chief executive of Barnardo’s. Since leaving in 2005 he has been an independent consultant specialising in safeguarding and interim management. He is a consultant to charities and organisations on their safeguarding policies and practices; he trains board members and senior staff in...

Lisa chats with Samyak Jain about his 84SilenceNoMore project, which addresses male suicide rates. Samyak helped set up the 84SilenceNoMore project while still at secondary school. Having learned that 84 men a week lose their lives to suicide, Samyak and his friends decided to do something. The result was 84SilenceNoMore. The mission is to raise awareness of mental health issues, and to raise money for CALM with a sponsored run and other activities. In this podcast he talks to ACT's Deputy...

Nicola chats to ACT Deputy CEO and Safeguarding Adults Lead Lisa Curtis. Lisa shares her tips for creating a safer culture in sport and activity clubs and groups, and in other organisations.

How new sports bring new safeguarding challenges. Cath Sykes, ACT's Safeguarding in Unregulated Sport officer, chats with Fnatic's Andy Cook about safeguarding in Esports. Fnatics is one of the most successful Esports teams in the world, and Esports is the fastest growing sport in the world. It sees very young people engaging in very high pressure tournaments for very large amounts of money. And much of the scouting and competing takes place online. This situation brings a host of new...

ACT and The Marie Collins Foundation have collaborated to produce a resource to help parents and children understand various online risks. Deborah Kitson chats with Rhiannon McDonald from the Marie Collins Foundation, and ACT's Sarah Goff. They talk about the challenges they faced when producing this resource - mainly, how can we make such a broad and complex issue as accessible as possible?

ACT's Sarah Goff talks to Sarah Martin-Denham, a senior lecturer at the University of Sunderland, about her life and work. Sarah has led numerous research projects on school exclusion and children's social care. She's worked closely with neurodiverse children, and those with special education needs and disabilities. She feels that the educational system can often misunderstand these children, and as a result they can face criticism for their behaviour.  Sarah asks - what makes children...