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...

Nicola chats to Catherine Sykes, ACT's new Safeguarding Adults in Unregulated Sport Officer. What is unregulated sport? Some might say that technically all sport is unregulated. So Catherine begins by explaining just what we mean when we say "unregulated sport and activity". She also explains what we mean by "unaffiliated". Essentially, Catherine is here to support grassroots sports clubs, as well as sport and activity organisations in fields such as eSports and wrestling.  Catherine...

Nicola chats with Active Cumbria about their mission to help the people of Cumbria become more physically active in their daily lives. They discuss the vital roles active partnerships can play in bringing communities together. They also talk about how organisations like Active Cumbria can help Sport England achieve their 10 year "Uniting the Movement" strategy. Throughout, they explore how lockdown's widened inequalities, and discuss ways we might reach out to certain communities to...

The Ann Craft Trust has launched a new campaign for sport and activity organisations to create safer cultures. The campaign aims to support the sport and activity sector to develop their safeguarding practice. This will involve learning from poor practice while recognising and celebrating successes. ACT CEO Dr. Deborah Kitson recorded this short introduction to the campaign. She explains what we're doing it, why we're doing it, and what we hope to achieve. 

Nicola chats with the ACT Safeguarding Adults in Sport team about the Safer Cultures, Safer Sport Campaign. The team discuss what we mean when we talk about "safer cultures", and how such a culture can help prevent abuse. They also talk about the three Ls that will help anyone embed a safer culture in their organisation: ListenLearn Lead

ACT's Sarah Goff talks to Jess Phillips MP about the Domestic Abuse Bill. Thanks to years of determination, Jess has finally got the new Domestic Abuse Bill passed. She talks to Sarah about the challenges she's faced along the way, and about the many "names written in invisible ink" throughout the bill. Jess also talks about how lockdown may have made many of us rethink our attitudes towards domestic abuse and safety. It forced many to reflect:  what if I wasn't safe in my own home? What if...

Sarah Goff talks to safeguarding specialist and author Catherine Lawler about domestic abuse and coercive control. Catherine talks about her mothers' long experience of domestic abuse, and how this abuse affects the physical and mental health of the...

Nicola talks to social worker and safeguarding consultant Ann Marie Christian about the risks of adult grooming, and the importance of hearing untold stories.Online groomers have done it so often that they now exactly who to target, and how and when to...

Nicola chats to Sally Ann Bolton, Safeguarding Consultant at The Premier League, and Lisa Carter, Head of Safeguarding at Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club.They discuss how the six principles of safeguarding work at Premier League level. The Premier...

Nicola talks to Lucy Cave, Head of Communications for Progress Wrestling and Nona Morena, a Safeguarding Officer within British Professional Wrestling.They discuss the specific safeguarding concerns that exist within the world of professional wrestling....

Nicola chats to Kev Murphy from The National Working Group (NWG) and Denise Richards from The Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU).They discuss the many unexpected side-effects of enforced government lockdowns, including a rise in certain forms of...

ACT Deputy CEO and Safeguarding Adults Lead Lisa Curtis talks to Bethany's Dad about his daughter's experience of organisational abuse."People kept trying to drag me into their world. Instead, they moved into mine."Bethany was locked in a hospital for...

Nicola chats to ACT's Safeguarding Elite Athletes lead Kimberley Walsh about the new Safeguarding Elite Athletes GuidanceElite athletes might not always meet the criteria for being an adult risk. But that doesn't mean they won't find themselves in...

ACT CEO Deborah Kitson talks to Anna-Maria Poku about the right to a family life.Article 8 of the Human Rights Act protects the rights of private and family life. Everyone has the right to live privately without government interference. Because of...

Nicola talks to Katie and Andrea from the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) about their approach to safeguarding adults and young people.The RYA is a national governing body that oversees all sorts of sailing sports and activities. They're aiming to...

How Do People Feel Sports & Activity Organisations are Responding to Lockdown?Nicola talks to Abra Millar, an independent consultant who helped ACT study how the sport and activity sector reacted to lockdown restrictions.Abra designed two surveys....

Nicola chats to Linda Owen, the resident "agony aunt" from the Sibs charity.Sibs supports siblings who have a brother or sister with a disability, SEND or long-term health condition.They recently released a report - "Comin Second" - about life in...

Flyerz Hockey - A warm and safe environment where everyone can smile, be happy and benefit.In this episode of Safeguarding Matters, Nicola talks to Francis Bridgend, the head of Tumbridge Wells Flyerz.This is a hockey club for people with physical or...

Joanne Pell talks to Nicola Dean about her first five years as ACT's Safeguarding Adults in Sport ManagerNicola talks about some of the highlights from her first five years, as well as some of the challenges - not just for her, but for the sports sector...

How are services reaching out, adapting and making a difference to children, young people and families during Covid-19?Nicola Dean talks to ACT Safeguarding Young People lead Sarah Goff about how children and young people with disabilities, and their...

Lisa Curtis talks to Daphne Franks, Communication Skills Teacher at Leeds Medical School, about Predatory Marriage.Daphne's mother, Joan, was 91 with severe dementia and terminal cancer. After her death in March 2016, Daphne found that a much younger...

Winter Olympian Charlotte Gilmartin talks to Nicola Dean about the considerable pressures of performing at an elite level."Just because you're successful in sport, it doesn't mean you're happy."Charlotte Gilmartin is a 2x Winter Olympian GB short-track...

ACT CEO Deborah Kitson offers a message of support and solidarity during Covid-19 lockdown.These times are unprecedented, and challenging for all of us. It's been great to see how organisations across the UK have continued to prioritise safeguarding,...

Nicola chats with Nick Slinn from the CPSU, and ACT CEO Deborah Kitson about a long and fruitful partnership.

Nicola Dean talks to our new Safeguarding Adults in Sport Manager Kimberley Walsh - who's here to focus on safeguarding elite athletes in sport.