Energise Me’s Sport Welfare Officers can provide a Parents in Sport Survey to any sports club in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, analyse the responses and deliver a free one-hour parent session informed by the results.
The questions ask parents which topics are important to them and their children. Topics range from safeguarding confidence and communication to parents’ top concerns, such as injuries, competitive pressure, and bullying.
When Locks Heath Swim Squad asked Energise Me’s Sport Welfare Officer, Sarah Goddard, to open up the conversation with their swim parents, she didn’t bring a generic safeguarding talk. She brought a method.
Step one: the Parents in Sport Survey from NSPCC Sport, completed anonymously by club parents.
Step two: Sarah analysed the answers. The responses showed exactly what Locks Heath Swim Squad parents were most concerned about regarding their children’s experience in sport.
Step three: Sarah shared the headline themes with the club’s committee, so the conversation that followed was directly informed by the parents’ responses.
Step four: Sarah ran a one-hour parent session at the club — Championing Welfare & Safe Sport for All — covering what safeguarding, wellbeing and welfare really mean in a club, what the survey had shown, and what to do if something didn’t feel right.
Join the ripple effect
Alton & District Swim Club contacted Sarah after speaking with the club welfare officer at Locks Heath and has since run the same programme for their parents.
“I didn’t want to bring parents a generic safeguarding talk,” said Sarah Goddard, Sport Welfare Officer at Energise Me. “I wanted to start where parents actually were. The NSPCC Sport survey shows us what the club’s parents are most concerned about, and then the whole session is geared towards addressing those concerns. It’s why Alton picked up the phone after hearing about Locks Heath. Parents feel more engaged when they’ve been part of shaping the session.”
The offer is now open to all sports clubs in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, at no cost to the club.
Please apply by emailing [email protected].
Extra parent resources — launching September
Following a number of pilot sessions, for sustainability and accessibility, a separate companion project, Cheering on Your Child, is producing four free video guides for parents with Lorraine Lee Training, launching in September: Supporting your child in a positive way; Helping your child when things go wrong; Helping your child to be competitive in a healthy way; and Balancing the 3 S’s — sport, study and social interaction.
Lorraine Lee, with a background in Child Psychology, Child Development and over 15 years working with athletes, is partnering with Energise Me on this project. The videos will be free for any parent to access.
Parents attending the sessions above will get first access to the videos.
“Since attending the [Cheering On Your Child pilot] session, we have tried to listen a lot more — not commenting or passing judgement, just listening,” said Nic Barber, a parent at Locks Heath Swim Squad. “We’ve found that our daughter talks more, about everything, and she seems happier and calmer at home and when swimming.”
The Sport Welfare Officer service is funded by Sport England, the National Lottery, and the Active Partnerships network.
