Safeguarding

The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) promotes a culture whereby the importance of safeguarding within sport and exercise science is a priority. BASES continues to meet statutory requirements for safeguarding by having a trained Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO), as well as a Code of Conduct and a Safeguarding and Welfare Policy with associated procedures for reporting and investigating issues of safeguarding.

All practitioners share responsibility for working in an ethical manner and prioritising the safeguarding of clients and the integrity of the profession. To assist members in fulfilling this responsibility, BASES has published a publicly available Expert Statement on Safeguarding in the Sport and Exercise Sciences (first Published in September 2016 and updated in April 2022) and an Expert Statement on Integrity in the Sport and Exercise Sciences (published Spring 2023).

Education and training

BASES is committed to providing up-to-date training for its members including specific training for raising awareness of potentially problematic situations and dealing with safeguarding issues in practice.

Currently, members enrolled on BASES Supervised Experience (SE) or the Sport and Exercise Psychology Accreditation Route (SEPAR) can upskill on matters of safeguarding through attending the BASES Safeguarding in Sport and Exercise Sciences workshop. In addition, there is an individual member responsibility to understand the appropriate safeguarding reporting procedures for the different sports and/or disciplines that members work within.

Safeguarding principles apply to all members regardless of the client groups they are working with.

Reporting concerns

We would ask anyone who has any concerns, historical or current, in relation to practice within the sport and exercise science professions, to report those concerns in confidence through one of the following channels:

• contact a designated safeguarding officer within a specific NGB or sports club;
• contact the NSPCC’s general helpline for adults on 0808 800 5000 and ChildLine for children and young people on 0800 1111;
• contact BASES’ Office via enquiries@bases.org.uk.

For further information, please refer to the BASES Expert Statement on Safeguarding in the Sport and Exercise Sciences.

The BASES Integrity Advisory Group

• Dr Emma Kavanagh FBASES (Chair)
• Prof Sue Backhouse FBASES
• Dr Neil Chester
• Dr Phil Clarke
• James Platt
• Jack Sharkey
• Dr Andy Miles FBASES
• Dr James Newman
• Dr Daniel Rhind

For any immediate safeguarding enquiries, please contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.