Safe clubs for children

The Safe Clubs for Children campaign has been launched to support parents with advice and guidance on out of school activities.

Clubs, classes and tutorial sessions offer great ways for children and young people to develop their skills and confidence as well as having fun. But did you know that where you send your child may actually not be regulated? Even people who have committed criminal offences can legally continue to work in roles like children's entertainers or private tutor.

We want to help parents and carers make sure that their children will be happy and protected in after school and extra-curricular clubs and activities within the community.

We want to help parents and carers make sure that their children will be happy and protected in after school and extra-curricular clubs and activities within the community. For more information on regulated childcare you can contact the Family Information Service or search for childcare near you on the website.

If a child is in immediate danger - dial 999.

• Can I observe the session?
• Is there a policy on safeguarding children?
• Are staff trained in safeguarding/first aid?
• Any written code of conduct for staff/volunteers?
• Is there a health and safety policy in place?
• What are the emergency procedures?
• Who do I speak to if I have any concerns?
• Is there any safety information available via website/leaflets
• do you and your staff have DBS checks?
• Where do I go for help and advice? You can find this on the Family Information Service Website.

If you are looking for childcare on a more regular basis, rather than one-off activities, here is a helpful childcare visit checklist. You can also search for details of Ofsted registered childcare providers.

The following information is available providing more details for parents and providers.

• Parent booklet
• Information about the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and how to contact for support

Providers should have the relevant safeguarding procedures in place and be able to answer parent or carers questions regarding their child's safety even if they are not regulated, to help protect themselves and their business.

High quality clubs and organisations will always welcome questions about their activities, the safety of their environment and the care of children.

If you are worried about your safety, or the safety of a child it’s important that you tell someone.

If a child is in immediate danger - dial 999.

The links below will take you to information that will tell you who to get in touch with and how.

If you have a concern about a provider, then please report it to us:

Email: LADO@westsussex.gov.uk

Phone: 0330 222 6450

If you are a child or young person and you are worried about yourself or another child contact the Integrated Front Door on 01403 229900 or email them at WSChildrenServices@westsussex.gov.uk

If you are an adult and you are worried about a child or young person you can report a concern about a child.

If you are a professional and you would like to refer a child or young person visit our professionals page.

If you are worried about the safety of an adult, see the Raise a Concern page on the West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board website.

We would like to thank to Rochdale Borough Council for sharing information and publicity material from their Safe After School Campaign.

The LADO service are proud to announce that WSCC is now an NWG Safe to Play partner, following a multi-agency launch event on 15th February 2023.

The event was hosted by Brighton and Hove Albion and attended by Children's Services, Sussex Police, various sporting national governing bodies, voluntary sector, Sussex Clubs for Children.

NWG is a charitable organisation formed as a UK network of over 14,500 practitioners who disseminate information down through their services, to professionals working on the issue of child exploitation (CE) and trafficking within the UK.

Sport England has partnered with national charity the NWG Network and the Lawn Tennis Association to develop the ‘Safe to Play’ safeguarding in sports campaign, by using videos to help deliver key messages to parents, sports coaches and children about how to keep safe in sport.

Find out more about the NWG Network

Resources:

• NSPCC NSPCC 
• Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts