Guides · updated 20 August 2026
Safeguarding basics for a small kids' club
Safeguarding guidance is mostly written for schools and reads that way. This is the version for a two-coach football club or a one-studio dance school: the floor you should not operate below, in plain terms, with the official sources linked so you can go deeper.
The named person, even if it is you
Every setting needs one named person responsible for safeguarding, and in a small club that is usually the owner. Naming yourself is not a formality: it means you are the one who follows up a concern, keeps the record and makes the call to the local authority when a call is needed. Write the name where parents and staff can see it.
The government's code of practice for out-of-school settings sets out what providers should have in place, and it is written for exactly this kind of club. It is the single best document to work through once.
DBS checks, done before the first session
An enhanced DBS check is available for roles working with children, and anyone teaching or supervising children in your club should have one you have actually seen. The trap in small clubs is the helpful parent who becomes a regular helper without anyone deciding they are now staff: decide, and check.
A policy you follow beats a policy you downloaded
One page is enough if it is true: who the safeguarding lead is, how adults in the club behave (lifts, messaging children, physical contact in coaching), what happens when a concern is raised, and how children are collected at the end. The collection rule matters most in practice: who can take a child home, and what you do when an unknown adult arrives at pick-up.
The register is part of safeguarding
Who is in the room, their medical notes and their emergency contacts belong together, with the person running the session, at the session. If a child has an allergy or a seizure plan, the coach at the door needs to see it at the door, not in a folder in a car.
When a child tells you something
Listen, do not promise secrecy, write down what was said in the child's words as soon as you can, and pass it to the safeguarding lead the same day. The lead's job is to contact the local authority's children's services where the concern warrants it, not to investigate. The NSPCC's guidance covers this well, and their helpline exists for exactly the moment you are unsure.
Fair questions
Do volunteers need DBS checks?
If they regularly teach or supervise children, treat them as staff and get the enhanced check. Occasional helpers working under your direct supervision are a judgement call; the safe default in a small club is to check anyone who is a regular.
Do parents need to be checked?
No. Parents watching their own child's session are not staff. The line is responsibility: the moment someone is left responsible for other people's children, they are on your side of it.
Where these figures come from
- The Department for Education's code of practice for out-of-school settings sets out the safeguarding arrangements providers should have in place. Source
- UK government guidance on DBS checks, including enhanced checks for roles working with children. Source
- The NSPCC's safeguarding and child protection guidance for organisations that work with children. Source
Checked 20 August 2026. If anything here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
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