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18 September 2025  2 min read

Safeguarding Awareness Week: Day four - safeguarding adults

Safeguarding in sports generally refers to the practices and policies put in place to protect the well-being, safety, and rights of participants, especially vulnerable individuals, within the sporting environment.

While this is most often discussed in the context of children, safeguarding is equally important for adults, particularly when it comes to those who may be vulnerable due to disabilities, mental health issues, or other factors.

BE’s Head of Integrity, Lois Harrison, and BE's North West Manager Kate Lewis sat down with Joanna Pell, safeguarding adults in sport manager from Anne Craft Trust (ACT) to talk all things safeguarding adults.

In the conversation they covered:

• Why should those involved in sport consider their role in safeguarding adults
• Who are we safeguarding? Only adults at risk? Adults with care and support needs? What’s the difference?
• How does this differ to safeguarding children?
• What are the national trends for sport that clubs/organisations and members within them need to be aware of?
• What can clubs and we do to support welfare of adults as opposed to safeguarding adults?
• What can ACT offer in terms of support to these clubs/organisations/members?

LINK TO WATCH

Want to know more?

Here are some key resources and more info from important organisations:

• Adults at Risk
• Ann Craft Trust: Safeguarding Adults
• Respond: Supporting the lives of people with learning disabilities and autism
• Welcome to Hourglass: A charity who work to prevent the harm, abuse and exploitation of older people