Welfare Guidance & Resources for Clubs

Last updated: 9th April 2026

This page is intended for Welfare Officers and other members of our community who support the work that we do to create safe and supported fencing environments for children and adults.

As a reminder all BF Affiliated Clubs must have an identified Club Welfare Officer in place. Please note that in Scotland this is called a Child Protection and Wellbeing Officer. The contact details of the Club Welfare Officer must be provided to British Fencing on the Club profile on the BF online platform Sport80 . This video shows how to update the Club Welfare Officer details on the club’s Sport:80 account.

BF GUIDANCE NOTES (CAN BE ADAPTED FOR CLUB USE)

Clubs in Scotland should also refer to the welfare information provided by Scottish Fencing.

Guidance on Changing and use of Changing Rooms	24/10/25
Information Sharing	09/10/25
Collection and Late Collection Policy	12/07/17
Safer Recruitment Guidance	09/09/25
Good Practice Guidelines on the use of Social Networking Sites	12/07/17
Safer Sporting Events	12/07/17
Guidelines on Staffing/Supervision Ratios for Children/Young People’s Activities	12/07/17
Transporting Children and Young People	12/07/17
Away Trips	12/07/17
Guidance on Risk Assessment	12/07/17
Managing Challenging Behaviour	06/01/25
Children travelling alone to competitions in the UK	06/02/23
Guidance Note on Breaches of Trust in Adult Safeguarding	02/02/26
Guidance on U18 International Travel Without Parents	04/02/25

CLUB WELFARE OFFICERS - ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The Club Welfare Officer must also ensure that evidence of their training (eg course certificates) has been uploaded to their personal profile on their BF online platform Sport80.

Contact details should also be displayed clearly within the club environment at every session and on the club website.

WELFARE OFFICERS IN SCHOOLS, HE/FE & UNIVERSITY CLUBS

Clubs run in institutions within the educations sector, solely for the students of that institution, will often have access to an existing Welfare or Safeguarding Officer often referred to as a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). In these circumstances it is acceptable for the club to operate within that welfare framework. The DSL contact details should be provided to BF as part of any club affiliation.

TEMPLATES AND CHECKLISTS (CAN BE ADAPTED FOR CLUB USE)

Clubs in Scotland should also refer to the welfare information provided by Scottish Fencing.

Checklist for Away Trips	24/08/2017
Incident Reporting Form	24/08/2017
Permission to go home on your own	24/08/2017
Role Description – Assistant Club Coach	24/08/2017
Role Description – Lead Coach	24/08/2017
Role Description – Welfare Officer	24/08/2017
Sample consent Forms for use of Photographs or Videos	24/08/2017
Sample Induction Programme	24/08/2017

CHILD PROTECTION IN SPORT UNIT RESOURCES

There is a wealth of resources available on the CPSU website. Including:
Safeguarding and inclusion deaf and disabled children in sport including checklist designed to help sports to support deaf and disabled athletes participating in activities within their setting and a webinar exploring how and why disabled children are additionally vulnerable to abuse, and what steps can be taken by sports organisations to safeguard them.

Homophobic and transphobic bullying in youth sport – This briefing provides a definition of homophobic and transphobic bullying, statistics and recommendations for how to prevent and respond to incidents.

ANN CRAFT TRUST RESOURCES (ADULT SAFEGUARDING)

The Ann Craft Trust provide many resources relating to adult safeguarding in sport. This includes access to training which is deliver both face to face and via E-learning

OTHERS USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

BAME Communities	This training resource from the NSPCC helps adults in black and minority ethnic (BME) communities learn about childcare practices which may be positive or harmful, and ways to keep children safe
Faith Communities	Find out how to approach safeguarding from within the beliefs, teachings and cultural context of faith communities.
Deaf and Disabled Children	Guidance on protecting d/Deaf and disabled children and young people from abuse
NSPCC Safeguarding Checklist	This NSPCC tool to help you assess what you’re already doing well, and what you need to improve to make sure all the children who come into contact with your organisation are protected. (Please note that it does not cover adults at risk)

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