Welfare Training Requirements

Here you will find a list of Welfare training that members in the BF Workforce register (coaches, welfare officers, and team managers) need to undertake.

The schedule of upcoming BF courses can be found here and additional courses will be run on-demand, so please contact us here if you can’t find a suitable course in your area. Some of the required courses are delivered by external providers, the pages where you can get more information about them are linked here as well.

Don’t forget that in order for us to review and recognise your qualifications you will need to upload your own certificates to the Sport80 membership platform – instructions can be found at the bottom of the page.

Topics

1. Club or Event Welfare Officers

2. Coaches

3. Team Managers

4. Validity of certificates 

5. When is the BF Online Renewal SPC course accepted?

6. Uploading certificates to the Sport80 membership platform

1. Club or Event Welfare Officers

England and Wales

1. UK Coaching Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport workshop (the online classroom version of this course is accepted as an equivalent) or BF Online Renewal Safeguarding & Protecting Children Course (Fencing Specific)
2. BF En Garde!…Ready?
3. BF Welfare Officer Training or CPSU Time to Listen

Scotland

1. sportscotland Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport Training or BF Online Renewal Safeguarding & Protecting Children Course (Fencing Specific)
2. BF En Garde!…Ready?
3. sportscotland Child Wellbeing and Protection Officer Training (CWPO).

Northern Ireland

1. Sport NI Safeguarding Children & Young People Workshop or BF Online Renewal Safeguarding & Protecting Children Course (Fencing Specific)
2. BF En Garde!…Ready?
3. Sport NI Designated Safeguarding Officer Training

Additional Welfare Officer training

Welfare Officers are encouraged to continuously seek additional learning opportunities and CPD training. Organisations such as the CPSU have online resources and events that Welfare Officers should explore to supplement their mandatory training described above.

2. Coaches

England and Wales: UK Coaching Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport workshop. The online classroom version of this course is accepted as an equivalent.

Scotland: sportscotland Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport Training

Northern Ireland: Sport NI Safeguarding Children & Young People Workshop

Other Coaching training requirements: Click here to see other minimum requirements that coaches must complete to become or remain registered (such as First Aid, coaching qualification, etc).

3. Team Managers

England and Wales

1. UK Coaching Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sportworkshop. The online classroom versionof this course is accepted as an equivalent.
2. BF Welfare Officer Training
3. TM 1&2 (Club Level) or TM 3 (GBR Level – this is instead of TM 1&2, not as well as).

Scotland

1. sportscotland Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport Training
2. BF Welfare Officer Training or sportscotland Child Wellbeing and Protection Officer Training (CWPO)
3. TM 1&2 (Club Level) or TM 3 (GBR Level – this is instead of TM 1&2, not as well as).

Northern Ireland

1. Sport NI Safeguarding Children & Young People Workshop
2. BF Welfare Officer Training or Sport NI Designated Safeguarding Officer Training
3. TM 1&2 (Club Level) or TM 3 (GBR Level – this is instead of TM 1&2, not as well as).

4. Validity of certificates

All the certificates are valid for 3 years after the date of issue, meaning the training needs to be renewed before that period.

The only exception is the En Garde Ready? certificate, which does not expire. Although it is not mandatory training to renew this training periodically, we encourage participants to do so as a refresher.

5. When is the BF Online Renewal SPC course accepted?

If you are new in any of the BF Workforce registers, you need necessarily to complete one of the full Safeguarding courses (UK Coaching Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport / sportscotland Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport Training / Sport NI Safeguarding Children & Young People Workshop). In this case, the renewal course is not accepted.

The BF renewal course is accepted when you have completed one of the full courses and need to update your Safeguarding requirement.

Important: the renewal course must be completed no later than 3 months after the expiry date of the full course certificate. Example:

• You achieved your full course certificate on 1st March 2020
• This certificate is expiring on 1st March 2023
• BF will accept your BF Online Renewal SPC certificate if it has been. achieved by 1st June 2023
• If you missed this timeframe, you will be required to complete a full training again

Another implication of this rule is that you cannot fulfill your Safeguarding requirement with two subsequent renewal certificates. Example:

• In 2020, BF accepted your full course certificate
• In 2023, BF accepted your renewal course certificate
• In 2026, you need to present another full course certificate

6. Uploading certificates to the Sport80 membership platform

Once you have your certificates, it is crucial that you upload them to your Sport80 membership profile, as this is the information that we rely on to update the workforce registers. Currently, many welfare officers on the published register are shown as non-compliant because there is no evidence in the system of attending any welfare courses. Besides, having your certificates on the platform ensures you will receive reminders that you need to update your training when the expiry date is near (from 3 months before).

After you upload a certificate, the Development team will be notified by Sport80 and will review the document. If it is valid, your certificate will be approved. If your certificate hasn’t been approved within 14 days, for support or if you have an urgent request, please email the BF Development Team.

Click here to watch a short tutorial on how to upload certificates on the Sport80 membership platform. You will need to follow these steps:

• Login to Sport80 and go to your profile page.
• Click on ‘Safeguarding’ in the vertical menu.
• Click on the button ‘Add Safeguarding’
• For non-mandatory training, select ‘Other Safeguarding Qualification’
• For mandatory training, select ‘Safeguarding Qualification’ and then choose the qualification type from the dropdown as follows:

• Club Welfare 1:
  • • BF En Garde Ready?
• Club Welfare 2:
  • • BF Club Welfare Officer Traning
    • CPSU Time To Listen
    • sportscotland Child Wellbeing and Protection Officer Training
    • Sport NI Designated Safeguarding Officer Training
• Safeguarding in Sport:
  • • UK Coaching Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport
    • sportscotland Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport Training
    • Sport NI Safeguarding Children & Young People Workshop
• Safeguarding in Sport Refresher: 
  • • BF Online Renewal SPC