Meet our Sport Welfare Officers
Sarah Baylis and Richard Steele are our Sport Welfare Officers.
Sarah Baylis is the sports welfare manager for North of Tyne, across Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland.
Richard Steele is sport welfare manager for South of Tyne, covering South Tyneside, Sunderland and Gateshead.
Contact details:
Sarah: sarah.baylis@wearerise.co.uk or 07933 519864
Richard: richard.steele@wearerise.co.uk or 07526 511841
Get involved
Sarah and Richard will be hosting a virtual welcome event in September.
If you're based in the North East and are involved in a sports club or community activity - especially if you’re a Club Welfare Officer or work in safeguarding and welfare - this event is for you!
Our role
Sarah and Richard will offer:
Support – they can help club welfare officers to create a safer culture within their organisation.
Training – they can provide, or signpost to, training for staff/volunteers in person or via Teams on a variety of sport-specific and safeguarding topics.
Auditing – they can help to ensure clubs are meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements set out by National Governing Bodies.
Signposting – they can direct clubs to appropriate services and sources of support.
Networks – they can make connections for people to share news, information and best practice.
Events – they can attend events to raise awareness of safeguarding and wellbeing amongst participants, parents and carers.
We are part of the national network of Sport Welfare Officers that contributes towards the Uniting the Movement strategy and is one of Sport England’s commitments in the policy response to the Whyte Review, published by Sport England and UK Sport.
We are working with National Governing Bodies (NGB’s) and key partners, such as the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit and Ann Craft Trust, to develop a new local approach to assisting and supporting club welfare officers, to create safer club environments and improved experiences for young people and adults. We are working with local sports clubs and activity providers to assist volunteers to share best practice to help prevent concerns, making sport and activity safe for everyone.
It is not our role to advise on or manage concerns – all concerns must be referred without delay in accordance with National Governing Body / Club Safeguarding Policy.