As we come to the end of the Parents In Sport Week (October 5-11), organised by NSPCC, you may have seen various videos on our social media channels, where The New Saints FC Women players have contributed.

Below, Andy Williams, our manager, shares his own thoughts.

As an educator and teacher of more than thirty years, I can appreciate better than most the advantages of being involved in sports when growing up. The children I have been fortunate to support have often listed fun, friendships and fitness as three of the main reasons for them wanting to take part. 

I have learned that sport offers much more than that including developing necessary life skills whilst benefiting from a range of wider childhood experiences. However, importantly I have learned that these benefits can only be obtained if the environment I can create as the coach is right. I see safeguarding as the absolute priority within my work to ensure the children and players who I serve can flourish. 

The NSPCC Parents in Sport Week is an incredibly important campaign as it helps to remind me as a coach, parent and interested volunteer of the importance played by safeguarding when dealing with children and young people in my care.  I am constantly updating my safeguarding training and raising my awareness around the core principles for keeping children safe to ensure we do the best we possibly can at The New Saints FC. There are plenty of invaluable courses out there, but the materials that the NSPCC has published to support this campaign are most useful and easily accessible to all of those involved in children’s sport. I would like to thank the NSPCC for bringing this issue to our attention this week and encourage anyone reading this to look deeper into safeguarding.