The Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) was established to work with sports organisations to provide support and advice on developing child protection policies and procedures in order to help them safeguard children and young people.

The Standards for Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport provide sports organisations with a framework, helping them to create a safe sporting environment. The standards provide a benchmark and Sport England under the guidance of the Child Protection in Sport Unit has been working with National Governing Bodies of Sport and County Sports Partnerships to help them achieve the foundation and intermediate standards by March 2008 and advanced level by March 2009.

The purpose of the standards are:

• To help create a safe sporting environment fro children and young people and protect them from harm.
• To provide a benchmark to assist those involved in sport to make informed decisions.
• To promote good practice and challenge practice that is harmful to children.

Sport England South East, in partnership with the region's seven County Sports Partnerships and the Child Protection in Sport Unit, has generated a strong regional network to push forward towards achieving these standards. The Child Protection lead officers from each of the CSPs are driving the work of the partnership towards the standards, especially the recently-added Standard 10, Influencing.

Standard 10 reflects the changes within sport and the growing role some sports organisations, especially CSPs, have in influencing the delivery of local sports. Full details about all the Standards for Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport are available here.

Links to the relevant Child Protection pages from each of the County Sports Partnerships websites can be found below:

Berkshire Sport

Bucks Sport

Sport Hampshire and IOW:

Oxfordshire Sports Partnership

Active Surrey Sports Partnership

Sussex County Sports Partnership

Kent Active Sports Partnership