Whyte Review: update on 19 commitments

Sport England and UK Sport, who jointly commissioned the Whyte Review to look into systemic abuse in gymnastics in Britain, have provided an update on the 19 policy commitments we made in 2023.

These commitments aim to drive the highest standards of safeguarding, wellbeing and integrity in the governance, policy and culture of sport, so that everyone can have safe and enjoyable experiences.

Two years on, Sport England and UK Sport are positive about what has been achieved but remain focused on what still needs to be delivered.

The status of each policy commitment is available in the document below.

Whyte Review - status update on 19 commitments Download the file - 171.54 KB

Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, and Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport, said in a joint statement:

"The Whyte Review was a major turning point for sport. Change was necessary and urgent, and everyone involved in our community – from volunteers to coaches to leaders at national governing bodies – needed to contribute to that change.

"We are pleased with the progress made on the 19 commitments so far. Collaboration has been a critical part of this progress, and it has been encouraging to see the way that a diverse range of organisations have worked together to create a safer sport sector for all. We are also confident that, in the last decade, a greater focus on wellbeing has significantly improved the culture in sport.

"But we cannot be complacent; there is still more to do. Safeguarding in sport is an ongoing priority and the Safe Sport project has established a vision for UK-wide leadership in this area. We will keep pushing for the high standards needed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of every child, young person and adult involved in sport."

Safer environments for participants/ensuring they have a voice

A national network of 63 local Sport Welfare Officers has been set up, embedded within Active Partnerships to support national governing bodies of sport (NGBs) and clubs by promoting good practice and safe sport at a local level.

Sport England partnered with the NWG Network – a network of over 20,000 practitioners working on child protection in the UK and across the world – to create a suite of training resources, informed by people with lived experience of abuse within sport; these resources have been accessed more than 5,000 times.

Coaching/workforce support

The child-first movement and campaign, Play Their Way, continues to have a major positive impact by helping coaches support children to enjoy sport and physical activity. Now, more than two-thirds of coaches (67%) are using child-first practices.

Additionally, core standards for every coaching role, at all levels, have been established. Real progress has been made on setting up a national coaches register but this is a particularly complex piece of work that is taking longer in the pilot phase than anticipated. However, it is essential to take the time necessary to get it right.

Performance athlete support

Athlete input into policy making, integrated athlete voice and representation, and the creation of comprehensive and holistic inductions for those on high-performance programmes, has been the focus of this area of work.

Recently retired GB and England hockey captain Hollie Pearne-Webb chairs an Athlete Advisory Forum, which includes athletes from across summer, winter, Olympic and Paralympic sports. The Forum, which is hosted by the British Elite Athletes Association, plays a critical role in helping to shape high-performance system policies, including the recent review of the Athlete Performance Award Framework.

Good governance

All funded NGBs in receipt of significant investment from Sport England and/or UK Sport now have a Board lead for welfare and safety work, demonstrating that safeguarding is at the top of the leadership agenda. We continue to provide governance guidance, training and development opportunities to NGBs too.

The UK-wide Safe Sport project demonstrates the appetite for systemic change that sports have and the ambition to drive this change forward.

Dispute resolution

Since 2019, the Safeguarding Case Management Programme has been in place, in partnership with Sport Resolutions. Six years on, the programme has delivered free expert support to nearly 50 NGBs while, in the high-performance space, all UK Sport-funded NGBs are signed up to use Sport Integrity, the independent complaints and investigative service.

What our partners say

Dave Humphrey, head of safeguarding and integrity, LTA

"The LTA has been very supportive of the work that Sport England and UK Sport have been doing in this space, and we believe that the work done so far to implement these proposals will benefit all sports.

"In particular, we have long cited the benefits of a network of Welfare Officers working to support venues and volunteers across the country, something we brought in within tennis in 2018."

Stephen Park CBE, performance director, Great Britain Cycling Team

"The progress made on the 19 commitments since 2023 has been really positive and something we as a sport have committed to wholly.

"A person-first approach to our athletes and staff is vital for sport’s long-term sustainability and we are proud to be providing more well-being support than ever before. We will keep pushing for progress across all levels of the sport.”

Kelly Sotherton MBE, CEO, British Elite Athletes Association

"We welcome this update from Sport England and UK Sport, and we recognise their continued commitment to safeguarding, wellbeing and integrity standards since the Whyte Review.

"Change on this scale takes time, and we’re encouraged that both organisations have acknowledged that safety and wellbeing must remain priorities across sport.

"As the independent, representative body for Britain’s elite athletes, we believe the high-performance system should uphold the highest standards of athlete welfare, and that athletes should have meaningful input into decisions that affect them.

"We will continue to work constructively with UK Sport to ensure that progress on athlete safety, wellbeing and representation is reflected in athletes’ day-to-day experience."

Georgina Usher, CEO, British Fencing

"British Fencing welcomes the publication of this update and reaffirms our commitment to working with our volunteers and members and our cross-sector colleagues to deliver on the policy commitments.

"As a sector we’ve made great progress, but there’s still more to be done."

Sara Niblock, director of operations, Cricket Regulator

"Nothing is more important than keeping people – especially children and vulnerable people – safe in our sport. Working with the Sport Welfare Officers we’ve been able to run three pilot projects looking at how to build on the safeguarding work already in place across cricket and go even further in ensuring safe environments.

"This has already proved valuable, helping give children a voice in shaping their cricket experience, engage parents, and prevent violence against women and girls.

"We will continue to work with Sport England and other stakeholders and learn from best practice and from those with lived experiences as we continually develop our safeguarding work."

Learn more

Whyte Review