Protecting Safeguarding Data – A Guide For UK Sports Clubs

Safeguarding is critically important for sports organisation and their participants. That said, it can be difficult for people working in sports organisation to know how they should process and store safeguarding data. 

Safeguarding incidents often involve information relating to a traumatic or distressing event. Therefore, it is of the highest sensitivity and any breach could have severe consequences to the welfare of the individual disclosing it and/or other people.

This article discusses the key data protection principles and measures clubs should have in place to protect their safeguarding data in accordance with the law:

• Obligations under the UK GDPR

  • Lawful basis

• Safeguarding and Special Category Personal Data

• How clubs can protect their safeguarding data

  • Safe and Secure storage

  • Records of processing and Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)

  • Privacy Notice

• Data Sharing

  • Guidelines for data sharing

  • Safeguarding: Confidentiality vs Disclosure

• Protecting confidentiality and building trust

• Children’s Code of Practice