Sector-Wide Safeguarding Reform Is Coming – But We’re Already Ahead

Hi there,

Sport England, alongside all five UK Sports Councils, has today released the final report of the Safe Sport Project — a sector-wide roadmap for reforming how safeguarding, welfare, and complaint handling are managed across all levels of UK sport.

The report calls for sweeping changes, including the creation of a new independent leadership body, a unified national safeguarding framework, and an independent complaints and resolution service. It challenges sports bodies to shift away from reactive, legalistic systems and toward a more preventative, person-centred, trauma-informed approach.

This marks a major turning point for UK sport — but for BMABA, it’s a direction we’ve already been travelling for years.

Many of the report’s most ambitious proposals are systems and values we already have in place. These include:

• A fully transparent, public-facing Instructor Verification Register
• Club-wide vetting and licensing oversight through our Club Colours programme
• Comprehensive compliance checks across DBS, insurance, safeguarding, and first aid
• The Regulation Ready framework, which maps and verifies DSL, SENCO, and other key safeguarding leadership roles
• Dedicated, qualified internal safeguarding oversight within our organisation
• Independent external audits and professional reviews to ensure our standards remain robust and credible
• Proactive investment in trauma-informed coaching and inclusive safeguarding training

While many organisations are just beginning to prepare for the standards this report outlines, we’re already delivering on them. We welcome the Safe Sport vision and will continue working to ensure our community-led martial arts sector is recognised, respected, and part of this national conversation.

For our instructors and clubs, this means you can continue focusing on delivering safe, inclusive martial arts — knowing your affiliation with BMABA keeps you not only compliant, but ahead of the curve.

Read and comment on the full report in MyBMABA;