In 2024, it’ll be three years since having a safeguarding qualification was added to the requirements for the License to Coach.

This requirement, like the first aid qualification, needs refreshing every three years. As there are a large number of coaches who are due to renew in the next couple of months, this is a reminder of the safeguarding criteria and how coaches can update this part for another three years.

To satisfy the safeguarding requirement of the license, a coach needs to have initially taken a tutor led safeguarding course. There is a slight variation in Scotland, so please see the license to coach page for more information.

After completing the initial tutor led course, a coach needs to do a refresher every three years. This refresher can be either an online eLearning module or another tutor led course.

Safeguarding courses undertaken do not need to be those organised by British Orienteering and can be taken within other institutions, such as within a school.

There is a slight variation in Scotland in that three years has now passed since the first CWPS courses there. SOA are monitoring who needs a course there and will be in touch. In addition, Sport Scotland also sends out a notification that renewal of the CWPS course is required before it expires and there is a 3-month grace period, but this renewal can only be done once when the course expires before another full CWPS course is required (i.e. after 6 years if the CWPS course and renewal are completed).

If a coach is looking for a refresher course, an option is to complete British Orienteering’s ‘Introducing Safeguarding’ eLearning module. This can be accessed here. The link to the Scotland CWPS refresher course is here.

For those who have completed a course that is not the BOF eLearning course, to update their membership records, a copy of the completion certificate needs sending to us. The three years will be taken from the date on the certificate.

If you need to check if this or other qualifications need updated, you should log onto the British Orienteering website, ‘my account’ and ‘my qualifications’.

For more information on the requirements of the coaching licence, including the safeguarding information, please check our website: https://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/licenced_coaches

Additional safeguarding courses available can be found below. These are both BOF courses and external ones.

https://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/Safeguarding_resources_and_training