A group of young people facing a coach. One is holding a basketball and wearing a black and yellow basketball jersey. The others are dress in bright t-shirts - red, blue and yellow

Sport Welfare in Action – supporting the national campaign

Date: 20 May 2026 Author: Debbie Aslin

This week, Active Partnerships and Sport England are running Sport Welfare in Action — a national campaign celebrating the work of the Sport Welfare Officer Network. Here in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, that work is led by Sue Forber and Sarah Goddard, who have supported hundreds of clubs in the last six months alone.

This week, the Active Partnerships National Organisation, Sport England, the National Lottery, the Ann Craft Trust and the NSPCC have launched Sport Welfare in Action — a national campaign celebrating the work of 63 Sport Welfare Officers working across England.

Since 2024, those Sport Welfare Officers have supported more than 5,000 clubs to build safer, more welcoming environments for everyone who takes part in sport and physical activity.

Here in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, that work is led by Sue Forber and Sarah Goddard — the two Sport Welfare Officers based at Energise Me. In the last six months alone, Sue and Sarah have:

engaged 32 National Governing Bodies, including bringing British Orienteering into the local network for the first time
given intensive support to 9 clubs, with 302 more clubs supported through light-touch advice
delivered 11 new initiatives locally, from parent workshops to an online Internet Safety forum that reached an audience as far as Canada
presented at the Hampshire Sports Clubs Conference — the first time Sport Welfare Officers have presented at a county-wide multi-sport event, with 60+ club representatives in the room
gathered 180 parent survey responses and built a willing-to-help network of more than 80 parents

Speaking after one of Sue and Sarah’s parent workshops earlier this year, one mother summed it up:

Just to be more mindful of child mental wellbeing and to look for signs. [I] Feel more validated that parents — and especially the child athletes — do have a voice, and how they are feeling matters."

Parent - Basketball England Aspire Programme

Sue and Sarah’s support is free, friendly and practical. They work with clubs of every sport and every size across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight — building welfare culture, helping Club Welfare Officers feel less alone, and standing alongside National Governing Bodies in conversations with parents

Get involved this week

The national Sport Welfare in Action campaign runs from Monday 18 to Friday 22 May, with themed days for clubs, National Governing Bodies, Sport England and inclusive sport. Toolkits, factsheets, posters and social graphics are free to download from the Active Partnerships website.

Follow the campaign using #SportWelfareInAction.