Working with welfare officers to create a safer sport: Jemma Arbon's story

A well-structured committee is vital to the smooth running of any athletics or running club, and we are working with affiliated clubs up and down the country to ensure that their offering is fun and safe for all participants through appointing welfare officers before April 2025.

In addition to being an East Midlands Regional Councillor, Jemma Arbon is also a coach and the lead welfare officer for her club, Mansfield Harriers. We caught up with Jemma to learn more about being a welfare officer, what it entails, and how much she enjoys playing a key role in her club.

Keeping children and adults safe in our sport

A common myth amongst clubs is that welfare officers only need to be appointed if they are running child or youth sessions, but this is not the case as Jemma explains:

"I originally became the welfare officer at Mansfield Harriers to help the young athletes I coached, but it has evolved to a much bigger role. One main challenge at Mansfield is that we have a wide variety of children and adults from different backgrounds and sometimes we are running sessions where both children and adults are training together so part of our duty of care is keeping all ages safe.

"I try to get involved in a lot of different areas and be really present within the club. I will turn up on training nights when I am not coaching so that people know I am about and they can approach me. On club nights I try and chat to parents as you would a friend, and let them know that I am there if there are problems arising."

Trained to tackle challenging conversations

Whether you are already a welfare officer or are considering taking that leap for the first time, England Athletics are here to support you every step of the way. We have two dedicated safeguarding courses for clubs who have adults or under 18s which will give you comprehensive training over a three hour virtual workshop.

"When I started the role I did the Time To Listen course online (now Child Welfare course), and there were six welfare officers and the tutor in the session. The session was fantastic, the enthusiasm from the tutor to spread the message about keeping children and young adults safe was phenomenal and I learned a lot. As well as this, I have done some area training through my Regional Council about how to deal with conflict. This has been really useful and valuable to sit with other clubs in the local area and listen to issues that have arisen for them which possibly could affect us in the future, and how they dealt with it."

Putting it into practice

Learning all about the key components of being a welfare officer is great, but putting what you have learned in to practice is where it becomes important, something which Jemma finds really rewarding:

"I think the biggest part of the role as a welfare officer is that the swifter we move and keep people on both sides engaged then we can make sure no problems escalate. The role can be a challenge at times, often you are dealing with some confrontation or something which is a bit uncomfortable to talk about but it is important to set an example of how we interact as a club community.

"Lots of different problems do come up, some of which we can mediate through informal chats. Some issues have had to be escalated a bit higher which has involved us using England Athletics as a real support. It is always useful to have somebody who I can talk to as welfare officer at England Athletics and so I have felt really supported through them.

"The role is really enjoyable in terms of the satisfaction it gives and that I am helping my club out. At Mansfield we have a male and a female welfare officer and working together as part of a team really does help whether you need to use them as a sounding board or to prepare together ahead of meetings."

Top tips for new welfare officers

It can be intimidating taking on any new role at a club, but Jemma has some top tips to help you on you way:

1. Don't worry about whether you have the skills yet, the training provided is fantastic and the ongoing support from England Athletics is really valuable.
2. Shadow the current welfare officer, if there is not yet a welfare officer at your club, try and find a local club that do have one in place and they will be able to support you with any questions you may have.
3. Join your committee so you can get a broader understanding of your club, and understand any issues which have arisen in the past.