A government report has identified multiple safeguarding risks at “out-of-school settings” (OOSS), which include sports clubs, tuition centres and uniformed youth groups attended by millions of children across England every week, prompting calls for better oversight of the sector.
Some children were judged to be in “immediate danger” due to unsafe premises, unchecked staff and inappropriate practices, including verbal abuse, physical chastisement, inappropriate sexual behaviour, grooming and reports of child sexual abuse.
The report raised concerns about the risk of convicted sex offenders working in out-of-school settings as well as the risk of radicalisation through the sharing of extremist material with children. It also highlighted inappropriate use of social media, with staff befriending children and sending them private messages.
The findings follow an 18-month pilot study in 16 council areas, commissioned and funded by the Department for Education (DfE), to look into safeguarding risks in the OOSS sector and the effectiveness of the powers available to local authorities to deal with them.
