Releasing the Power of our Profession: Standards for Deployment and Risk-based Regulation

Our Strategy, Releasing the Power of our Profession, sets out CIMSPA’s commitment to delivering individual and collective professional recognition for those working in the sport and physical activity sector. The sector workforce makes an immense contribution to the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the population, to social cohesion, to the engagement of everyone in communities and to the economic prosperity of the country.

In our latest deep dive blog, Spencer Moore, Chief Strategy Officer at CIMSPA, discusses the role that standards for deployment and risk-based regulation could have for the sector, the benefits that they bring for professionals, employers, deployers and participants, and crucially, how they are the underpinning foundations for achieving greater professional recognition for the sector.

Across a number of sectors, standards for deployment have a crucial role in ensuring that the workforce is performing and delivering services that meet a consistent level of quality, safety and effectiveness. Industries such as healthcare, education, professional services and many more, utilise a standards for deployment policy as a sector wide set of established guidelines or protocols which set out the requirements for an individual carrying out a certain occupational role or delivering a certain type of activity.

So what are standards for deployment in practice and what do they mean in our sector?

Ultimately, standards for deployment offer a policy and framework to ensure that whoever is carrying a certain occupational role and delivering an activity, they have met a set of criteria to ensure that they carry out the role or activity safely, effectively and to a consistent level of quality. This means that participants and employers have greater confidence that the professional is ‘doing the right thing’ and provides greater recognition of the professional that they are engaging with because they know that they are a competent professional.

Different sectors build different requirements into their standards for deployment policies, but typically they include many of the following:

• Qualifications and/or accredited training that meets industry defined professional standards.
• Membership of designated professional bodies, associations and/or governing bodies which have a requirement for members to complete ongoing professional development.
• Insurance to a designated level, which becomes cyclical as insurers can insist that professionals and employers commit to standards for deployment to maintain a policy.
• Safeguarding training to a defined standard with a commitment to refresher training.
• A nationally recognised criminal records check.
• A commitment to update training in topics which industry deems essential for ongoing safe practice, for example First Aid.
• Acceptance and a commitment to adhere to certain policies usually in relation to a code of conduct, health and safety, safeguarding, disclosure, EDI, risk assessments, standard operating procedures, safeguarding etc.

In the sport and physical activity sector, to achieve greater recognition for the workforce and demonstrate that professionals working in the sector are delivering a consistent, quality, safe service, standards for deployment have to become an essential part of our operation.

By allowing participants, parents, employers and deployers to have the confidence that they are engaging with a professional that can demonstrate that they have met an industry defined policy and framework, a clear distinction is created between the service that they will receive from that professional in comparison to an individual who is offering a service but who has not demonstrated a commitment to meeting the defined standards for deployment.

This elevates the recognition, status and demand for those committed professionals. It also lowers risk - participants, employers, and insurers know that a professional who has met the relevant standard for deployment policy is more likely to deliver a safe, quality, consistent service and experience.

Applying standards for deployment policies across our sector will have far reaching benefits.

Through the application of professional standards, set by the sector, we have made a start through enabling professionals and employers to identify and select training and qualifications that will deliver the skills and knowledge that is needed by a certain occupational role. Standards for deployment policies use professional standards as a means of differentiating training and qualification requirements – if a standards for deployment policy requires a professional to have completed a qualification or training that meets a professional standard, it then means that the individual has skills and knowledge to that recognised standard and that they are able to deliver a consistent, quality, safe experience.

Participant safety and risk is a key factor in the need for a standards for deployment policy. Being able to identify that a professional has completed a qualification or training that meets a professional standard is only one part of the jigsaw. Their knowledge from that learning will tell them how to prevent injuries etc., but there is a need for ongoing updating of that knowledge as research on injury prevention evolves.

Equally, safeguarding knowledge is essential in what professionals in our sector do. Regardless of occupational role, a standard level of understanding of appropriate behaviour, recognising situations and the appropriate actions should an issue be witnessed, disclosed or suspected, it absolutely crucial for ensuring that participants can have safe, enjoyable experiences.

In consultations, stakeholders such as insurance providers are stating the importance of standards for deployment policies for the future of the sector particularly when considered as part of a risk-based regulation approach.

The fact that our sector is hugely diverse in terms of the types of activities that take place, the greatly varying environments, the broad range of participants, the different occupational roles and organisations involved, means that we have to consider a risk-based approach to ensure safety, compliance and efficiency. Risk-based regulation offers an effective approach in managing these responsibilities, ensuring that regulatory oversight is proportionate to the risks involved in different occupational roles and activities within the sector.

A risk-based regulation approach focuses on assessing and managing risks that may impact areas such as workforce safety, public welfare, and sector integrity and reputation. In sport and physical activity, this framework is especially important due to the sector’s diverse and dynamic nature. From community based organisations to elite-level sports, the risks involved can range from physical injuries during training to safeguarding concerns and even data protection. A one-size-fits-all regulatory approach is completely impractical given the highly varied risks.

By adopting risk-based regulation approach, sector bodies and employers can allocate resources more effectively, concentrating on areas where risks are higher. For instance, contact sports, where the likelihood of injury is greater, may require tighter standards, oversight and safety protocols compared to non-contact activities like yoga. Similarly, organisations working with vulnerable populations, such as children or individuals with disabilities, may need to meet higher safeguarding standards than those working with adult populations. Activity which is delivered on a one-to-one basis and/or in an isolated location, should have different considerations to group activities in a public place.

As the nature of sport and physical activity evolves, so too do the risks associated with them. Risk-based regulation allows for a more flexible approach, ensuring that new and emerging risks, such as those related to discoveries in injury medicine, technology or data protection, can be managed effectively without stifling innovation.

While a risk-based approach to regulation offers many benefits, it also presents certain challenges. One of the primary concerns is ensuring consistency across the sector. Without clear guidance on how risks are assessed and managed, there is a risk that some organisations may face inconsistent or disproportionate regulatory pressures. This is why standards for deployment policies are so important.

Smaller organisations may struggle to implement risk-based regulatory frameworks, particularly if they lack the resources for risk assessments and compliance monitoring. Again, standards for deployment which are consistent, not necessarily identical, across different bodies, sports, activities and occupational roles help to address this and as a sector we must ensure that clear, accessible guidance is provided, particularly for grassroots and community-based professionals and organisations that form the foundation of the sector.

So where are we at the moment?

In consultation with stakeholders, CIMSPA has created a standards for deployment framework which can be used to guide governing and professional bodies that are creating standards for deployment policies. Using a risk based approach, bodies can use this as the basis for defining criteria for each occupational role and activity type within their remit. By using the framework we can ensure greater consistency across the sector with trying to apply a one-size-fits-all approach. You can find out more about the standards for deployment online and we welcome feedback and suggestions as we progress this work.