Choosing the right team/club, understanding how they will communicate with your child and what you can expect from their time in motorsport, is important. We are providing this guidance to help you know what to look out for, what questions to ask, what you can do to help and who can help within a team or club.

What can you expect?

All Motorsport UK affiliated clubs and championships must have a Child Safeguarding Policy and Club/Championship Safeguarding Officer who has been suitability checked. For a full list of roles who are required to complete a suitability check, please see our Safer Recruitment page.

What can parents/carers do?

It’s important to know who’s helping your child be involved in motorsport, understand what’s expected of your child and in turn how you and other officials are expected to behave. A well-run club, championship or event will be happy to share with you how they run things, so please don’t hesitate to ask. As a guide here are some questions you could ask:

• Who is the club safeguarding officer and how can I contact them?
• How can I get a copy of club/championship safeguarding policy?
• What should I do if I have a complaint?
• Do you have a club/championship code of conduct and where can I view them?
• Is my child’s coach or team manager DBS/PVG checked with Motorsport UK?
• Has my child’s coach or team manager completed the safeguarding awareness module with Motorsport UK?
• How will they communicate with me and my child?

How do I choose a club, team or coach for my child?

Many parents whose children take part in motor sport activities and competitions employ individuals or subscribe to teams to help with the car performance and driving development. Providing this form of support and guidance for your child can help them to build on skills, knowledge and confidence, as well as building on their enjoyment for the sport. For the purpose of this guidance we will use the term coach however in motorsport many use the term mechanic, coach or engine builder.

When choosing any club, team, or in choosing individual coaching, it is important that parents are confident that their children will be safe and happy. The Parent/Carer Guide to choosing a Club, Team or Coach is designed to help support parents or carers making these decisions.