Month: February 2023

Following the delivery of several ‘pilot’ workshops delivered during 2021, Sport England has commissioned LimeCulture to deliver a series of strategic workshops for CEO’s, Senior Leaders and Board Members to support their knowledge and understanding of integrating safeguarding at a strategic level across sport.

‘Embedding Safeguarding into Strategy’ is a half day workshop, designed to complement the Lead Safeguarding Officer Development Programme, and equip Leaders with the knowledge and skills to ensure safeguarding underpins the services and programs delivered across their sport through:

• Highlighting the key overarching legislative duties for safeguarding in sport, and the importance,
• Exploring how safeguarding sits within a sporting organisation’s mission and values, and why,
• Considering the prevalence of abuse in sport from recent research,
• Describing the purpose of a strategic plan and the requirement for safeguarding to be a key factor,
• Recognising the importance of budgeting for a safeguarding provision.

Annabel Timmins, Head of Safeguarding in Sport at LimeCulture said:

“We are delighted to be in a position to deliver these important Strategic Workshops to all National Governing Bodies. Safeguarding is a priority for all sports, but their approaches to safeguarding have varied – they are often reactive and managed at an operational level. We need to ensure that safeguarding is a key priority at the highest possible level of sport.  These workshops present the perfect opportunity to deliver consistent messages about the importance of safeguarding to Sport’s senior leaders, driving change from the top”

Brett Bader from Rounders England tweeted his positive feedback:

“Thank you LimeCulture for leading the Strategic Safeguarding Training for Rounders England Board. Very helpful, productive and thought provoking. Identifying strengths and areas to create a preventative culture. Creating the right experiences to enjoy the game.”

 Andy Salmon CEO at British Triathlon shared his feedback:

“At British Triathlon, we got a great deal from the LimeCulture Safeguarding Workshop. Whilst the session was very informative, the facilitator was also adept at challenging us to be the best we could be. We left the session feeling that it was a really good investment in such a critical area of our activity.”

LimeCulture’s Strategic Safeguarding Workshops are available free of charge to all National Governing Bodies in England who receive funding from Sport England. For further information about the Strategic Workshops please email Annabel.timmins@limeculture.co.uk

LimeCulture is delighted to announce the Independent Accreditation Programme is now accepting applications for the 11^th wave of services seeking accreditation against the Male Survivors Partnership (MSP)’s Quality Standards for Services Supporting Male Victims/Survivors of Sexual Violence.

The Wave 11 application window will close on Monday 27^th March. 

The Quality Standards were developed in 2017 in collaboration with commissioners, service providers and male victims/survivors, who shared their personal experiences of support and what they want and need from the services they access.

The Independent Accreditation Programme allows organisations to benchmark the quality of their provision for male victims/survivors of sexual violence against these nationally recognised Quality Standards, giving themselves, their clients and commissioners confidence in the services they deliver.

Becky Jones, CEO of Axis Counselling said:

 “Having seen the benefits of having LimeCulture accredited ISVA and ChISVA services, and being an organisation who feel strongly about ensuring that male survivors have the right support, we decided that the natural next step would be to put both our ISVA and Counselling services through the Male Quality Standards.

 The process of becoming accredited helped us to improve what we were already doing to support male clients. For us, reviewing what we were already doing, measuring it against a set standard, and making improvements where needed, was reason enough to take part in the programme. To gain the accreditation, and be able to advertise that we have it, is a bonus, particularly when we are reaching out to male clients, to hopefully help instil confidence in them that we are an organisation that they can trust. In addition, when applying for funding, particularly male-specific funding, having the accreditation is a real bonus.”

Sam Whyte, Director of Sexual Violence Services at LimeCulture said:

 “We’re excited to support a new cohort of services through the Independent Accreditation Programme to join the 43 services already holding the Quality Mark, and see once again how their dedication and commitment to recognising gender-based needs makes a real and tangible difference to the lives of the male victims and survivors that they serve.”

To apply

You can find more information about the Accreditation Programme, costs, and our Terms and Conditions here.

To enrol, or to request a tailored quotation, e-mail us at accreditation@limeculture.co.uk. Places on Wave 11 will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please note, services enrolling will need to be available for an online, half-day Accreditation Workshop on Wednesday 11^th April 2023.

The National ISVA Co-ordinator Service has been working with professionals at HM Prison and Probation Service, the Ministry of Defence, academics, ISVA services and charities to better understand the unique barriers facing victims/survivors of sexual violence in prisons, and victims/survivors serving in the Armed Forces, in accessing support from an ISVA.

LimeCulture is hosting two briefings in March to share the findings and learnings from these consultations to support ISVAs in their practice:

ISVAs supporting victims/survivors in Prison, Thursday 2 March at 12 noon

ISVA services working in prisons will talk about overcoming various access and engagement challenges to ensure the critical support of ISVAs is accessible to victims/survivors who are in Prison.

ISVAs supporting victims/survivors in the Armed Forces, Thursday 30 March at 12 noon

ISVAs will hear from the Ministry of Defence RASSO lead to enhance their understanding of the Court Martial and Service Justice System, and ISVA services that have built strong relationships with the Forces and developed specialist ISVA roles to meet the unique needs of serving personnel.

To register for either or both of the lunchtime briefings please use our online booking form – click here  A calendar invite and Zoom meeting link will follow.

If you have any questions please e-mail holli.waterson@limeculture.co.uk.

Holli Waterson, the National ISVA Co-ordinator, said:

“It is clear that pathways of support for victims and survivors of sexual violence who are in Prison or serving in the Armed Forces are infrequently accessed.

For victims and survivors in prison, this is often due to a lack of awareness of ISVA support, or an assumption ISVA services will not work with victims/survivors in prison. Moreover, the ability of ISVAs to access a prison and meet with victims/survivors varies from estate to estate and maintaining engagement with clients can be challenged by confidentiality, security and/or privacy concerns.

In relation to the Armed Forces, we have been informed that many victims/survivors feel they have to make a choice between reporting the abuse they have experienced and their careers. Furthermore, the option of accessing support external to the Armed Forces, such as from a local ISVA service is often unknown or felt to be unsuitable for them. We’ve also heard from many ISVAs who report feeling inexperienced in supporting victims/survivors through the Service Justice System and unfamiliar with internal Force procedures which makes advocating for their clients’ needs exceptionally challenging.

We hope both of these Lunchtime Briefings will offer the opportunity for ISVAs to hear from other ISVAs about how they have overcome barriers and challenges to successfully support victims/survivors within these institutions that are so often felt to be impossible to access or navigate. The Lunchtime Briefings will also help ISVAs to consider how they can strengthen partnerships between local prison estates and military bases”.

About the National ISVA Co-ordinator (NISVAC) Service

The NISVAC Service pilot was commissioned by the NPCC Programme Hydrant in 2020 to support victims/survivors of sexual abuse from identified seldom heard groups with a pathway into support from an ISVA service and/or access to the criminal justice system, in recognition of the additional barriers they face. 

The National ISVA Advice Line is contactable at NISVAC@limeculture.co.uk