England Netball

Overview

England Netball is the national governing body for netball, England’s second-largest female team sport. Responsible for the strategic plan of the sport across the country, it’s a not-for-profit customer-focused sport business, aiming to deliver a first-class member and participation experience.

At least 321,200 people play netball on a fortnightly basis and the numbers are growing, thanks to popular and varied England Netball programmes, such as Back to Netball, Walking Netball and Bee Netball. These sessions are often run in the evenings, predominantly by female coaches.

The Challenge

In a survey by The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, in partnership with Peoplesafe, for National Personal Safety Day 2023, almost double the number of women who responded had experienced harassment whilst engaging in sports and exercise compared to men. 19% of all respondents who exercised on an outdoor sports pitch had experienced harassment and 66% of respondents who had experienced harassment whilst exercising had changed their behaviour as a result.

12% of respondents who had experienced harassment whilst exercising said that they had stopped exercising altogether. When several England Netball community coaches reported occasions when they had felt concerned about personal safety in a staff wellbeing survey, safeguarding concerns were raised, and action was taken immediately.

The Peoplesafe Solution

With cost a factor in choosing any kind of precautionary safety device for staff, the Peoplesafe SOS app provided a cost-effective solution. Intuitive and simple to use, it could be very easily rolled out, with minimal risk of being accidentally triggered inside a pocket or sports bag.

Establishing a failsafe check-in system was important to England Netball, delivering much-needed peace of mind to any coaches working solo. Perception of safety for staff was something they wished to bolster, as well as being able to provide a fast physical response, should anyone find themselves in any kind of uncomfortable or threatening situation.

The Results

For England Netball, the Peoplesafe SOS app has provided an efficient and cost-effective solution to this sports-wide problem. To date, the app has been rolled out to coaching staff across the country, but England Netball has not ruled out supplying it to all staff, as part of its wellbeing ‘Netball HER’ initiative. This far-reaching programme is intended to drive change and generate conversations around women’s health and wellbeing.

Related Products

Peoplesafe SOS App