Table Tennis England webinar: supervised volunteers also need DBS check from September 1, 2026

On Tuesday evening, September 29, 2026, at exactly 6:00 PM UK time, Kyhl Daly, Designated Safeguarding Officer at Table Tennis England, will host a one-hour online webinar. For Vietnamese viewers, the session begins at midnight, running from 12:00 AM to 1:00 AM on September 30, Hanoi time.

The webinar is about a legal change that quietly affects grassroots table tennis. Since September 1, 2026, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 removed the supervision exemption from the legal definition of Regulated Activity. Previously, some volunteers and coaches who worked with children under the supervision of a DBS-checked person were not required to hold their own DBS check. Under the new rules, that exemption no longer exists.

Who is the webinar for?

According to Table Tennis England, the webinar is aimed at three groups. The first group is Club Welfare Officers. The second is members of club committees or league committees. The third is anyone who regularly volunteers with children.

During the session, Kyhl Daly will explain how the regulation has changed and what it means for volunteers. Participants will also learn more about Table Tennis England's DBS process and why DBS checks matter for safeguarding children.

What is DBS?

DBS stands for Disclosure and Barring Service, the body that manages criminal record checks in England and Wales. A DBS check gives a club a clearer picture of whether an adult has a criminal record relevant to working with children. In table tennis, where adults often stand close to children to correct posture and technique, background checks are treated as a minimum standard.

Table Tennis England already runs its own DBS procedure for affiliated clubs and leagues. This webinar does not introduce a complicated new system. Its purpose is to help volunteers understand that they now operate under a stricter safeguarding framework.

What does removing the supervision exemption mean?

The key phrase is supervision exemption. For years, English law recognised a gray area. If a volunteer worked with children under the direct supervision of someone who already had a DBS check, that volunteer might not need their own check.

This created a significant gap. Consider a club with two adults at a junior session. The head coach holds a valid DBS check. An assistant or new volunteer works alongside the head coach and is always supervised. In the past, the assistant might not need a separate DBS check. From September 1, 2026, that changes. The supervised adult is now treated in the same way as someone working without supervision.

Why this matters in table tennis

Table tennis is not a crowded sport. Junior sessions are held in local halls and often involve close contact. Coaches stand beside children to adjust grips, step patterns and wrist movements. This physical closeness is necessary for teaching, but without proper safeguarding controls it also creates vulnerability.

Stricter DBS requirements are therefore especially important in table tennis. An adult could sit next to a child for long periods to correct a small technical detail. If that adult has never been vetted, parental trust is based entirely on personal familiarity. Familiarity is valuable in a small community, but it cannot replace verified information.

Why committee members must listen

The webinar specifically includes club committee and league committee members. This signals that safeguarding in English table tennis is no longer seen as a problem only for coaches at the front line.

A club operating in the old style often leaves child protection entirely to the head coach. But if the head coach has not been checked, or if the club does not know who needs checking, the whole system fails. Committees need to understand the updated safeguarding policy so they can build staff lists, monitor check renewal dates and promote a transparent environment.

The timing of the webinar is also interesting. The webinar happens after the legal change took effect. Table Tennis England chose to explain the rules after they had already come into force. This shows that implementation and education must go hand in hand.

Beyond the paperwork

DBS checks are often treated as routine paperwork. Clubs collect identity documents, confirm addresses, send requests and wait for results. But inside all this administration lies a simple human idea: every adult who wants to enter the sporting lives of children must demonstrate that they are safe to be there.

A DBS certificate cannot see the whole character of a person. It cannot detect someone who has never been convicted or never reported. But it is the first signal that a club is willing to ask questions about history instead of assuming that everything is fine.

From experience of watching grassroots sports, I know that empty halls and empty stands reveal the true atmosphere of a game better than loud crowds. In the same way, when a club lacks background checks, hidden risk is masked by warm greetings and friendly laughter. A serious DBS process is like building safe stands before inviting spectators into the stadium.

How the change affects volunteers

Volunteers are essential to grassroots table tennis. They arrive early, pick up balls, set up tables, record scores and help coaches during children's sessions. They are unpaid, but they receive joy from serving the community.

Some volunteers may now feel mistrusted. They may ask why a long-time club member must suddenly provide a criminal record check. This feeling must be handled with respect. The aim is not to criminalise volunteering.

Instead, the new regulation sets one shared standard. That standard protects children and applies equally to newcomers and familiar faces. The closer an adult works with children in the training hall, the clearer the verification should be.

What clubs can do now

The webinar is a good starting point. People in relevant roles should register through the DBS page of Table Tennis England. Clubs should also review their own volunteer lists. The first question is not who has a DBS check, but who works with children without one.

Clubs should classify roles according to the level of contact. A head coach has frequent direct contact. An assistant has direct contact but at a lower level. A cleaner or equipment manager may not have sustained contact with children. Committee leaders need to decide which role requires what level of checking.

Record keeping is just as important. A club cannot ask a volunteer to show a certificate once and then forget about it. Results should be recorded, monitored and renewed according to Table Tennis England policy. When someone leaves a club, their safeguarding file should be closed properly.

A contrarian view

Even if the supervision exemption is removed, DBS checks alone cannot create a safe football environment. A club needs several layers of protection: a code of conduct, reporting procedures, an open culture and a willingness to listen to children. DBS is only one layer.

A club can check every adult but still be unsafe if parents are never allowed to watch training. Another club can be transparent and open but forget to check a new assistant. Safety requires both clear process and healthy culture.

Table Tennis England's webinar should therefore not be seen as the destination. It is more like a new map handed to club leaders. The map shows risky areas, but the captain still decides which route to take.

Lessons for Vietnamese table tennis

The story from England is not completely alien to Vietnam. Grassroots table tennis clubs in Vietnam are attracting more young players. Many private centres welcome children as young as six or seven. Besides certified coaches, there are often interns, assistants and volunteers assigned to help young players.

In Vietnam, criminal background checks for sports volunteers are not yet a common standard. Most clubs recruit through personal networks or coaching reputations. This approach is understandable, but it is not enough for long-term child protection.

In table tennis, children need close contact with instructors to have their movement corrected. They also need help with small daily tasks. These acts of care are valuable if performed by trustworthy adults. But the sports community also needs objective tools to turn trust into a measurable standard.

I have sat in committee meetings of grassroots sports clubs. Budgets, schedules and equipment always dominate the agenda. Questions about who is allowed to be in the room with children rarely appear. This is not the fault of any single person. It is a sign that sport is developing faster than its safeguarding infrastructure.

Why the English change is still worth watching

Some people may think that matters of English sport have little relevance to Vietnam. England has the DBS system, a different legal framework and a long history of safeguarding. Vietnam does not yet have similar infrastructure.

But what deserves attention is not copying the model. It is how Table Tennis England communicated the change. They did not stop at publishing a rule. They appointed a safeguarding officer, opened a webinar and explained the issue slowly and clearly to volunteers. That is how a safety culture is built.

Child protection in sport should not be seen as a race toward perfection. It is a long-term commitment. One hour of webinar time cannot erase all risk. But it shows where priorities should be. A club that asks questions about safety from the very beginning can prevent great suffering for future generations.

Looking forward

Over the next few years, many sports federations may tighten child protection policies. Digital identity tools, personnel databases and reporting procedures will become more common. But technology cannot replace responsible adults.

The Table Tennis England webinar on September 29, 2026 updates safeguarding practice. Yet the deeper message is about a question every club should ask: who is the adult standing beside children in the training hall today, and are they worthy of the trust placed in them?

Trust in sport is not built by a piece of paper. It is built through routines of checking, transparency and willingness to listen. When a child enters the club with a bat for the first time, they do not need to know how the DBS process works. They simply need to feel safe. That feeling of safety is what makes a sport sustainable.

One hour of webinar time will not settle everything. But it opens up a different way of thinking: safeguarding is not the end of an administrative process. It is the beginning of a sporting culture worth trusting.