What do the changes to the Crime and Policing Act mean for you? 

You might assume that changes to the Crime and Policing Act 2026 have little to do with your role as a group exercise instructor. However, some of the changes could affect how you work, the responsibilities you have and the steps you need to take to help keep children and young people safe. 

In this blog, we’ll explain what’s changing, why it matters and what you need to know as a fitness professional.

Who is affected by the changes? 

Firstly, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 is primarily legislation for England and Wales. Its provisions do not automatically extend to Scotland, Northern Ireland, or international operations. 

Everything included in the new changes are applicable to group exercise professionals, clubs, governing bodies, and coaches in England.  

In both Wales and Northern Island, the changes are partially applicable. Welsh and Northern Irish instructors should monitor guidance from the Welsh Government or relevant NI departments and regulators for any areas of difference. 

Scotland and International / overseas organisations operate on their own frameworks. Some provisions of the Act extend to Scotland and Scottish instructors should follow guidance from the Scottish Government and relevant regulators, whereas the Act does not impose compliance obligations on organisations operating outside the UK. 

However, UK nationals committing certain offences against children overseas may still be prosecuted under UK law. UK affiliated organisations that voluntarily follow UK safeguarding frameworks can choose to reflect the principles of this Act in their policies. 

Why does this matter for me as a group exercise instructor? 

While you may not necessarily see yourself as working in a traditional safeguarding environment as a group exercise instructor, if you work with children, young people or families in any way, you will still need to be aware of these new safeguarding changes. 

You will often build trusted relationships with children or young people that may allow them to feel comfortable sharing concerns or issues.  

For example, a child may disclose abuse after a swimming lesson, a young person may share concerns with an instructor after a dance fitness session, or an instructor may receive a safeguarding concern from a member of staff or notice signs of exploitation, online abuse or concerning changes in a young participant’s behaviour. 

The changes to the Crime and Policing Act 2026 have strengthened the expectations around how people working with children and young people should handle safeguarding concerns and increased accountability for both individuals and organisations.

What do these changes mean for me as a group exercise instructor in England? 

The changes strengthen your responsibilities as a trusted adult working in a fitness or physical activity setting.  

If you work regularly with children, you need to understand when concerns must be reported, follow your organisation’s safeguarding procedures, and take action rather than assuming someone else will deal with a concern. You should also be aware that DBS eligibility requirements are changing, meaning some roles may now require an enhanced DBS check with a Children’s Barred List check, even where you are supervised. 

Your role is also important in spotting signs of child sexual abuse, child criminal exploitation and serious violence, as these are now considered standalone offences under the Act.  

Pay attention to concerning relationships or behaviours, such as adults taking an unusual interest in young participants, offering gifts or lifts, seeking private contact, or creating a sense of dependency. Similarly, concerns about weapons or an apparent intention to use violence can now be escalated promptly rather than waiting for an incident to occur. 

The Act also reinforces the need to recognise violence against women and girls, including stalking, harassment and image-based abuse. These issues can affect participants and staff both within physical activity settings and online. If a young person or colleague tells you about abuse or exploitation, listen, take the concern seriously, follow your safeguarding procedures and make sure the appropriate referral has actually been made. 

Importantly, remember that while failing to make a required safeguarding report is not itself a criminal offence, it can have serious consequences, including referral to the DBS and potentially being barred from working with children. Deliberately preventing or discouraging someone else from making a required report is a criminal offence.  

The key message for you as an instructor is: know your safeguarding responsibilities, report concerns promptly and never assume that someone else has dealt with them. 

You can read the full briefing here to understand each of these new changes in full. 

How do these changes affect me as a provider of group exercise in a club or organisational setting? 

These changes also increase the governance and safeguarding responsibilities of organisations and clubs providing group exercise, particularly those working with children and young people.  

Organisations structured as companies or incorporated bodies may face criminal liability where a senior manager commits an offence while acting within the scope of their role and authority. This means safeguarding failures can create risks for the organisation itself, as well as for the individual involved. 

For clubs, operators and senior leaders, having safeguarding policies in place is not enough. Concerns must be taken seriously, escalated through the appropriate safeguarding processes and acted on promptly, regardless of the individual’s performance, seniority, commercial importance or potential reputational impact. 

Boards, owners and senior managers should therefore ensure that safeguarding responsibilities are clearly understood, reporting routes are effective, staff know how to use them, and there is an appropriate review process to make sure concerns are not ignored or suppressed. Senior leaders must also be careful not to discourage or delay safeguarding referrals since, as we’ve mentioned before, deliberately obstructing a required report can have criminal consequences. 

In practical terms, strong safeguarding governance is now a business-critical responsibility, not simply a policy requirement especially when facilitating group exercise for children and young people. Organisations should review their safeguarding arrangements, management responsibilities, reporting processes and oversight to ensure concerns are acted upon effectively and consistently. 

What should I do next? 

Firstly, make sure to read the full briefing document which outlines all the changes to the Crime and Policing Act 2026 in detail.  

Feel free to reach out to EMD UK’s safeguarding officer through our contact us form if you don’t understand any of the information included in this blog or the briefing document. 

After that, there are a variety of actions you can take to make sure you’re working in line with the Crime and Policing Act 2026. 

These might include but are not limited to: 

• Updating safeguarding policies and procedures to include mandatory reporting, CCE, VAWG offences, and grooming risks. EMD UK are currently doing this as part of a Safeguarding Policy re-write. 

• Ensuring everyone understands their duty to report safeguarding concerns and follow them through appropriately. 

• Train staff, instructors, coaches, volunteers, and managers on CCE and emerging safeguarding risks. 

• Review safer recruitment practices and DBS checking arrangements. EMD UK can help with this.  

• Update codes of conduct to cover image-based abuse, including AI generated “nudification”. EMD UK will soon by updating our Code of Conduct and this will be shared for consultation before being published. 

• Ensure senior leaders/owners understand that obstructing safeguarding concerns may be a criminal offence and can create organisational liability. 

• Engage with EMD UK your national governing body as frameworks are updated. 

• Review event and venue safety procedures, including risks associated with weapon-related offences. 

• Monitor and implement new government safeguarding guidance as it is published. 

 The content in this blog and in the briefing document hosted on the EMD UK safeguarding page has been adapted from the Emmaus Safe Crime and Policing Act 2026 Sports Sector Briefing for the Group Exercise and Leisure Sector.