The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for grassroots and elite rugby in England. Its purpose is to encourage rugby, and its values, to flourish across England. Discover how we supported them through active bystander training.
Challenge
Inclusivity is a central thread that runs through the England Rugby values. To support an inclusive culture across the game, it is important that everyone – players, coaches, volunteers and staff – is able to recognise and challenge behaviour that goes against the Game’s values.
We were approached by England Rugby to support them in developing Active Bystander training. It was important that the training was tailored to and reflected a range of experiences – so it would resonate with players, coaches volunteers and staff, both on and off the pitch. With such a large audience, there also needed to be flexibility in how the sessions were delivered, making use of England Rugby’s existing pool of trainers where possible.
Solution
Working in partnership with the England Rugby’s Head of Discipline and Head of Inclusion, we developed a bespoke Active Bystander programme that could be delivered using a Train the Trainer (TtT) approach.
The programme raised awareness of different forms of inappropriate behaviour that could occur on and off the pitch, and introduced practical tools and techniques for challenging others constructively (e.g., players, spectators, colleagues). Using real-life scenarios shared by coaches, players, staff and volunteers, participants worked together to apply the approaches during the session.
Following the pilot, we trained a group of internal trainers from England Rugby in a Train the Trainer session, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to deliver the programme effectively. The programme is currently being delivered to rugby clubs across England.
Impact
The impact of our bespoke training with England Rugby resonated throughout the organisation, with 100% of participants saying that the workshop helped them to recognise behaviour that’s inappropriate, and that they believed it would help them to be more effective in challenging inappropriate behaviour.
This was a great step towards supporting an inclusive culture at England Rugby, and a partnership that we are proud to be a part of.
