{"id":547,"date":"2026-07-16T15:09:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/enuapplyscience\/?p=547"},"modified":"2026-07-16T15:27:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:27:27","slug":"safe-spaces-in-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/enuapplyscience\/2026\/07\/16\/safe-spaces-in-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Physical and Emotional Safe Spaces in Sport for Development"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This is, without question, the most important work of my career so far, writes Dr Jamie Marshall, Research Fellow at Edinburgh Napier University.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past few years, my work has focused on understanding and developing physical and emotional safe spaces within sport-for-development and community mental health contexts. I\u2019ve seen first-hand how critical these environments are\u2014whether supporting young people on Scottish beaches with the Wave Project, or working alongside organisations across the world delivering sport-based interventions.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t just professional. On a personal level, I\u2019ve also experienced how access to safe, supportive spaces can shape mental health during some of the most difficult periods of life.<\/p>\n<p>Our research at Edinburgh Napier University consistently points to one clear conclusion: without physical and emotional safety, even the best-designed interventions will fall short. Safe spaces are not an optional extra\u2014they are foundational, non-negotiable, and should be a primary implementation priority in any meaningful mental health programme.<\/p>\n<p>To support this, we\u2019ve developed a new interactive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.napier.ac.uk\/study-with-us\/short-courses\/safe-spaces-in-sport\">online CPD course<\/a>, developed through applied, real-world research at Edinburgh Napier University, focused on creating and sustaining physical and emotional safe spaces within sport-for-development contexts. It\u2019s not intended to be definitive or exhaustive, but rather a structured starting point\u2014designed to prompt critical reflection and support practitioners to take practical, thoughtful steps in their own settings.<\/p>\n<p>The course is aimed at coaches, volunteers, intervention leads, and students working in this space. On completion, you\u2019ll receive an Edinburgh Napier certificate\u2014and for the cost of a couple of coffees, it\u2019s an accessible way to begin or deepen your journey in this area.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re offering a 50% discount for those based in LMICs, and are also happy to discuss bespoke organisational packages.<\/p>\n<p>If this resonates with your work, I\u2019d love to hear your thoughts. Email me at j.marshall4@napier.ac.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the past few years, my work has focused on understanding and developing physical and emotional safe spaces within sport-for-development and community mental health contexts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[158],"tags":[164],"class_list":["post-547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-safe-spaces"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Understanding Physical and Emotional Safe Spaces in Sport for Development - The School of Applied Sciences<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over the past few years, my work has focused on understanding and developing physical and emotional safe spaces within sport-for-development and community mental health contexts.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/enuapplyscience\/2026\/07\/16\/safe-spaces-in-sport\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Understanding Physical and Emotional Safe Spaces in Sport for Development - 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