By EdCaptain editorial desk · Published
General educational guidance. No qualified clinical review is recorded for this article. Health and safety information.
Your child comes out of the swimming changing room and says, “Someone had their phone out.” You do not know whether they were texting, taking a selfie or recording. Start by helping your child feel safe and telling the responsible staff what was observed. Your child does not need to investigate before asking for help.
This guide is for caregivers of children and teenagers aged 6–18 using sports, swimming or school changing facilities. It covers a phone concern in a shared private space, including when your own child is the person using the phone.
In the moment: privacy first, then a report
- Help your child reach a safe, supervised place. If they are still changing, help them cover up and use an available private cubicle or move with appropriate assistance. Do not send them alone into a corridor or pool area to escape the situation.
- Tell the staff member responsible. Ask for the duty manager or safeguarding lead. Describe the location and what you or your child noticed: “A person is using a phone beside the changing benches. Please check this now.”
- Keep your child out of the confrontation. They do not need to challenge an adult, grab a phone, look over a screen or prove that a photograph exists. Do not take a photograph yourself inside the changing area to document the concern.
A visible phone does not establish that someone has recorded your child. It can still be a privacy or facility-policy concern. NSPCC Sport notes that an observer cannot reliably tell whether a device is being used to record; its guidance recommends keeping camera-capable devices out of use in changing and shower areas.
If you suspect filming or photography
Say clearly what made you concerned, without turning an observation into a certainty: “My child says the phone was held over the cubicle,” or “I saw the camera pointed towards children changing.” Ask staff to act immediately.
NSPCC Sport advises reporting suspected images of nude or partially clothed people to the facility manager, organiser or safeguarding lead immediately and consulting the police. If someone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services. Do not wait for a club meeting or routine email reply.
Do not demand that your child obtain a copy, search another person’s device or arrange a confrontation. Avoid asking anyone to send you an intimate image “as evidence”. Seek police guidance about preserving evidence; do not instruct someone to delete suspected evidence. Keep written notes of the time, place, who was told and their response. Do not post allegations or identifying details in a parent group.
Listen without making your child repeat everything
Try: “Thank you for telling me. You were right to ask for help. You don’t have to deal with this yourself.” Ask one open question, such as “What happened?”, then listen. Avoid supplying details with questions like “Was that person definitely filming you?”
Write down the child’s own words as accurately as possible afterwards. Explain the next step: “I need to tell the person responsible for keeping children safe. I’ll tell you what happens next.” Do not promise that nobody else will hear about it or that an image definitely does not exist. If your child describes abuse, use our guide to a first response to an abuse disclosure and contact appropriate local safeguarding services.
Make the plan usable at your child’s age
- Ages 6–9: before a session, identify the actual adult and safe meeting point. Practise “I need help in the changing room.” An adult should arrange the response; the child is not a phone monitor.
- Ages 10–12: talk through a friend taking a group selfie. They can say “Not here”, move away and tell staff. They can report something uncomfortable even if their friends think it is a joke.
- Ages 13–18: agree how to reach staff without a public argument. Offer to help make a report, and explain when a serious safety concern requires adult involvement. Do not promise secrecy in exchange for details.
For a child using signs, pictures or AAC, prepare an accessible way to communicate “phone”, “changing room” and “help”. Agree assistance and privacy arrangements with the facility beforehand. A device used for communication or health support needs an individual plan with staff so support stays available while other people’s privacy is protected. Do not simply remove essential access.
Check what will happen before the next session
Ask the club and venue together: who handles concerns, where can children get help, and how will the device rule be communicated and enforced? Ask for a named contact and a clear follow-up time. A poster alone does not answer who will respond during a busy session.
New Zealand’s Sport Integrity Commission recommends clear changing-room rules, listening to children’s concerns and planning accessible assistance. Ask about a private alternative if your child needs one. Suitable supervision must continue; privacy should not mean isolation. Our trusted-adult safety network guide can help your child identify more than one person to approach.
If the response remains unclear, pause use of that changing arrangement while adults seek a workable plan. Your child need not give up the sport to make a privacy concern easier for the organisation to manage.
If your child had the phone out
Put it away and move any ordinary messaging outside the changing area. Explain that even a selfie can include someone else in the background. Do not shame your child or dismiss another child’s concern. If there is any suspected intimate recording, stop sharing, involve the safeguarding lead promptly and seek police advice about handling the device and evidence.
On 29 October 2026, Swim England renewed its call for parents, participants and operators to store devices away in changing and wet-side spaces. That campaign is specific to its setting, not a worldwide law. Check your venue’s current rules and follow them yourself, including when checking messages at pickup.
Sources and further reading
- Swim England: Keep it in your locker – making changing spaces safer for all
- NSPCC Sport: Photography and filming in sports and activities
- Sport Integrity Commission New Zealand: Safer changing rooms
- NSPCC Sport: Safe use of changing facilities
- NSPCC Learning: Recognising and responding to child abuse and neglect
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