Wallace Chess has been bringing chess to children across London for 20 years. With around 50 coaches delivering sessions in school settings, at their own clubs in Swiss Cottage and Kensington, and through a camp programme. Wallace Chess works with schools across the capital and safeguarding sits at the centre of everything the organisation does. John Paul Wallace, co-director and Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), and Elizabeth Stringer, Deputy DSL, are responsible for ensuring every member of that coaching team is properly equipped and up to date.

For an organisation like Wallace Chess, working with children across multiple settings but operating independently from the schools it partners with, safeguarding has always required particular thought. Most safeguarding guidance and training is written for school-based settings. Translating it into the specific context of a coaching organisation working across different venues, with a large team of coaches out in the field, takes expertise that is not always straightforward to find.

John Paul's research in 2026 led him to Independent Safeguarding Service (ISS). The breadth of what was on offer, the expertise of Nick Pratt, a qualified social worker and strategic lead with over 20 years in statutory child protection, and the accessibility of the platform convinced him immediately. Wallace Chess joined straight away.

Before ISS, Wallace Chess was sourcing safeguarding training from multiple providers at significant cost, while John Paul and Elizabeth ran their own internal training sessions, built their own assessments and chased coaches individually for proof of completion. It worked, but it was time-consuming, expensive and difficult to scale across a large coaching team.

The training consists of live online courses, as well as access to e-learning inductions sessions that are accessible, interactive and clearly structured, with assessments built in and certificates available to download immediately from the platform.

Elizabeth was clear that the interactive element matters — coaches are not passively watching a video but actively engaging with the material and demonstrating their understanding. For an organisation with coaches working across different settings in their own time, the ability to track completion centrally and access proof of training without chasing individuals has transformed how safeguarding is managed operationally.

Alongside the training provision for the coaching team, both John Paul and Elizabeth are attending DSL training through ISS, ensuring that the organisation's safeguarding leadership is developing alongside the wider team.

For Elizabeth, one of the most important aspects of the membership is having access to expert advice that keeps pace with a constantly changing safeguarding landscape. As an organisation working with children outside of a school framework, knowing where to turn when new situations arise or guidance changes is not always straightforward.

Wallace Chess were already committed to getting safeguarding right before joining Independent Safeguarding Service. The membership has taken their practice further.