Safeguarding Policy

Our commitment

Safeguarding is built into OurClub, not bolted on. We are committed to protecting children and vulnerable adults, and to a member-first standard of care for everyone who takes part in a club on our platform.

This matters more than ever online. Research by the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) and Loughborough University found that 33% of safeguarding cases reported to national governing bodies in 2022–23 involved online activity, and 87% of non-contact sexual abuse took place online. A policy that sits in a drawer cannot address that. Ours is enforced in the product, in the places members actually message, post, and interact.

We build to the CPSU Standards for Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport, the recognised benchmark for safeguarding in UK sport. The section below maps those standards to the controls OurClub enforces.

Safeguarding by design: our CPSU alignment

OurClub does not just publish safeguarding expectations, it enforces them. Each row below maps a CPSU expectation to a control that runs inside the platform today, alongside the responsibility that remains with each club.

Purpose and Scope

OurClub is a software-as-a-service platform that provides club management tools to sports clubs, martial arts organisations, and similar groups across the United Kingdom. This Safeguarding Policy sets out our commitment to protecting children (under 18) and vulnerable adults from harm, abuse, and exploitation.

This policy applies to OurClub as a platform provider and establishes the framework within which clubs using the platform are expected to operate. It is informed by the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) and Sport England guidelines, and reflects the requirements of the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, and the Care Act 2014.

Each club using OurClub retains primary responsibility for safeguarding within its own organisation. OurClub provides the technological infrastructure and expects all clubs to maintain their own safeguarding policies consistent with this framework. This policy should be read alongside the Protection of Minors section of our Acceptable Use Policy, which sets out specific rules of conduct for adults and minors interacting on the platform.

Definitions

Child: Any person under the age of 18.

Vulnerable adult: A person aged 18 or over who is, or may be, in need of community care services by reason of disability, age, or illness, and who is, or may be, unable to take care of or protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation.

Abuse: A form of maltreatment. Abuse may be physical, emotional, sexual, or take the form of neglect. It may occur in person or online.

Physical abuse: Deliberately causing physical harm, including hitting, shaking, burning, or otherwise injuring a child or vulnerable adult.

Emotional abuse: Persistent emotional maltreatment such as threats, humiliation, intimidation, or constant criticism that causes severe and adverse effects on emotional development.

Sexual abuse: Forcing or enticing a child or vulnerable adult to take part in sexual activities, whether or not they are aware of what is happening.

Neglect: Persistent failure to meet basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in serious impairment of health or development.

Platform Responsibilities

OurClub, as the platform provider, commits to:

• Providing platform features that support safeguarding best practices, including content moderation and messaging safeguards.
• Automatically screening direct messages, community posts and comments for abusive or inappropriate language, blocking content that crosses our threshold and alerting administrators.
• Maintaining a secure environment for the storage and processing of personal data, including data relating to children and vulnerable adults.
• Responding promptly to safeguarding concerns reported through the platform.
• Cooperating with law enforcement and statutory agencies where required.
• Reviewing and updating this policy at least annually, or sooner if required by changes in legislation or guidance.

Club Responsibilities

Each club using OurClub is responsible for:

• Adopting and implementing their own safeguarding policy that meets the standards of their national governing body (NGB) and is consistent with this framework.
• Appointing a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) who is appropriately trained and whose contact details are known to all club members.
• Ensuring all staff and volunteers who work with children or vulnerable adults hold a valid DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check at the appropriate level.
• Providing safeguarding training to all relevant staff, coaches, and volunteers, and ensuring it is refreshed at regular intervals.
• Maintaining accurate records of safeguarding concerns, incidents, and actions taken.
• Ensuring that children and vulnerable adults are supervised appropriately during all club activities.

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

Every club using OurClub that works with children or vulnerable adults must appoint a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). The DSL is responsible for:

• Acting as the first point of contact for safeguarding concerns within the club.
• Ensuring concerns are reported to the appropriate statutory agencies (local authority, police, or NSPCC).
• Maintaining confidential safeguarding records in accordance with data protection legislation.
• Completing recognised safeguarding training (e.g. the CPSU Time to Listen course or equivalent) and refreshing it every three years.
• Liaising with the club's national governing body and OurClub platform support as appropriate.

Reporting Procedures

If anyone has a safeguarding concern about a child or vulnerable adult, they should:

• If there is immediate danger: Call 999 and contact the police immediately.
• Report to the club DSL: Contact the club's Designated Safeguarding Lead as soon as possible.
• Report through the platform: Use the contact or reporting features within OurClub, or email [email protected] with the subject line "Safeguarding Concern".
• External reporting: Contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000, the local authority children's services, or the police.

All concerns will be taken seriously, recorded, and acted upon in a timely manner. Confidentiality will be maintained as far as possible, but information may be shared with statutory agencies where necessary to protect a child or vulnerable adult.

DBS Checks and Vetting

Clubs are expected to ensure that all individuals in regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults hold a valid Enhanced DBS check. This includes coaches, instructors, team managers, and any other adults with regular unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults.

OurClub does not directly administer DBS checks but expects clubs to maintain records of DBS check dates and renewal schedules. Clubs should follow their national governing body's guidance on the frequency of renewals.

Photography and Media

Clubs should obtain written consent from parents or guardians before photographing or filming children during club activities. Images should not be shared publicly without consent. When uploading photos or media to the OurClub platform, clubs are responsible for ensuring appropriate consent has been obtained.

Personal details such as full names should not be published alongside photographs of children without explicit parental consent. Clubs should maintain a register of photography consents.

The same consent requirements apply when posting images of minors to community posts, comments, notice boards, or profile pictures on the platform. Members who observe unauthorised images of minors should report them via the in-app Report function or by emailing [email protected], and the content will be prioritised for removal.

Online Safety and Messaging

OurClub provides direct messaging features within the platform. To promote online safety:

• Every direct message, community post and comment is automatically screened for abusive or inappropriate language; content that crosses our threshold is blocked and administrators are alerted.
• Adults should not engage in private one-to-one messaging with children through the platform unless this is visible to another appropriate adult (for example, a parent or club administrator). This is reinforced in the Protection of Minors section of our Acceptable Use Policy.
• Clubs should establish clear policies on acceptable use of platform messaging, community posts, and comments.
• Any concerns about inappropriate messaging, images, or community content should be reported immediately to the club DSL and to OurClub support. Members may also use the in-app Report function on any post, comment, or conversation, which is triaged by our moderation team within 72 hours, with safeguarding reports prioritised.

Data Protection of Safeguarding Records

Safeguarding records contain sensitive personal data and must be handled in accordance with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. Safeguarding records should be:

• Stored securely with access restricted to authorised individuals only (e.g. the DSL and club administrators with safeguarding responsibilities).
• Retained for as long as necessary in accordance with statutory guidance and the club's retention policy.
• Shared only with statutory agencies, law enforcement, or other parties where there is a lawful basis to do so.

For further details on how OurClub processes personal data, please see our Privacy & Cookie Policy and our Data Processing Agreement. Where a safeguarding incident also constitutes a personal-data breach (for example, unauthorised disclosure of a child's contact details), our Breach Procedure runs in parallel with the safeguarding response.

Review and Updates

This policy will be reviewed at least annually by OurClub and updated as necessary to reflect changes in legislation, guidance, or platform features. Clubs will be notified of material changes to this policy. Clubs are encouraged to review their own safeguarding policies at least annually in line with their national governing body's requirements.

Contact

If you have any safeguarding concerns or questions about this policy, please contact us at [email protected] .

In an emergency, always call 999. You can also contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or Childline on 0800 1111.

For independent guidance on safeguarding in sport, see the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit at thecpsu.org.uk.