Safeguarding Policy

Last updated: August 2026 · McLaughlin Sportek Ltd trading as The Scout Hub

The welfare of every young person using The Scout Hub comes before any other consideration — commercial, product, or convenience. Where a choice exists between making the platform more useful for clubs and reducing risk to a young player, we choose the latter.

1. Who this applies to

Anyone with a player account whose age on file is 13-17, or whose age isn't yet set — treated as a possible minor by default, the safe assumption rather than the convenient one. Staff, club, scout and agent accounts are 18+ only at signup; they aren't covered by this policy as data subjects, but they are covered by it as people whose conduct toward a youth account this policy governs (see §5).

2. What protections exist today

These aren't promises — they're how the platform is actually built:

  • No messaging with youth accounts: No 1:1 conversation can exist between a youth account and anyone else, in either direction, under any circumstances.
  • Application-only contact: A club can only respond to a youth account through a status update on an application the player themselves started — never the reverse.
  • Guardian copied on every response: Every status update to a youth applicant is also emailed to the guardian on file.
  • No direct session invites to youth accounts: A club can't invite a youth player to a private session without them having applied first.
  • Guardian consent required before activation: A parent/guardian's name, email and explicit consent must be on file before a youth account can complete setup.
  • Safety reminders shown throughout: A one-time notice at signup, and the same core points shown again every time a youth account applies to a trial or vacancy.
  • Location & club affiliation hidden: Never shown to anyone except a club the player has directly applied to.
  • Never on the Discover map: No exception, regardless of application history.
  • No payment surfaces: Nothing to buy, nothing to be upsold — removes any incentive to keep a youth account "engaged" for revenue.
  • Report a concern: Available on every club profile and every application involving a youth account, reaching a flagged admin review queue.

3. If you have a concern

Use "Report a concern" on the relevant club profile or application — every submission reaches our admin review queue immediately. Reports involving a youth account are automatically prioritised: this is worked out from the reported profile's actual age on file, not trusted from whoever files the report, so it can't be gamed either way.

For anything urgent — immediate danger to a child — contact emergency services (999) or the NSPCC helpline (0808 800 5000) directly, first, before anything else.

4. How we respond

Every report involving a youth account is reviewed within one working day. Depending on what's reported, that can mean: taking direct platform action (warning, suspending or banning the reported club or scout, and suspending their ability to view or respond to youth applications while a concern is under review); referring the concern externally — to the relevant Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and/or the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit (0116 234 7278) — where the concern suggests risk to a child rather than a platform-rule breach alone; and following up sensitively with the young player and their guardian to confirm they're safe. We never tell the reported party who filed a report.

5. What we ask of clubs and scouts

By using The Scout Hub to review or respond to a youth applicant, a club or scout agrees to:

  • Never ask a youth applicant, or their guardian, to communicate off-platform before responding to their application through the normal status-update flow.
  • Have their own appropriate safeguarding arrangements in place for any trial or session a youth applicant may attend — including, at minimum, never being left alone with a young person outside a supervised group setting.
  • Report anything about another user that raises a safeguarding question via "Report a concern" — including about their own club or colleagues.

6. How this policy relates to our other policies

This document sits alongside, and doesn't replace, our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. It's reviewed at minimum annually, and immediately after any safeguarding incident or any change to how youth accounts contact clubs.

7. Contact

General enquiries and safeguarding concerns: hello@thescouthub.co.uk — flag your message as safeguarding-related and it's treated as urgent.

NSPCC helpline: 0808 800 5000 · NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit: 0116 234 7278 · Emergency: 999