Safeguarding
Keeping players safe
Squadvo is used by teams with players under 18. The Team Hub, where players see their team's plans, is designed so that children never have to create an account or share anything about themselves.
How the Team Hub protects players
- No player accounts. Players open their team's Hub with a code from their coach. Squadvo never asks players for a name, email, phone number, photo or date of birth.
- Read-only. Players can view posts. They can't post, comment, react or message anyone, so there's no private channel between adults and children.
- Private to the team. Every post is encrypted in the browser using the team code before it's stored. Without the code, it can't be read, even by someone browsing the site's data.
- Coach control. Coaches can change a team's code at any time, which instantly shuts out old links, and can delete posts or the whole team.
- Names kept short. For under-18 teams, teamsheets shared to the Team Hub show first names and the initial of the surname only. The Team Selector defaults to this for shared links too.
- Not on search engines. Hub and teamsheet pages ask search engines not to index them.
- Contact details flagged. If a coach types something that looks like an email address, phone number or postcode into a post, Squadvo warns them before it's posted.
Guidance for coaches
- Follow your club's and your governing body's safeguarding policies. Squadvo supports them; it doesn't replace them.
- For under-18 teams, share the Team Hub link with parents and carers through your club's approved channels, not by private message to a child.
- Keep posts about rugby. Don't post players' contact details, home addresses, medical information or photos.
- Add your club's safeguarding contact to each team so players know who to talk to. Use the club's official contact, never a child's details.
- If a link reaches someone it shouldn't, change the team code straight away.
- Coach accounts are for adults (18 or over) only.
Worried about something?
If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. For any other concern about a young person in rugby, speak to your club's safeguarding officer or your governing body's safeguarding team. You can also contact the NSPCC helpline.
To report something you've seen on a Squadvo Team Hub, such as a post that shouldn't be there, or a team code or link being used by someone it wasn't meant for, email safeguarding@squadvo.club. We'll look into it straight away and work with the team's coach and club.