Safeguarding statement

needl helps families find and book clubs and activities for their children, and helps clubs, coaches and school reps run them. Children's safety and wellbeing come first in how we design and run needl.

Our role, and the club's

needl is a platform. Each club or coach listed on needl is an independent provider and is responsible for safeguarding during their sessions, including their own safeguarding policy, staff vetting (such as DBS checks), qualifications and insurance. Parents should check these with the provider before booking, and providers should have them available on request.

How needl supports safe sessions

• Parents give each child's medical notes, allergies, emergency contacts and photo consent once, and clubs see them for the children booked with them.
• Clubs take registers in needl, so there is a record of who attended.
• An optional pickup password lets clubs confirm who is collecting a child.
• Clubs can record staff DBS checks and get reminders before they expire.
• Messages between families and clubs happen in needl, not on personal phone numbers.
• Each child's photo and video consent is recorded and shown to the clubs they're booked with.

Children's information

needl accounts are for adults. Children don't have their own accounts; a parent or carer adds them to their household. We only share a child's details with the clubs and classes their parent has chosen, and only what they need. See our privacy notice.

Raising a concern

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.

If you're worried about a child, you can contact your local council's children's services or the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 (help@nspcc.org.uk). Children and young people can call Childline on 0800 1111.

To report a concern about a club, coach or anything you've seen on needl, email hello@needlstack.co.uk with “Safeguarding” in the subject. We read every report, act quickly, and can remove listings or accounts while a concern is looked into.