Safeguarding

Safety is the design, not the small print.

How sessions are built to be safe

Most of our safeguarding happens before anyone turns up, in the shape of the sessions themselves:

• Adult-only. Every account confirms adult onboarding before taking part.
• Hosts are vetted volunteers: identity checked, manually approved, briefed on safeguarding, with their first sessions reviewed. Approval is audited and can be withdrawn.
• Every session meets in a public place, with the meeting point, times, pace and route published. No private-home activities, ever.
• Activity types are approved one by one; nothing joins the catalogue unvetted.
• Sessions that move (walks, runs, rides) keep a tail: the host or a named helper stays with the back of the group and finishes last, so nobody is ever left behind.
• No unrestricted direct messaging inside the platform.
• Serious reports are handled by people, not algorithms, with restricted, audited records.

What hosts are, and what they are not

Hosts are volunteers, not counsellors, medics or crisis workers. Their job is a welcoming, safe session. If someone needs more than company, hosts signpost to the right support rather than advising, even when they happen to be professionally qualified. That boundary protects everyone, including the person asking.

Raising a concern

Signed-in participants can block people and report concerns from inside the product; reports go to a separate staff queue with audited review, and serious ones create durable escalation records. Blocking prevents direct contact and invitations, though no platform can promise two people will never independently visit the same public park.

Before the first session runs

We treat the following as prerequisites, not aspirations. None of them will be outstanding when the first public session takes place:

• A named designated safeguarding lead, with a trained deputy, the only people with access to safeguarding reports.
• A named incident owner and an out-of-hours route while activities are underway.
• This policy reviewed by a qualified safeguarding professional.
• A confidential reporting route published on this page, including for people without an account.
• Public liability cover in place.