To keep our community informed and ensure the safety of our youth members, we use WhatsApp Communities as a secondary communication tool. The Spond App is our primary communication mechansim and must be used by parents. This policy outlines how our groups are managed and the rules for participation.
Voluntary Participation: Joining any of our WhatsApp groups is strictly opt-in. No parent or youth member is required to join. Essential communications will always be available via Spond.
Invite-Only: Groups are invite-only. Links will be distributed directly to parents/guardians. Please do not forward these links to others. Group admins will manually approve all requests to join.
Confidentiality & No Forwarding: To protect the privacy of our community, messages, announcements, and contact details shared within these groups must not be forwarded, screenshotted, or shared with anyone outside the group.
Privacy & Phone Number Visibility: We use a WhatsApp Community structure with specific sub-groups for different sections. Please be aware that when you join a section-specific group (e.g., Saturn Cubs Parents, Jupiter Beavers Parents), your phone number and profile picture will be visible to all other members of that specific group. By opting to join, you consent to this visibility within any sections of the community that you are a member of.
Right to Leave: You can leave the groups at any time without explanation.
Some sections maintain section-specific WhatsApp groups as follows
Purpose: To build community, share non-sensitive updates, coordinate transport/carpooling, and ask general questions.
Disappearing Messages: To minimize data storage and maintain privacy, all parent groups are configured with disappearing messages turned on. Messages will automatically delete after 90 days.
Photos and Videos (GDPR): To comply with GDPR and our strict safeguarding standards, no images or videos of youth members will be shared via WhatsApp. All event photos and media sharing will be handled exclusively and securely through the Spond app.
Code of Conduct: We ask that all communication remains respectful, relevant to Scouting, and mindful of the time of day. Please avoid spam, forwarded jokes, or political/commercial content. Individual concerns or sensitive issues please contact the Section Leaders directly via email or phone.
For our older sections (e.g., Scouts, Venture Scouts, Explorers), we operate dedicated youth WhatsApp groups to communicate directly with the members.
Strictly Logistical: The sole purpose of these groups is to broadcast logistical information. This includes meeting updates, location pins, gear lists, and last-minute schedule changes.
Broadcast Only (One-Way): To protect our youth members and leaders, these groups are set so that only Admins (Leaders) can send messages. It operates as a noticeboard, not a chat room.
Safeguarding:
There will always be a minimum of two adult Leaders present as Admins in any youth group.
Leaders will not engage in private direct messages (DMs) with youth members. Any direct replies from youth members regarding logistics will be handled transparently, and parents will be included if a wider discussion is needed.
By joining these groups, you agree to abide by the guidelines outlined above. Group Admins reserve the right to remove any member who does not adhere to this policy.