January 2026 News & Updates

Schools are rightly cautious when it comes to streaming, which is why we’re working with HMC, GSA and PADSIS on a formal white paper to define clear, sector-wide standards for safe and responsible school streaming. Launching in March, this guidance will give schools a strong governance and safeguarding framework to stream with confidence.

For schools already using SOCS TV – or those about to – this provides clear reassurance that you’re leading the way on secure, trusted streaming for your community, aligned with best practice across the sector.

Want to find our more? Read our latest insight from James, bringing together focused discussions with leaders from HMC, GSA, PADSIS and Joymo as they tackle a question schools are already asking:

How do we embrace streaming without compromising safeguarding, privacy or trust? 

Read the article here: Taking the Lead on Safe Streaming in Schools | SOCS

Thank you again for your patience as we continue work on the new Parent Portal and Payments features. We’re pleased to share that development has progressed well, and final testing of the Parent Portal has now begun.

Our focus is currently on ensuring the portal is stable, secure and ready for schools, ahead of a phased rollout planned over the coming months. As previously shared, the Payments functionality will follow once the Parent Portal is live, as it is built directly on this foundation.

We’ll continue to keep you updated as testing progresses and key milestones are reached. In the meantime, if you’d like a reminder of what’s coming, please take a look at our ‘first look’ video, which gives an overview of the new functionality.

We’re excited to share that our auto-email team sheet feature is coming soon. A handful of schools are already testing it and providing feedback to our development team.

This new feature will automatically send team sheets to pupils and parents for selected fixtures — no need to click “email team sheet” on each individual team sheet anymore.

We’ll provide another update as soon as it’s ready for wide release, so stay tuned!

Following our popular Daily Mail Trophy podcasts, we’re thrilled to launch a brand-new SOCS podcast series focused on one of the biggest weeks in school rugby: the Howden Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens.

The Road to Rosslyn Park is hosted by Little & Large — Russell & Phil — two former Directors of Sport (one 5’8”, one 6’8!), bringing insight, stories, and a touch of chaos from the world of school rugby.

The series tracks the journey to the 2026 RPNS7s, including fixtures, squad highlights, coaching perspectives, and key players to watch.

Listen now and join us on the road to Rosslyn Park: Howden Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens Podcast

Old School is a global supporters’ lifestyle brand that sits at the crossroads of sport, education, fashion and culture. From schools sport to the world’s biggest sporting stages, their work is rooted in community, identity and pride.

We’re excited to be working closely with Old School in the months ahead and can’t wait to share more details soon.

Find out more about Old School here

Following a successful pilot of SOCS Sport with a group of Curro schools in 2025, we’re delighted to be expanding our partnership in 2026. Additional Curro schools will be coming on board and adopting multiple SOCS modules, building on the strong foundations established during the pilot phase.

Curro is a group of 189 independent schools across South Africa, and we’re excited to continue supporting their schools with connected, efficient systems that simplify sport and wider school administration.

With SOCS, prioritising student safety is more efficient than ever. By integrating medical records from your MIS, key health information appears as a clear warning on SOCS registers—helping staff make informed decisions across sports, co-curricular activities, music lessons, and more.

You can also connect with leading injury and concussion platforms like MISoffgames, Return2Play, and Podium Analytics, streamlining student welfare management. From securing parental consent to tracking travel details, SOCS ensures you have everything you need to prioritise student safety across your entire programme.

For more information or assistance with setting up medical integration, contact our support team at support@socs.tech.

From all of us at SOCS, we’d like to wish all our schools, staff, pupils, and families a very happy and healthy start to the year. We’re looking forward to continuing to support you throughout the year ahead!

Latest Updates | SOCS