Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy

Purpose and Statement:

Children and young people have the right to be safe and happy whilst participating in activities organised by Procter Dance Academy. The company therefore takes all reasonable precautions to safeguard the welfare of the young people who work and train with us.

This child protection policy and associated procedures have been drawn up for the benefit of children and young people under the age of 18, or adults who may be considered vulnerable. They apply to all the teaching and support staff, voluntary class assistants and artists engaged by the company.

In accordance with the provisions of The Children Act 1989, the "welfare of children is paramount". This means that some of the usual considerations of confidentiality may be superseded by the need to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults (collectively referred to as 'young people' in this document).

The person at who has overall responsibility for child protection issues with Procter Dance Academy is the Principal, Anna Kavanagh. They have received training in the protection of young people and is responsible for ensuring that the company's policies and procedures are kept up to date and adhered to by Procter Dance Academy’s staff. She is also the person to whom any concerns regarding suspected child abuse should be addressed. The principal is also responsible for health and safety matters within the company. However, it is not their role to decide whether a young person has been abused or not; this is the job of the statutory authorities to whom she has a duty to report possible child abuse.

Review and monitoring of policy:

Reviewed annually or in instances of legislative change.
Monitoring is part of Management and Supervision.

The following policy is based on the below principles:

The welfare of the child is paramount.
All children, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin religious beliefs and/or sexual identity have the right to protection from abuse.
All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.
All staff (paid/unpaid) have a responsibility to report concerns to the designated person with responsibility for child protection.

We will aim to safeguard children by:

Adopting child protection guidelines through procedures and a code of conduct for staff and volunteers.
Sharing information about child protection and good practice with children, parents and carers, staff and volunteers.
Sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know and involving parents and children appropriately.
Carefully following the procedures for recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers.
Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through support, supervision and training.
We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice regularly.

Child Protection:

When recruiting staff and volunteers, the company takes up a minimum of two references and requires an enhanced disclosure certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service. This is a check that reveals whether the prospective member of staff is known to the police in relation to committing offences against children and any other convictions and/or cautions.

Procter Dance Academy aims to have at least two members of staff present during each class, workshop, rehearsal etc for pre-school/primary school age. This will usually be the class teacher and an assistant. Exceptions may occasionally be made for teachers who are well known to the group.

Young people will be supervised by adults throughout the session, including during breaks and toilet breaks. However, this only applies from the advertised start of the session and if children arrive early then parents and carers should take steps to ensure they are properly looked after until the session starts. Parents and carers also need to ensure that children are collected promptly at the end of sessions.
If a different family member is collecting a student, the principal needs to know in advance the relation and the name of who will be collecting.

All activities organised by Procter Dance Academy are subject to risk assessments both during the planning stage and by monitoring the activity. Appropriate steps are taken to minimise any risks identified.

We will not use photographic images of young people, for example for publicity purposes, without written permission from the legal guardian. Even when such permission is given, the young person's full name and address will not be revealed.

We keep records about participants so that we know whom to contact in case of an emergency, whether they suffer from any allergies, have a medical condition or a disability/special need and for monitoring purposes. These records are treated as confidential except where relevant information is given to class teachers/persons in charge.

If a participant sustains an injury during a session, this will be recorded digitally, and treatment given if appropriate. In the event of a serious incident, the parent/carer will be contacted immediately. A telephone (landline or mobile) is always available for staff to use in case of an emergency.

Appropriate Physical Touch:

As Performing Arts practitioners and facilitators, there may be occasions when physical touch between students and staff, and students and other students is appropriate.

Touch Between Students and Staff:

There are three reasons why contact between student/staff could be deemed appropriate.

A) A distressed pupil needs comfort and reassurance which may include physical comfort such as a caring parent would give. Staff will use their discretion in such cases.

(B) Some staff are likely to come into physical contact with pupils from time to time in the course of their duties. An example is demonstrating a movement or position during class. This may be to correct the placement of the arms, ribcage, hips, legs, hands and feet.

Touch Between Students:

Some choreography may require physical touch between students, for example, holding hands or supporting a lift.

All staff will ensure students feel comfortable.

Neglect and abuse:

Staff will report the concerns immediately to the designated person: Anna Kavanagh

All allegations will be taken seriously and any behaviour/words that may discourage will be avoided.
Assess the information quickly and carefully and ask for further information as appropriate.
Reported concerns cannot be kept confidential, Information will need to be shared with the principal and if needed, a child protection agency- Sefton Council Social Services Duty Childcare Co-ordinator (0345 140 0845) or the NSPCC Child Protection Helpline (0808 800 5000).
The designated person will make a referral to a statutory child protection agency or the police without delay.

Chaperoning children to and from events:

Any chaperone involved in Procter Dance Academy events will hold a valid chaperone licence.

When chaperoning children to or from an event we will:

Provide information about what the event is.
Provide a full address for the event.
Provide meeting points before a journey, or a designated meeting point if travelling separately.
Ask parents for contact details.