Introduction

At LC Dance we take our responsibility to protect and safeguard the welfare of children and young people seriously. This policy is an effective whole-school child protection policy that applies to all pupils, staff and volunteers within the school. LC Dance recognises that we act as an agent of referral and not as investigation. We strive to maintain a positive school atmosphere and our staff are trained to respond appropriately and sensitively to child protection concerns. Every effort is made to ensure children are aware there are adults within the school they can approach if they are worried or in difficulty, and we work hard to establish positive and effective working relationships with parents. The good practise guidance from Essex Safeguarding Children Board is adhered to where applicable.

Roles and Responsibilities

All adults working on behalf of LC Dance pupils have a responsibility to protect them. It is the role of the Designated Child Protection & Safeguarding Coordinator (Lydia Coomb) to ensure that all child protection procedures are followed within the school and to make timely referrals to Social Care Services where appropriate. Additionally it is the role of the designated Child Protection & Safeguarding Coordinator (Lydia Coomb) to ensure all staff and volunteers within the school are aware of child protection procedures. The safe recruitment process of chaperones used for dance events is adhered to and enhanced DBS checks or Chaperone licenses from Local Authorities are sought for any adult who have unsupervised access to children.

Procedures

All action is taken in line with the Essex Safeguarding Children Board (ESCB) guidance.

Any member of staff or volunteer who receives a disclosure of abuse of suspects that abuse may have occurred MUST report it immediately to the Designated Child Protection Coordinator (Lydia Coomb).

Written Details will be taken to include the pupil’s name, address, date of birth, date of disclosure (using the child’s own words). A referral can then be made to Social Care Services using the Inter-Agency Referral Form (ECC999) or similar. Where appropriate this information will be shared with parents unless we believe it will harm or place a child at a greater risk of harm or impede a criminal investigation.

All staff and volunteers are made aware of LC Dance’s Health and Safety Policy and relevant advice regarding boundaries of appropriate behaviour and conduct. Reminders about these are given by the school principal (Lydia Coomb) at all dance events with the emergency fire evacuation talk.

No personal recordings or cameras (including mobile phones with camera/video facilities) are to be used in classes, backstage at shows or in any area of dance events where changing occurs. Written signatory parental consent is collected for all members in terms of photographing and filming classes, with photographs being sent to local press and photographs/videos appearing on The Dance Co.’s website, as well as their Facebook and Instagram accounts. The Dance Co. staff are vigilant to ensure that only those members with parental signatory consent are photographed. Please note, all pictures taken for these purposes are taken by staff members and are regulated by Lydia Coomb. In the event of local newspapers visiting the school to take photographs for articles, parents are consulted beforehand to obtain permission and to invite parents to witness the photographs being taken.

Some of our younger pupils may need help going to the bathroom, and in this instance a staff with an enhanced DBS or a chaperone license will accompany the child with an adult so no child is ever alone with a member of staff.

In the event of an allegation being made about a member of LC Dance staff or a volunteer within the school, advice would be taken from ESCB or MASH to follow the SET procedures.

Confidentiality

If any member of staff or volunteer receives a disclosure of abuse from a child, they must never agree to keep the information confidential (keep a secret) and must explain to the child that they will need to tell someone about what they have said. The member of staff or volunteer must only listen to the child’s disclosure and not ask any further questions. Staff will be asked to provide a written account of the disclosure using only the child’s words.

Once the referral of individual cases has been made, staff and volunteers will be reminded to our confidentiality policy with regards to discussing children outside of school staff. Copies of all notes are held in a separate and confidential file – dated and signed with actions taken.

Policy updated 26th December 2023, to be reviewed Dec 2024.