Safeguarding Procedures and Safeguarding Policy
Beckenham Ballet Academy
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children.
Aim
The purpose of Beckenham Ballet Academy’s safeguarding policy is to ensure every child at our organisation is safe and protected from harm.
This means we will always work to:
protect children from maltreatment
prevent impairment of children’s health or development
ensure that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the
provision of safe and effective care
take action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
This policy will give clear direction to staff, volunteers, visitors and parents about the expected behaviour and our legal responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children at our organisation.
Introduction
Our organisation fully recognises the contribution it can make to protecting children from harm and supporting and promoting the welfare of all children. The elements of our policy are prevention, protection and support.
We believe that no child or young person should be the subject of neglectful or abusive behaviour. We will promote and maintain the welfare of every child in our care and seek to protect them from harm regardless of race, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief or any other form of identity or creed. We will create a safe and welcoming environment for all.
This policy applies to all our staff, visitors and covers children under the age of 18. To protect children and young people in our care, we will:
Value and respect children and listen to what they have to say
Work with children, parents and relevant organisations.
Ensure all required checks are made when hiring staff and that those in regular contact with children hold a current DBS check (or non-UK equivalent).
Provide appropriate training and support to all staff.
Take responsibility for children and young people’s safety when in our care.
Report suspected neglect or abuse to the nominated member of staff, relevant organisation, or police
Ensure that this policy is regularly updated.
Our Ethos
Our organisation will establish and maintain an ethos where our children feel secure, are encouraged to talk, are listened to and are safe. Children will be able to talk freely to any member of staff if they are worried or concerned about something.
All staff, either through training or induction, will know how to recognise a disclosure from a child and will know how to manage this. We will not make promises to any child and we will not keep secrets. Every child will know what the adult will do with whatever they have been told.
General Procedures
When new staff, join our organisation they will be informed of the safeguarding arrangements in place. They will be given a copy of our organisation’s safeguarding policy and told who our Designated Safeguarding Officer for Safeguarding is.
All staff will be asked to read this policy yearly after it has been reviewed and updated if necessary. They will sign to say they have read and understood the policy.
Parents will sign a consent form at the start of their child’s involvement with the organisation, which includes any vital health or otherwise notable information. It also requests permission for photographs to be taken for promotional purposes only.
Training
Every member of staff will undertake appropriate safeguarding training.
We actively encourage all of our staff to keep up to date with the most recent local and national safeguarding advice and guidance.
The Designated Officer - Linda Walsham, should be used as a first point of contact for concerns and queries regarding any safeguarding concern in our organisation.
Our aim is to provide a safe and supportive environment which secures the well-being and very best outcomes for our children. We do recognise that sometimes the behaviour of adults may lead to an allegation of abuse being made.
Allegations sometimes arise from a differing understanding of the same event, but when they occur they are distressing and difficult for all concerned. We also recognise that many allegations are genuine and there are some adults who deliberately seek to harm or abuse children.
We will take all possible steps to safeguard our children and to ensure that the adults in our organisation are safe to work with our children.
We will seek appropriate advice from the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) within 24 hours of a concern or allegation being made.
Staff will not investigate these matters. We will seek and work with the advice that is provided.
Roles and Responsibilities
Our Designated Safeguarding Officer will liaise with Children’s Services and other agencies where necessary and make referrals to Children’s Services using the procedure below.
Any concern for a child’s safety or welfare will be recorded in writing and given to the Designated Safeguarding Officer who will be responsible for ensuring that all staff members and volunteers are aware of our policy and the procedure they need to follow.
The Designated Safeguarding Officer will ensure that all staff, volunteers and regular/repeat visitors have received appropriate Safeguarding information during induction and have been trained by the Safer Programme.
The Designated Safeguarding Officer will ensure that our safeguarding policy is in place and is reviewed annually. The content of our policy has been written following consultation with the Safer Programme.
At all times the Designated Safeguarding Officer will ensure that safer recruitment practices are followed.
Our organisation undertakes to remedy without delay any weakness in regard to our safeguarding arrangements that are brought to their attention.
Procedures for Handling Disclosures
A child may decide to disclose information that may indicate they are suffering from abuse or neglect. A child chooses to speak to an adult because they feel that they will listen and that they can trust them. The adult needs to listen to what the child has to say, and be very careful not to ‘lead’ the child or influence in any way what they say.
It is important that the adult remembers to:
Stay calm
Listen and be supportive
Not ask any leading questions, interrogate the child, or put ideas in the child’s head, or jump to conclusions
Not stop or interrupt a child who is recalling significant events
Never promise the child confidentiality – it must be explained that information will need be to be passed on to help keep them safe
Avoid criticising the alleged perpetrator
Tell the child what must be done next (the safeguarding process must be followed)
Record what was said immediately as close to what was said as possible. Also record what was happening immediately before the child disclosed. Be sure to sign and date the record in ink.
Contact the designated person immediately
Seek support
We are clear that the Local Authority and Police must lead any investigation in to any allegation regarding safeguarding.
If we have a concern about a child or children we will telephone the Children’s Advice and Duty Service (CADS) on 0344 800 8021 immediately. We will be put through to a Social Worker who will take all of the relevant details. We will make sure we are prepared with full details of the child and family, plus what our concerns are, details of any support we have provided to the child/family and what we would like to happen. We will ensure we gain consent from the parent/carer unless to do so would place the child at further risk of harm or undermine a criminal investigation. If we have not sought consent from the parent/carer we will inform the CADS worker of this and the reason for this.
The CADS worker will agree a way forward with us and keep us informed. They will send us a written record of our conversation within 5 working days. The outcomes could include a full referral to the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) for further investigation, the Police, or for work with Early Help. We will not investigate and will be led by the Local Authority and/or the Police.
We will make careful records of all conversations, in ink, including the dates and times of who we spoke to, the information shared and the action agreed. We do not need to send a written referral..
We will contact CADS immediately if we have concerns, it is important we do not delay.
What is abuse and neglect?
A form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting by those known to them or, more rarely, by others (e.g. via the internet). They may be abused by an adult or adults, or another child or children.
Physical abuse
A form of abuse which may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.
Emotional abuse
The persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may include not giving the child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond a child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying (including cyber bullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.
Sexual abuse
Involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse Sexual abuse can take place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.
Neglect
The persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse.
Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:
provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment);
protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger;
ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers); or
ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.
It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children
Defined for the purposes of this guidance as:
protecting children from maltreatment;
preventing impairment of children’s health or development;
ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and
taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
Child protection
Part of safeguarding and promoting welfare. This refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm.
Additional Guidance A: Reporting Suspected Neglect or Abuse.
A smaller school with only one or two members of staff will contact an appropriate external agency to report suspected abuse or neglect. Larger schools will nominate a member of staff who will make the decision about what to do next. Please note: failure to report suspected abuse can itself be considered to be abuse. Concerns regarding a child’s welfare can be reported by: • Parents • Teachers • Friends • The child or young person. All allegations of neglect or abuse will be taken seriously. If a concern is reported directly by the child or young person we will not seek to disagree, ask probing or leading questions, or do anything else which may discourage them.
We will make it clear that reported concerns cannot be kept confidential but will need to be shared with a nominated member of staff or external organisation. Parents or guardians will also be involved if appropriate. It can be helpful to write down what is being reported to you. Make sure you do not add your own assumptions, opinions or judgements. We recognise that early action is vital. Any concerns will be reported immediately. If the child or young person is in immediate danger of harm, we will contact the police on (999) In all other cases, we will report concerns to the local Protection Team.
Additional Guidance B: Appropriate Physical Contact in Dance.
Physical contact in a dance class is sometimes required to correct the posture or position of a student. Teaching dance is a physical activity and a teacher will sometimes need to make physical contact with a student to show an idea or to correct the student’s position. This can include: • Lifting • Adjusting arms, legs, rib cage, hips, feet, hands • Moving one student in relation to another.
Where contact is needed, we will remain sensitive to the student’s wishes and put their welfare first. In all cases, we will say why and how we will be correcting the student’s position before making any contact. We encourage students to report any concerns.
Additional Guidance C: Chaperoning Children to and from Dance Events.
UK law does not state how many adults are required to look after a group of students. Therefore, it is up to the dance teacher to assess what is needed. Take account of: • The length and type of journey • The age of the students • Anything else that may affect their safety. In the UK some events require young performers to hold a Child Performance Licence and that any Licenced child has a designated chaperone who is pre-approved by the child’s local council. More information about this scheme can be found on the UK Government website. Laws will be different in non-UK countries, so please check local regulations.
When chaperoning students to an event, we will: • Provide parents and students with information about what the event is for • Provide parents and students with the full address of the event • In cases where the event is taking place in a large building, we will also give the room or studio number where possible • Have a planned journey route that is shared with parents, students and chaperones • Make sure that students are aware of what they should do if they get lost • Ask parents and students for their contact details in case of emergency • Have a clear idea of how students will be cared for while at the event We will ensure that chaperones hold all required checks and licences and are aware of our Child Protection Policy. If a child is missing and all efforts to find them have failed, then it is advisable to call the police. Immediate action can make all the difference.
Additional Guidance D: Use of Photographs and Film of Children.
It is common for teachers, parents and students to take images (in the form of photographs and film) at classes and events. However, there may be times when it is not appropriate for images to be taken. These can include: • While students are getting changed or are in their designated changing rooms • Where the image may be shared publicly on social media • When students are in large groups and permission has not been sought from all those included in the image It is therefore important for your school to have a policy that clearly states when images can be taken. The UK Government has provided advice on their website regarding safety when sharing photographs and film on social media. Other countries will have similar guidance.
Health & Safety Policy.
We will actively maintain and promote good health and safety procedures and will: • Maintain safe and healthy work conditions • Provide adequate control of the health and safety risks at our school • Be open to comments and suggestions from our employees, students and their parents on matters relating to health and safety • Provide information, instruction and supervision for employees and students and make them aware of this policy • Ensure all employees are capable of doing their tasks, hold any required qualifications, and that they receive adequate training • Record any harm or injuries that occur in an Accident Book and make changes where required to avoid similar incidents in the future •Regularly review and update this policy
Linda Walsham has overall responsibility for health and safety including the day-to-day responsibility for ensuring this policy is put into practice.
A First Aid box is located in the cupboard above the sink in the Staff kitchen and an Accident Report Book is in the same cupbaord. In the case of an emergency or serious injury, please contact the emergency services on (999).
Continued Professional Development.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) with the RAD and BBO is the means by which a teacher keeps their knowledge up-to-date and refreshed throughout their career. As part of the CPD scheme, all Members are encouraged to attend a minimum of 20 hours of CPD events per year.
Taking part in CPD activities is vital for any teacher who wants to ensure that they continue to offer their students the best training possible. CPD can further your teaching practice through: • Staying up-to-date with syllabus revisions • Learning new teaching methods, approaches and concepts • Keeping abreast of developments in the dance profession Regular CPD attendance will demonstrate to students and their parents that you are committed to maintaining the highest standard of dance teaching.
In order to achieve the CPD element of our Professional Standards Scheme, you will need to attend a minimum of 20 hours of dance-related activities. These can include: • RAD/BBO courses • Courses by other dance, arts and education organisations (providing these have clearly stated learning outcomes) •Teacher training qualifications • Further or higher education courses • Participation in regular dance classes or training
Attendance at professional performances and competitions • Mentoring or coaching.
Relevant Guidance and Legislation
Working Together 2018
What to do if You’re Worried a Child is Being Abused 2015
Children Act 2004
Children Act 1989
Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families
Other Relevant Policies
To underpin the values and ethos of our organisation and our intent to ensure our children/young people are appropriately safeguarded the following policies are also included under our safeguarding umbrella;
Safer Recruitment
Bullying
Code of Conduct
Confidentiality
Health and Safety
First aid
Useful Contacts
Children’s Services 24 hours …………………………………….. 0344 800 8020
Children’s Advice and Duty Service……………………0344 800 8021
In an emergency ………………………………………………………… 999
Local Authority Designated Officers (LADO) Team
Named Designated Child Protection Officer
The following designated staff are in post;
Designated officer Linda Walsham
Telephone number 07595 158428
Policy Review
This policy will be reviewed on 31/08/2022.