Child Protection Policy
La Danse Fantastique has a moral and legal obligation to ensure that, when given responsibility for children as staff, chaperones, parents/legal guardians and volunteers, accept the responsibilities to safeguard children from harm and abuse.
This means to ensure that everyone follows procedures to protect children and report any concerns about their welfare to appropriate authorities.
There are Three elements to our Policy:
• Prevent through awareness of each individual child’s needs.
• Definition of Child Abuse and Neglect.
• Procedures for identifying and reporting cases or suspected cases of abuse.
The aim of the policy is to promote good practice, providing children and young people with appropriate safety/protection whilst in the care of (La Danse Fantastique) and to allow staff and volunteers to make informed and confident responses to specific child protection issues.
PREVENTION
We recognise that the “entertainment industry” can be a very adult environment and we respect that all staff, chaperones, parents/legal guardians, volunteers and anyone else who comes into contact with the children behave in an appropriate manner at all times, and remember that “The Welfare of the Child is Paramount”.
La Danse Fantastique will therefore:
Act within the Children’s Act 1989 & 2004.
Act within The Children (Performances and activities) England Regulation 2014.
Establish and maintain an ethos where children feel welcome and familiar with their environment and are informed of personal requirements (toilets, dressing rooms etc), and emergency arrangements (fire exits, meeting points etc), and any Health and Safety Procedures (Dangerous equipment, First Aid etc).
Inform each child as to whom the appropriate person or people to speak to,
if they have any questions, problems or concerns.
Ensure that all children are treated with respect and dignity and are treated as individuals and offer quality of opportunities.
Always work in an open environment (eg. avoiding private or unobserved situations and unnecessary physical contact with children) and involve/allow parents/chaperones wherever possible, to take responsibility for the child/children they are responsible for (parents must only have responsibility for
their own child).
Recognising the individual needs of the child, eg. recognising when a child may be tired and need a break