Safeguarding policy
Reviewed [date] · Next review [date]
Scope
This policy applies to everyone who teaches, assists, administers or volunteers for UK China Performing Arts School CIC, in the studio and online. It covers all children under 18 and adults at risk who take part in our classes, showcases, examinations and community sessions.
It sits alongside the safeguarding policies of the venues we hire. Where a venue policy is stricter, the stricter policy applies.
Named safeguarding lead
Designated Safeguarding Lead: [name], [role]. Contact: [email] · [phone].
Deputy Safeguarding Lead: [name], [role]. Contact: [email] · [phone].
The lead is responsible for receiving concerns, deciding on referrals, keeping safeguarding records and reviewing this policy annually.
Recruitment and DBS
All teaching staff and assistants working with children are required to hold an enhanced DBS certificate before working unsupervised with a class. Anyone waiting on a certificate works in sight of a checked member of staff at all times.
We take up two references for every teacher and check qualifications directly with the awarding institution where possible.
Conduct in class
Teachers use physical contact only where it is necessary for safety or technical correction, and explain it before it happens. Students may decline it.
Changing areas are supervised by an adult of the same gender as the students using them, and adults do not change in the same space as children.
A teacher is not alone in a closed room with a single child. For private one-to-one classes with a child, a parent or guardian is present or the door remains open and visible.
Online classes are taught from a neutral room, are joined from the parent or guardian account for under-16s, and are not recorded without written permission.
Photography and social media
No photograph or video of a child is taken, kept or published without written permission from a parent or guardian, obtained separately from any other consent.
Children are not identified by full name alongside their image. Location is not published with an image of a child.
Staff do not photograph students on personal devices and do not connect with students under 18 on personal social media accounts.
Permission can be withdrawn at any time by contacting us, and we will remove the image from material we control.
How to raise a concern
If you are worried about a child, tell the Designated Safeguarding Lead the same day. If the concern is about the lead, contact the deputy.
If a child is at immediate risk of harm, call 999. Otherwise the lead will contact the local authority children’s social care team in the borough where the child lives, and will record the concern, the decision and the reason for it.
You can also contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or the local authority directly. You do not need our permission to do so.
Records and review
Safeguarding records are kept securely, separately from class records, and are seen only by the lead and the deputy.
This policy is reviewed every 12 months and after any safeguarding incident. Review date: [date].