Siegeris Dance Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy

Siegeris Dance recognise that we have an explicit duty to safeguard and protect children from harm and abuse. Furthermore, we recognise that:

• the welfare of the child is paramount, as enshrined in the Children Act 1989
• all children, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity, have a right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse
• some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues
• working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.

Everyone at our organisation shares an objective to help keep children, young people and vulnerable adults safe by:

• Providing a safe environment to learn and teach in for our pupils and staff (including volunteers)
• Identifying and responding to children, young people and vulnerable adults in need or support and / or protection
• Supporting children’s development in ways which will foster a sense of self-esteem and independence
• Fostering a learning environment in which every pupil feels valued and respected, and able to articulate their wishes and feelings in their preferred method of communication in an atmosphere of acceptance and trust
• Recording and storing information professionally and securely and adhering to the procedures
• Appointing a Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO).

Siegeris Dance will endeavour to ensure that all children and vulnerable adults are protected from harm while they visit or are attending classes run by Siegeris Dance. We will do this by:

• Making sure our staff (including paid and volunteer teachers, assistants and helpers) are carefully selected
• Providing appropriate training for staff in issues of child protection, ongoing support and supervision
• Ensure all staff (including the Principal, teaching staff, assistants and head chaperones) undergo an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check, (formerly known as Criminal Record Bureau/CRB Check)
• To establish and maintain an ethos where children and young people feel secure and are encouraged to talk, and are listened to
• Taking all reasonable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare of any child or vulnerable adult in contact with us
• Not physically, emotionally or sexually abusing any child or vulnerable adult in contact with us
• Taking all reasonable steps to prevent any staff member, persons working for us or member of the public from putting any child or vulnerable adult in a situation in which there is an unreasonable risk to their health and safety
• Taking all reasonable steps to prevent any staff member, persons working for us or member of the public from physically, emotionally or sexually abusing any child or vulnerable adult
• Reporting to the Principal and DSO, Mrs Jennifer Siegeris, any evidence or reasonable suspicion that a child or vulnerable adult has been physically, emotionally or sexually abused in contact with us or anyone in, or connected to, our organisation
• Reporting all incidents to the Principal/DSO who will refer relevant information and concerns with the appropriate agencies who need to know and involve children, parents, families and carers appropriately and in a sensitive manner
• Implementing this policy in conjunction with our Health and Safety guidelines already in place and creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment
• Using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately and ensuring that effective complaints measures are in place.
• Everyone working or applying to work for this organisation is to be made aware of our policy for children’s welfare. Furthermore, this document will be issued to all staff and other people who are likely to have contact with children as part of their work with us.

If you have any questions related to Safeguarding please contact the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) Mrs Jennifer Siegeris, info@siegerisdance.com or 020 3015 8467.

Online Safety Policy

Regarding Siegeris Dance online resources during the Coronavirus situation

Updated: 14th April 2020

We at Siegeris Dance have a duty of care to ensure our pupils can continue their development and training online in a safe and secure manner.

It is our belief that all pupils and their families should feel included in our online sessions and that we must work together to ensure that our values and the safety of our pupils are upheld at all times.

To allow as many pupils to continue to enjoy Siegeris Dance classes as possible during these unprecedented times, we have implemented the following online platforms:

Facebook: There are Private Groups for each of our classes and Siegeris Dance Facebook page for the whole school for updates, information and activities appropriate to all.

Zoom: Invitations with details on how to access the classes will only be sent out to enrolled students.

(The use of Social Media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram as well as our WordPress Website and Gmail email system continue to be used as normal.)

Our online safety measures

Invitation to any of the groups or classrooms is optional and those that do not wish to take part online do not need to.

All groups and classrooms only contain those members of our usual classes and are accessible only to those registered.

All recipients are instructed not to pass on the group invite or any link received to anyone.

Groups are private and for the invited parents/responsible carers of enrolled pupils only. ALL approval questions must be answered correctly to be allowed access to the group.

All material shared will be appropriate to the age and ability of those in the group.

Personal details will never be shared within the group and no details (including those shared by participants, i.e. in the comments or their own posts) should ever be shared outside of the group.

Any photos, links, videos posted by participants must remain in the group only.

Certain activities posted by Siegeris Dance may be shared but always gain permission from the general manager first.

Posts that are not relevant to the group must not be posted by parents.

Specific questions or videos/photos that have been asked for should only be posted where possible within the comment sections of the relevant post.

Siegeris Dance reserves the right to delete (without explanation) any post considered irrelevant or inappropriate to the group.

If anyone is found to be breaking the rules, particularly in a way that could pose a safety or security risk to our pupils, they will be removed from the group and further action may be sought where necessary.

If we feel the group has been compromised in any way it will be shut down

Always ensure you log out properly after any session and change your passwords regularly to avoid being hacked. Never share your passwords and only save in keychain if it is an individual/personal device or computer – Siegeris Dance will do the same.

Live streams do not have to be participated in “live” – we will leave the live video on the group as long as appropriate and/or upload an edited version to the classroom so all can have access.

Our teachers aim to provide a safe and appropriate class during these sessions and will adhere to our online code of conduct. Please respect that you are seeing into their private space during these sessions. However, please report to info@siegerisdance.com immediately anything you see that makes you feel uncomfortable or concerned during these sessions.

Please ensure an adult is always on standby during a dance class (live or pre-recorded). In the unlikely event the feed is hacked and you are subjected to inappropriate material, please immediately switch off your device and remove your child from the situation. We recommend clearing your history and other unwanted cookies and resetting your passwords. Report any incidents to info@siegerisdance.com immediately so she can take the relevant action.

The use of Facebook Groups allows the consenting adult to choose when children can take part and/or be exposed to the activities and sessions taking place online thus allowing a stronger sense of control over children being exposed to so much online content.

Facebook accounts are only aimed at those aged 14 and above and therefore special care should be taken for our younger pupils that they are only exposed to such online services in a manner that is for their personal development and dance training.

All content posted by Siegeris Dance will be suitable for the group they are aimed at but it is important to remember that content is aimed in the first instance at the person owning the Facebook account. It must therefore be understood that all online activities impose a certain risk and it is the responsibility of the consenting adult to ensure children are only taking part in online activities suitable for their age and ability and those of which they, as the parent, decide is appropriate.

Online Videos

Videos created by us for the purpose of training development will either be posted directly to the Group/Classroom or via a link to Zoom.

All videos shared by us will be appropriate for the age and ability of those receiving them. However, participation in, or the watching of, any video is always optional.

Videos / Links created by us must not be shared further without consent of the Principal.

Any links to public videos may of course be shared further but as we only send links appropriate to the individuals receiving them Siegeris Dance cannot take responsibility for videos those individuals choose to send to 3rd parties.

We will continue to review both our online safety policies and our privacy policies throughout this period and will always endeavor to provide our pupils and families with online services that allow us to continue to support and develop our pupils whilst ensuring they are kept safe and secure.

However, it is important to remember that the use of any online platform is always optional and Siegeris Dance cannot take responsibility for any issues (such as hacking, computer viruses, installation of unwanted cookies, etc.) that may result from the use of the online tools, including those we have suggested.

If you have any issues or concerns in regard to online safety and security, please contact Mrs Jennifer Siegeris (Designated Safeguarding Officer) in writing at info@siegerisdance.com.