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Policies and Procedures

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Here at Bell Street School of Dance the children come first. To ensure we have the best duty of care we annually asses our policies and procedures so they are up to date and all staff are informed.

Anti Bullying Procedure

 

  1. In accordance with the requirements of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 and the code of behaviour guidelines issued by the NEWB, the Board of Management of Bell Street School of Dance has adopted the following anti-bullying policy within the framework of the school’s overall code of behaviour. This policy fully complies with the requirements of the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools which were published in September 2013.

 

  1. The Board of Management recognises the very serious nature of bullying and the negative impact that it can have on the lives of pupils and is therefore fully committed to the following key principles of best practice in preventing and tackling bullying behaviour:

  • A positive school culture and climate which-

    • is welcoming of difference and diversity and is based on inclusivity;

    • encourages pupils to disclose and discuss incidents of bullying behaviour in a non-threatening environment; and

    • promotes respectful relationships across the school community;

  • Effective leadership;

  • A school-wide approach;

  • A shared understanding of what bullying is and its impact;

  • Implementation of education and prevention strategies (including awareness raising measures) that-

    • build empathy, respect and resilience in pupils; and

    • specifically address the issues of cyber-bullying and identity-based bullying including, in particular, homophobic and transphobic bullying.

  • Effective supervision and monitoring of pupils;

  • Support for staff;

  • Consistent recording, investigation and follow up of bullying behaviour (including use of established intervention strategies); and

  • On-going evaluation of the effectiveness of the anti-bullying policy.

 

 

  1. In accordance with the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools bullying is defined as follows:

Bullying is unwanted negative behaviour, verbal, psychological or physical conducted, by an individual or group against another person (or persons) and which is repeated over time.

The following types of bullying behaviour are included in the definition of bullying:

  • deliberate exclusion, malicious gossip and other forms of relational bullying,

  • cyber-bullying and

  • identity-based bullying such as homophobic bullying, racist bullying, bullying based on a person’s membership of the Traveller community and bullying of those with disabilities or special educational needs.

Isolated or one-off incidents of intentional negative behaviour, including a one-off offensive or hurtful text message or other private messaging, do not fall within the definition of bullying and should be dealt with as appropriate, in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.

However, in the context of this policy, placing a one-off offensive or hurtful public message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other people will be regarded as bullying behaviour.

Negative behaviour that does not meet this definition of bullying will be dealt with in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.

 

  1. The relevant teacher(s) for investigating and dealing with bullying is (are) as follows:

 

Eleanor Dillon

Ros Wetherilt

  1. Supervision and Monitoring of Pupils

 

The Board of Management confirms that appropriate supervision and monitoring policies and practices are in place both to prevent and deal with bullying behaviour and to facilitate early intervention where possible.

 

  1. Prevention of Harassment

 

The Board of Management confirms that the school will, in accordance with its obligations under equality legislation, take all such steps that are reasonably practicable to prevent the sexual harassment of pupils or staff or the harassment of pupils or staff on any of the nine grounds specified i.e. gender (including transgender), civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community.

 

  1. This policy was adopted by the Board of Management on 1st September 2020

 

  1. This policy has been made available to school personnel, published on the school website (or where none exists, is otherwise readily accessible to parents and pupils on request).

 

  1. This policy and its implementation will be reviewed by the Board of Management once in every school year. Written notification that the review has been completed will be made available to school personnel, published on the school website (or where none exists, be otherwise readily accessible to parents and pupils on request) and provided to the Parents’ Association (where one exists).  A record of the review and its outcome will be made available, if requested, to the patron and the Department.

 

Signed: ELEANOR DILLON

(Principal)

 

Date: 07/01/2023

 

Date of next review: 07/01/2024

 

 

Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy

Bell Street School of Dance is fully committed to safeguarding the welfare of all the children and young people up to the age of 18. We recognise our responsibility to take all the reasonable steps to promote safe practice and to protect children from harm, abuse and exploitation.

Bell Street School of Dance acknowledges our duty to act appropriately to any allegations, reports or suspicions of abuse. All staff and volunteers will work together to encourage the development of an ethos which embraces difference and diversity and respects the rights of children, young people and adults.

Bell Street School of Dance recognises its duty of care under the Children and Young Persons Act 1963, the Children (Performances and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014, the Children Act 1989 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018.

This policy applies to our paid staff, volunteers, dancers or anyone working on behalf of Bell Street School of Dance

The Purpose of this Policy:

  • To protect children and young people who dance at Bell Street School of Dance including regular classes, performances, workshops or any other activities linked to the dance school.

  • To provide parents, staff and volunteers guidance for our approach to child protection and what they should do if they suspect a child or young person may be experiencing, or is at risk of, harm.

Bell Street School of Dance will ensure that:

  • The safety and welfare of our dancers is paramount.

  • All children, whatever their age, gender, sexuality, race, disability, educational attainment or economic circumstance have the right to protection from abuse.

  • We recognize some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues.

  • All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately

Bell Street School of Dance will seek to safeguard children and young people by:

  • Ensuring everybody has the right to dance

  • Treating all dancers and parents with respect and dignity

  • Putting the welfare of each child first,

  • Providing enthusiastic and constructive criticism to dancers rather than negative criticism

  • Valuing the views of our dancers,

  • Focussing on the benefits of dance helping individuals personally and socially as well as physically,

  • Ensuring all paid staff are fully insured,

  • Never accepting bullying of any form

  • Ensuring all adult members will provide a positive role model (including those helping in classes),

  • Taking action to stop any inappropriate behaviour,

  • Keeping them informed of changes in legislation and policies for the protection of children,

  • Undertaking relevant professional development and training,

  • Ensuring all contact and medical details for every child is up to date and available at the place of teaching or performance,

  • Ensuring all staff receive safeguarding training

Bell Street School of Dance has a designated Safeguarding lead who is in charge of ensuring that the child protection policy is adhered to. The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Eleanor Dillon and she can be contacted on: 07402218332

This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner in light of any changes in legislation or guidance. All changes will be communicated to our members.

In implementing this policy, Bell Street School of Dance will:

·         Ensure that all paid staff/volunteers understand their legal and moral responsibility to protect children and young people from harm, abuse and exploitation.

·         Ensure that all staff and volunteers understand their duty to report concerns that arise about a child or young person, or a worker’s conduct towards a child or young person to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

·         The Designated Safeguarding Lead will refer any child protection concerns to the statutory child protection agencies (i.e. Police and/or Children’s Social Care)

·         Children, young people and parents will be informed of who the Designated Safeguarding Lead is and be able to raise any safeguarding concerns & know that these will be taken seriously and acted upon.

·         Ensure that staff will work in a consistent and equitable manner in line with the safer working practice guidance

Child Protection Procedures:

Managing Sensitive Information:

·         Permission will be sought from parents for photographs and/or videos to be taken of their children and further permission will be sought from parents for these photographs and/or videos to be used as marketing material or other purposes.

·         Photographs will not be permitted to be taken in dressing rooms at the annual show.

Unsupervised Contact

·         The organisation will ensure that no unauthorised adult has contact with the children.

·         If unsupervised contact is unavoidable (i.e. only one member of staff present), steps will be taken to minimise risk. For example, work will be carried out in a public area or in a designated room with the door open.

Physical Contact

·         All adults will maintain a safe and appropriate distance from children.

·         Adults will only touch children when it is absolutely necessary in relation to the particular activity.

·         Adults will seek the consent of the child prior to any physical contact and the purpose of the contact shall be made clear.

This policy was last reviewed on: 01/09/2020

This policy will be reviewed next on: 01/09/2021

Signed: ELEANOR DILLON

Date:07/01/2023

Health and Safety Policy

At Bell Street School of Dance we aim to provide and maintain safe and healthy working conditions, equipment and systems of work for all members of the school community and to provide such information, training and supervision as is required for this purpose.

This policy will be kept up to date to ensure responsibilities are met in relation to Health & Safety at Work Act (1974), Management Regulations (1999) and other relevant current legislation.

Staff

All staff engaged by Bell Street School of Dance must take reasonable responsibility to ensure the health and safety of all members of the school community. This includes:

  • Facilities and equipment - Ensuring all facilities and equipment are safe and in good working order before each class commences, that all equipment is stored in order to minimise risk and all damage or poor conditions reported.

  • Accidents and first aid - Staff undertaking regular first aid training, administering emergency first aid treatment, providing access to a first aid box, seeking further medical support and keeping accurate records which must be communicated to the Principal and any other relevant parties.

Supporting pupils with medical conditions

It is important that all pupils with medical conditions can access and enjoy the same opportunities as any other pupil at the school and be able to achieve their full potential. The following procedures are in place to support pupils with medical conditions:

  • All parents and guardians are required to give information regarding any medical conditions that their child has when they enrol. They must also update the school if the health of their child changes in any way that may affect their participation in lessons or the ability of staff to care for their child.

  • Arrangements relating to the accessibility and administration of medications will be agreed in writing between the Principal and the parents or guardians before the pupil starts lessons.

  • Parents and guardians must ensure that any medication that their child takes to help them with a particular condition is available to them during lessons.

  • The Principal will share appropriate information with other members of staff and ensure training is up to date.

  • Complaints Procedure

 

Bell Street School of Dance aims to provide high quality services which meets your needs. We believe we achieve this most of the time: if we are not getting it right please let us know. In order to ensure our services remain at a high and improving standard, we have a procedure through which you can let us know if for any reason you are not satisfied with your dealings with the organisation. If you are not happy with Bell Street School of Dance please tell us. If you are unhappy about any Bell Street School of Dance’s services, please speak to the relevant staff member, manager or Director. If you are unhappy with an individual in Bell Street School of dance sometimes it is best to tell him or her directly. If you feel this is difficult or inappropriate then speak to the staff member's manager or the Director. Often we will be able to give you a response straight away. When the matter is more complicated we will give you at least an initial response within five working days.  If you are not satisfied with our response or wish to raise the matter more formally, please write to the Principle Eleanor Dillon. All written complaints will be logged. You will receive a written acknowledgement within three working days. The aim is to investigate your complaint properly and give you a reply within ten working days, setting out how the problem will be dealt with. If this is not possible, an interim response will be made informing you of the action taken to date or being considered. Finally, once the complaint has been dealt with, please also let us know if you are happy with Bell Street School of Dance services.

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