Safeguarding Children and Child Protection Policy

Last updated: 16 September 2026

This Policy:

This policy must be read and understood by all members of staff at Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studios. The term staff refers to all those working in a paid or voluntary capacity, including, for example, freelance teachers, guest teachers, helpers and chaperones.

We will make sure this policy is accessible to all staff, parents and students, and will make sure that all staff members can understand this policy by:

a)  having a training day before the beginning of each new academic year to discuss and review this policy.

b) discussing it in each staff meeting to ensure every member of staff is secure in their knowledge of this policy.

All staff and volunteers at Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studios must adhere to this policy and must understand their duties and responsibilities regarding safeguarding.

A copy of this policy will always be available on our website and in paper form at the studio.

All staff and volunteers have a strict duty never to subject a child to any form of harm or abuse.

Failure to adhere to these procedures will be treated as gross misconduct.

Our Responsibility:

At Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studios, we recognise we have a responsibility to protect and safeguard the welfare of all children and young people we work with and have an explicit duty to do so under the Children Act 1989 and 2004 and the Education Act 2002 (England).

At Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studios we believe that the welfare of the child is of paramount importance.

No child should be treated any less favourably than others in accessing services that meet their needs and that all children without exception have the right to protection from abuse regardless of their gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or beliefs.

A ‘child’ is anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday. The fact that a child has reached 16 years of age, is living independently, in further education, or working does not change his/ her entitlement to protection as a child.

Our policy applies to all children and young people until their 18th birthday.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people means: 

Protecting children from maltreatment, preventing impairment of a child’s health or development, ensuring that children are growing up with the provision of safe and effective care and taking action to ensure that children have the best life chances.

1. At Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studios, we will do this by

   • Identify and respond to concerns about a child or young person

   • Provide a safe and happy dance environment

   • Have a robust health and safety policy and risk assessments

   • Support equality and diversity.

   • Use safer recruitment strategies (DBS check and references before they join the team).

2. At Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studios, all concerns and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously. It is the responsibility of all staff and volunteers to take steps to protect children, to keep them safe from hazards and to take appropriate action in the event of an accident.

3. It is the responsibility of all staff and volunteers to take reasonable steps to protect children and young people from harm and abuse while in contact with our school and our staff and to report any incident of or suspicion of abuse to the Designated Safeguarding Lead: Miss Bev ([email protected]) or, in their absence, directly to the appropriate statutory authority (Devon County Council-Making a request for support - Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership (devonscp.org.uk)

Position of trust:

1. All adults who are working with children, volunteering in a chaperone capacity, for or on behalf of Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studios are in a position of trust. Being in a position of trust can mean we are able to influence children and young people’s lives positively; it can also mean we are in a position of significant power and influence.

2. This power must not be abused. The law states that those in positions of trust within dance settings cannot legally have a sexual relationship with young people aged 16 or 17 years old. A position of trust offence is committed when an adult in a position of trust engages in sexual activity with a child in their care, even if the child is over the age of consent (aged over 16 in the UK).

Designated Safeguarding Lead:

1. At Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studios, our designated safeguarding person is Miss Bev. As designated safeguarding lead, they have additional training in:

   • Safeguarding children level 2.

   • Managing allegations training.

   • Safeguarding in the performing arts via NSPCC learning.

   • PGCE in Education, which covers the handling of MASH referrals and reporting to the police to keep children and young people safe.

Safe use of changing rooms and toilets:

We have devised a separate policy for the safe use of changing rooms.

Managing injury:

• If a child has a physical injury, all staff will follow the health and safety procedure.

• If a child is injured in relation to potential suspected abuse, attention should be sought for the injury first, then procedures for safeguarding should be followed.

• Contacting the emergency services for medical treatment must not be delayed for any reason.

Photography and Video:          

• Children, young people and their parents or carers have a right to decide whether a photograph is taken of them or their child. Photographs and video may only be taken with consent.

• Children, young people and their parents have a right to decide how any photo or video of them is used, shared or stored. Photographs and video may only be used, shared or stored with consent. Each caregiver will be asked for consent on joining the dance school. Parents and carers have the right to withdraw or change this consent at any time but must let us know in writing.

Online safety:        

• All social media accounts are password-protected. 

• More than one member of staff will have access to every social media account and will be able to see what happens within all groups.

• The designated safeguarding lead shall have access to view sites and groups as necessary, and there will be a designated member of staff who is responsible for checking and monitoring the quality and appropriateness of all posts on social media sites/groups.

• Each year we will elect a safe adult to have monitoring responsibility for the social media accounts; they will have the right to remove inappropriate posts with immediate effect but will be asked to provide a reason for this decision where appropriate.

• All social media posts will align with the work of the dance school, be fit for purpose and align with our policies.

• All account names and email addresses shall be appropriate and fitting for a professional organisation.

Managing Recruitment:

• All individuals working at Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studios who have contact with children and young people are required to hold a valid, clear DBS check.

• All staff and volunteers will be recruited in line with safer recruitment guidance.

• No staff will be employed or able to volunteer if they are barred from working with children and in the event of an incident where a member of staff must be dismissed (or chooses to leave) because they have harmed a child DBS will be notified.

Managing Allegation:

• If a child discloses a concern or makes an allegation to a member of staff, the member of staff will not question the child or investigate further, but they will accurately record the allegation and immediately report the disclosure to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (Miss Bev) and the school principal, Miss Anne, who will immediately report the matter to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and the local police.

• If the allegation or concern raised is about a member of staff, this may still present a risk of harm to children in the school for whom that member of staff is responsible and, as such, the general principles of this policy still apply.

• If any member of staff or parent has concerns about the behaviour or conduct of another member of staff or individual working within the school, the concern should be reported to Miss Anne, the School Principal or the designated safeguard lead (Miss Bev). An investigation will then be conducted to determine the necessary next steps (located in the behaviour policy).

• If an allegation is raised in relation to the school principal, it can be reported directly to the DSL, local authority at:  Requesting support - Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership (devonscp.org.uk) or directly to BBOdance organisation for whom this school is a representative at:  info@bbo.dance

Harm to children:     

Everybody working with children at Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studios must be alert to the needs of children and the risk of harm. All staff and volunteers should be able to recognise and know how to act upon evidence that a child’s health or development is being impaired or that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. At Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studios, we will make every effort to protect children from harm when they are visiting our setting and attending our classes.

 We will ensure:

 Appropriate recruitment and selection procedures.

 Provision of safeguarding training for all staff and volunteers. All staff and volunteers hold clear, current DBS checks.

• We will take all reasonable steps to ensure health, safety, and welfare for all those who access our dance school. Please see our health and safety policy.

• We will take all practicable steps to ensure that no one working with us or for us would put a child in a situation of unreasonable risk to their health and safety.

• We will not harm or abuse children within our care and will take all reasonable steps to ensure no one working with us or around us within the community could harm or abuse a child in our care.

• We will ensure good reporting to our DSL and onward to children’s social care wherever we suspect harm and will foster an environment of good communication, transparency and trust.

• During the admissions process, relevant contact and medical information shall be collected and access to emergency information will be available to teaching staff and volunteers at every session.

Where we suspect harm and abuse:

• Every member of staff has a duty to be alert to the signs of harm and abuse. Where they have concerns, these should be recorded carefully and accurately. All concerns should be discussed with the designated safeguarding lead. All suspected concerns, disclosures or allegations shall then be shared with the local authority children’s social work services or the police as required.

• Where possible and only if it is safe to do so, the DSL will let the parent/carer of that child know if they intend to raise that concern with children’s social work services and they will seek their permission to share information.

• Please be aware that if the parent declines to consent and our concerns are regarding harm/abuse, we are still duty-bound to share with children’s social work services. In the absence of the DSL, all concerns will be shared directly with children’s social work services.

Their number is 0345 155 1071. Their share a concern page is:

https://devoncountycouncil.outsystemsenterprise.com/MASH/homepage

• All information sharing must be Data Protection Act and GDPR compliant. Sharing must be discreet, appropriate, honest and accurate, but it is important for all staff and volunteers to be aware that GDPR and Data Protection law does not create a barrier to sharing safeguarding information, and all concerns MUST be shared with the DSL and children’s safeguarding as necessary.

• When reporting FGM: Reports must be made directly to either children’s social care or the police. Do not share your concern with ANYONE ELSE until you have spoken to the police or social care and sought advice. Do not speak to the family, do not inform them of your decision to share information and do not discuss the matter with your colleagues or seniors. Report immediately and follow the instructions that are given to you at the point of referral.

Recognising harm and abuse:

Below are the definitions of harm to children and young people. Use these to help you recognise harm and ensure you cause no harm.

Physical abuse: A form of abuse that 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 causes 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 children that they are worthless, unloved, inadequate, or valued in so far as they meet the needs of another person, 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 the child’s developmental capability, as well as the overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child from participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying (or cyberbullying), causing children to frequently 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, although 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 nonpenetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing, or touching outside of clothing. They may also include noncontact 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 (including via the internet). 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 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 and abandonment); protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger; ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate caregivers); ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include an unresponsiveness to a child’s basic emotional needs.

 If a child tells us they have experienced harm and abuse:

• We will always listen to what the child has to say with an open mind.

• We will never ask leading or probing questions.

• Never stop a child who is talking freely about significant events.

• Make a note of the discussion, taking care to record the timings, setting and people present, as well as what was said.

• We will never ask children to make a written statement.

• We will never promise a child that what they have told us will be kept secret and the reason why.

• We will explain to the child that we have a responsibility to share information to keep them safe.

• We will inform the DSL for our dance school, police and relevant safeguarding reporting services immediately.

Where we believe another teacher or responsible adult has harmed a child:

• We will accurately record the details.

• Inform the school Principal, professional body (BBO dance), police and relevant services immediately.

• Request that the adult is relieved of their responsibilities until a full investigation has been completed.