Dance School Safeguarding Working Group
The Dance School Safeguarding Working Group is a collective voice promoting high standards of safeguarding in the Dance School sector in order to protect children and young adults.
Project mission
Created by like-minded professionals and academics in the dance school and safeguarding sectors, the group has the following mission:
To help protect children and vulnerable adults who attend dance teaching in out-of-school settings (“the sector”) in the UK by supporting and facilitating the implementation of high standards of safeguarding.
Professor Peter Flew, Chair, Safer Dance - the Dance School Safeguarding Working Group
Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the School of Education, University of Roehampton, London
Trustee, Royal Academy of Dance
Update - 11th July 2022
NSPCC create guidance on Preventing Abuse in Positions of Trust in Dance.
The law relating to children aged 16 and 17 has changed. We asked the NSPCC to create a version of their guidance document specifically for dance. Thank you to the NSPCC for this helpful document.
Download the guidance on our Resources page.
Update - 5th May 2022
Free Guide to Recruiting a Specialist Dance Teacher, created by industry experts, now available to support school leaders.
Primary and Secondary School leaders are encouraged to bring the transformational joy of dance into their schools, but they must not be dazzled by an impressive list of performances on a CV.
Download a free guide on our Resources page.
Update - 12th April 2022
Safeguarding is not just about protecting children from harm. Our friends at the Ann Craft Trust have written a short piece introducing their work. It can be found on our Resources page.
The Ann Craft Trust is a leading authority in safeguarding adults and young people at risk. Our aim is to create a world where people live safely, free from the risk of abuse. Through pioneering training, practice reviews and contributing to world-leading research, ACT supports organisations to safeguard adults and young people at risk and minimise the risk of harm.
The Ann Craft Trust has a dedicated team working to support the Sport and Activity Sector. We have a range of resources available on our website including:
Safeguarding policies and procedures templates
Guidance documents concerning legislation and good practice
Regular podcasts and blogs
Bespoke safeguarding in sport and activity training and eLearning courses
For more information visit https://www.anncrafttrust.org/
Update - 10th March 2022
To coincide with our presenting at Move It, we have launched a number of free resources to help dance schools with safeguarding. They can be found here: Resources. We shall be in the Seminar Theatre on Friday afternoon https://www.moveitdance.co.uk/friday-talks-programme/
What to do if you are worried about a child or need to talk to someone about a non-recent incident of child abuse
If you are worried about anything which may have occurred in or around the out-of-school dance school sector, please follow the recommended guidance (DfE link), namely:
If you have concerns about an organisation or event, first raise concerns with the provider. If the situation is not resolved, please escalate the issue by calling the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or by contacting the local authority designated officer (LADO). To find your local authority, go to Find your local council and enter the postcode of your setting.
Please note the LADO role exists in England only. In the devolved nations please contact:
· Scotland: contact the local social work team and Police Scotland
· Northern Ireland: Health and Social Care Trust Gateway Service Team and Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI)
· Wales: local child protection services and the police
If you believe a child is in immediate danger of harm, please call the police on 999.
If you're worried about a child, even if you're unsure, contact the NSPCC Helpline on
0808 800 5000 or email help@nspcc.org.uk.
Children and young people can call Childline (24-hour helpline) on 0800 1111 to talk over any worries.
For further information about child abuse see NSPCC guidance: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/reporting-abuse/what-if-suspect-abuse/
Abuse against adults
Any instances of abuse against adults can be reported to the local authority adult social care services. Contact details can be found on your local authority website.
Go to "Where to find support" page for further information.
