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CHILD PROTECTION POLICY 2025

INTRODUCTION

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


Musical Theatre Fitness 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.
 

Musical Theatre Fitness recognises its duty of care under the Children and Young Persons Act 1963, the Children (Performances and Activities) (Scotland) 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 Musical Theatre Fitness.
 

THE PURPOSE OF THE POLICY IS TO:

● Protect children and young people who participate in Musical Theatre Fitness classes, including regular classes, performances, workshops or any other activities linked to Musical Theatre Fitness

● 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

 

MUSICAL THEATRE FITNESS WILL ENSURE THAT:

● The safety and welfare of our participants is paramount

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

● We recognise 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

 

MUSICAL THEATRE FITNESS WILL SEEK TO SAFEGUARD CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE BY:
● Ensuring everybody has the right to dance

● Treating all participants and parents with respect and dignity

● Putting the welfare of each child first

● Providing enthusiastic and constructive criticism to participants rather than negative criticism

● Valuing the views of our participants

● Focusing on the benefits of exercise and functional fitness, helping individuals personally and socially as well as physically

● Ensuring all paid staff and volunteers (aged 16+) who will be working with children will have a PVG Check

● 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 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

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DESIGNATED CHILD PROTECTION OFFICERS (DCPO) AT MUSICAL THEATRE FITNESS:

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IN IMPLEMENTING THIS POLICY, MUSICAL THEATRE FITNESS 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 DCPO or Deputy DCPO

● The DCPO 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 DCPO/Deputy DCPO is and be able to raise any safeguarding concerns & know that these will be taken seriously and acted upon

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

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STUDENT DISCLOSURE/REPORTING TO STAFF AND WHAT WE WILL DO:

Students are encouraged to speak to the DCPO or Deputy DCPO in the event of any abuse, bullying or welfare concerns. If a student chooses to confide in us that abuse, bullying or other serious matter has taken place, we will:

  • Remain calm and in control but not delay in taking action

  • Listen carefully to what has been said, allowing the student to tell us at their own pace and ask questions only for clarification - we will not ask questions that provoke a specific answer

  • Not promise to keep it a secret and use the first opportunity we have to share the information with the DCPO or Deputy DCPO and make it clear to the student that we will need to share the information with others and that we will only tell the people who need to know and who should be able to help   

  • Reassure the student that they ‘did the right thing’ in telling someone

  • Tell the student what we will do next  

  • Speak immediately to the DCPO or Deputy DCPO (the people with responsibility for child protection) - it is that person’s responsibility to liaise with the relevant authorities, usually Social Services or the Police

  • Never investigate or take sole responsibility for a situation where a student makes a disclosure      

  • As soon as possible after the disclosing conversation, make a note of what was said, using the students' own words noting the date, time, any names that were involved or mentioned, and who we passed the information on to, making sure we sign and date our record

  • The DCPO or Deputy DCPO will discuss concerns with a parent/carer if this was thought not to place the student at further risk - when the disclosure is about something a parent/carer has done, the DCPO or Deputy DCPO should always seek advice from Social Services first (Social Care Direct – 0131 200 2324)

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E-SAFETY:

  • Cyber bullying by children via texts will be treated as seriously as any other type of bullying – Musical Theatre Fitness will treat these allegations in the same manner as verbal/physical bullying

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ALLEGATIONS AGAINST STAFF:

We sincerely hope that this will never be a concern, as our staff undergo thorough vetting through the PVG Membership Scheme and have years of professional experience working with children, young people, and adults. However, if you have any concerns regarding behavior of a staff member or if there are allegations of abuse, please report them immediately to the DCPO or Deputy DCPO using the contact details provided above. The DCPO will then address the allegation by consulting with Management, if appropriate or by seeking advice from relevant services as Social Services or the Police.

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COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS POLICY/MUSICAL THEATRE FITNESS CONDUCT:

Complaints can be raised directly to the DCPO or Deputy DCPO using the contact details noted above. Failing this, we encourage anyone with concerns to contact Social Services at Social Care Direct by calling 0131 200 2324, or by following the Whistleblowing procedure detailed below.

 

WHISTLEBLOWING:

If any of our Staff members, Sub-Contractors or Volunteers are concerned about conduct they have witnessed at Musical Theatre Fitness, we would encourage them firstly to speak to the DCPO or Deputy DCPO. If you are unable to do this due to the nature of the concern, we encourage you to contact the NSPCC (a third party organisation that can assist with any concerns regarding the welfare of a child or young person) Whistleblowing line by calling 0800 800 5000.

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