Child Protection Policy

Statement of Intent

All children and young people have an absolute right to be safe from harm.  We will take all necessary steps to ensure that everyone in our care is enabled to be emotionally and physically safe.  As part of these steps, we will:-

• Hold a register of every child/young person involved with the society, including relevant information and emergency contact details of their parent/guardian, and in accordance with GDPR regulations.
• Respect the child/young person and provide a safe and positive environment.
• Respect the rights, dignity and worth of every person and treat everyone equally within the context of the activity.
• Be publicly open when working with children/young people, avoiding situationas where a child/young person may be alone unobserved with a BNG volunteer.
• As a minimum, provide 1 chaperone to every 12 children at all rehearsals/performances.
• Where possible, provied male and female chaperones to a mixed group of children/young people.
• Have a robust signing-out procedure in place for the collection of children from rehearsals/performances.
• Have a robust procedure in place for the recording and responding to incidents and accidents.
• Ensure that all cast and named personnel are registered with Hampshire County Council  once cast has been selected, as per the requirement of the Body of Persons.
• Ensure that all BNG volunteers/chaperones have knowledge of our Safeguarding Policy and are confident of the appropriate procedures to be followed should there be any concern raised/allegation made regarding a child or young person’s safety.
•  Ensure that no photographs or video footage are taken of any child or young person in our care without the prior written consent of the parent/guardian (if under 16) or young person themselves if over 16.

• Create a safe and healthy environment, avoiding one-to-one BNG volunteer/child or young person situations where abuse or allegations of abuse may occur.
• Adopt best practice to safeguard and protect children, young people from abuse and BNG volunteers from false allegations.
• Ensure that all BNG volunteers receive training/information to recognise the potential signs and indicators of abuse.
• Respond sensitively and seriously  to any child/young person who discloses information about abuse, regardless of whom the alleged perpetrator may be, and be confident and able to take appropriate action swiftly.
• Ensure every effort is made to ensure that confidentiality is maintained for all concerned and that information should be handled and disseminated on a need-to-know basis only, ie BNG Child Protection Officer, Social Services and/or Police.