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CHILD & VULNERABLE ADULTS PROTECTION POLICY

This document is to be used alongside the Constitution and the Code of Conduct and is based upon the NODA Approved Framework
The Iver Heath Drama Club (known herein as the society or club) recognizes its duty of care under the Children and Young ersons !ct "#$%& the Child ( erformances) 'egulations "#$(& the rotection of Children !ct "### and the Criminal )ustice and Court *ervices !ct +,,, (in Scotland change to rotection of Children (*cotland) !ct +,,%)The society recognizes that abuse can take many forms& whether it be .hysical abuse& emotional abuse& se/ual abuse or neglect- The society is committed to .ractice which .rotects children from harm- !ll members of the society acce.t and recognize their res.onsibilities to develo. awareness of the issues which cause harmThe society believes that0 1 The welfare of the child or vulnerable adult is paramount. 1 All persons, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/or sexual identity have the right to protection from abuse. 1 !ll sus.icions and allegations of abuse should be taken seriously and res.onded to swiftly and a..ro.riately1 !ll members and em.loyees of the society should be clear on how to res.ond a..ro.riatelyThe society and any one in attendance at a meeting or rehearsal will ensure that: 1 All persons will continue to be treated equally and with respect and dignity. 1 The duty of care to children and vulnerable adults will always be put first. 1 ! balanced relationshi. based on mutual trust will be built which em.owers the children and vulnerable adults to share in the decision making process where possible 1 2nthusiastic and constructive feedback will be given rather than negative criticism1 3ullying will not be acce.ted or condoned1 !ll adult members of the society .rovide a .ositive role model for dealing with other .eo.le1 !ction will be taken to sto. any ina..ro.riate verbal or .hysical behaviour1 It will kee. u.4to4date with health 5 safety legislation on the advice of S!"#/!##$. 1 It will kee. informed of changes in legislation and .olicies for the .rotection of children1 It will undertake relevant development and training on the advice of S!"#/!##$. 1 It will hold a register of every child involved with the society and will retain a contact name and number close at hand in case of emergenciesThe society has child .rotection .rocedures which accom.any this .olicy- This .olicy should also be read in con6unction with the society7s Code of Conduct and ConstitutionThe 'ole of Child rotection 8fficer& who is in charge of ensuring that the child .rotection .olicy and .rocedures are adhered to& is to be assigned to a sub4committee consisting of arent and )unior 'e.resentatives and at least " officerThis .olicy will be regularly monitored by the %fficers of the club and will be sub&ect to annual review although the #lub retains the right to change the policy at any committee meeting.

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CHILD & VULNERABLE ADULTS PROCEDURES Responsibilities of the Society 1 'onitor risk throughout the production process. 1 Identify at the outset the .erson s$ with designated responsibility for child and vulnerable adults protection (hese will be )arent and/or *unior +epresentative$. 1 #ontinue to work with the local education authority / South !ucks "istrict #ouncil to maintain the correct vetting procedures i.e #+!s or "!S$ and if/where appropriate have #ommittee 'embers with relevant chaperone training. 1 2nsure that children/vulnerable adults are supervised at all times. 1 9now how to get in touch with the local authority social services& in case it needs to re.ort a concernPa ents 1 The society believes it to be im.ortant that there is a .artnershi. between .arents and the society- arents are encouraged to be involved in the activities of the society and to share res.onsibility for the care of children:vulnerable adults- The club actively invites all .arents:carers to attend any rehearsal or meeting and asks for their hel. with .ro.s& costume and scenery, (his document along with the #onstitution and the #ode of #onduct will be available to public viewing at anytime by contacting an %fficer of the club. 1 !ll .arents have the res.onsibility to collect (or arrange collection of) their children after rehearsals or .erformances- It is ;8T the res.onsibility of the society to take children/vulnerable adults home. Uns!pe "ise# Contact 1 The society will attem.t to ensure that no adult has unsu.ervised contact with children/vulnerable adults. 1 If .ossible there will always be two adults in the room when working with children/vulnerable adults. 1 If unsu.ervised contact is unavoidable& ste.s will be taken to minimize risk- <or e/am.le& work will be carried out in a .ublic area& or in a designated room with a door o.en1 If it is .redicted that an individual is likely to re=uire unsu.ervised contact with children& he or she may be re=uired to obtain a criminal record disclosure or "isclosure !arring Service check if the member does not have one already. Physical Contact 1 !ll adults will maintain a safe and a..ro.riate distance from children/vulnerable adults. 1 !dults will only touch children when it is absolutely necessary in relation to the .articular activity1 !dults will seek the consent of the child/vulnerable adult prior to any physical contact and the purpose of the contact shall be made clear. $ana%in% sensiti"e info &ation 1 The society has a .olicy and .rocedures for the taking& using and storage of .hotogra.hs or images of children/vulnerable adults. (he club operates an %)(-%.( )olicy as per the #ode of #onduct and the #onstitution. 1 The society will ensure confidentiality in order to .rotect the rights of its members& including the safe handling& storage and dis.osal of any sensitive information such as criminal record disclosures-

Repo tin% a s!spicion o inci#ent


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1 If you see, hear of or suspect abuse of any person while in the care of the society, please make this known to the person with responsibility for child protection / i.e any )arent or *unior +epresentative of the #ommittee. "epending on the nature of the suspected incident that committee member can either attempt to resolve the matter or immediately escalate to an officer. 0n either case all %fficers must be notified as soon as possible. 1 lease make a note for your own records of what you witnessed as well as your res.onse& in case there is follow4u. in which you are involved1 If a serious allegation is made against any member of the society& cha.erone& venue staff etc-& that individual will be sus.ended immediately by an %fficer until the investigation is concluded. (he individual will be excluded from the theatre, rehearsal rooms etc. and will not have any unsu.ervised contact with any person. Disclos! e of ab!se If a child confides in you that abuse has taken .lace0 1 'emain calm and in control but do not delay taking action1 >isten carefully to what has been said- !llow the child/vulnerable adult to tell you at their own pace and ask questions only for clarification. "on1t ask questions that suggest a particular answer. 1 Don7t .romise to kee. it a secret- ?se the first o..ortunity you have to share the information with the .erson s$ with responsibility for child/vulnerable adult protection. 'ake it clear to the child that you will need to share this information with others. 'ake it clear that you will only tell the people who need to know and who should be able to help. 1 'eassure the child/vulnerable adult that 2they did the right thing1 in telling someone. 1 Tell the child/vulnerable adult what you are going to do next. 1 *.eak immediately to the .erson s$ with responsibility for child/vulnerable adult protection. 0t is that person1s responsibility to liaise with the relevant authorities, usually social services or the police. 1 !s soon as .ossible after the disclosing conversation& make a note of what was said& using the child7s own words- ;ote the date& time& any names that were involved or mentioned& and who you gave the information to- @ake sure you sign and date your record / a copy is be retained by the Secretary of the club and if required provided to the )olice or local authority. Reco #in% 1 In all situations& including those in which the cause of concern arises from a disclosure made in confidence& the details of an allegation or re.orted incident will be recorded& regardless of whether or not the concerns have been shared with a statutory child .rotection agency1 !n accurate note shall be made of the date and time of the incident or disclosure& the .arties involved& what was said or done and by whom& any action taken to investigate the matter& any further action taken eg- sus.ension of an individual& where relevant the reasons why the matter was not referred to a statutory agency& and the name of the .ersons re.orting and to whom it was re.orted1 The record will be stored securely by the #lub Secretary and shared only with those who need to know about the incident or allegation. Ri%hts & Confi#entiality 1 If a com.laint is made against a member of the society& he or she will be made aware of his rights under the society7s disci.linary .rocedures / (he #ode of #onduct. 1 ;o matter how you may feel about the accusation& both the alleged abuser and the child/vulnerable adult who is thought to have been abused have the right to confidentiality under the "ata )rotection Act 3445. +emember also that any possible criminal investigation could be com.romised through ina..ro.riate information being released1 In criminal law the Crown& or other .rosecuting authority& has to .rove guilt and the defendant is .resumed innocent until .roven guilty-

Acci#ents
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1 To avoid accidents& cha.erones& vulnerable adults and children will be advised of Ahouse rulesB regarding health and safety and will be notified of areas that are out of bounds, 0f a child/vulnerable adults is in&ured while in the care of the society, a designated firstaider will administer first aid and the in&ury will be recorded in the society1s accident book. This record will be countersigned by the .erson with res.onsibility for child .rotection 1 If a .erson &oins the production/club with an obvious physical in&ury a record of this will be made in the accident book. (his record will be countersigned by the person s$ with res.onsibility for child .rotection- This record can be useful if a formal allegation is made later and will also be a record that the child did not sustain the in6ury while .artici.ating in the .roductionVettin% ' Usin% CRB o DBS Chec(s 1 If the society believes it is in its best interests to obtain criminal record disclosures for cha.erones or other .ersonnel& it will inform the individual of the necessary .rocedures and the level of disclosure re=uired- At this time the club is working closely with !uckinghamshire #ounty #ouncil and South !ucks "istrict #ouncil on maintaining #+! or the new "!S "isclosure !arring Service$ checks. 1 The society will ensure that information contained in the disclosure is not misusedChape ones 1 Cha.erones will be a..ointed by the society, normally parents or carers or )arent #ommittee +epresentatives, for the care of children during any performances or where the club is not kept as a whole in the main hall i.e in dressing rooms$. !y law the chaperone is acting in loco parentis and should exercise the care which a good parent might be reasonably expected to give to a child. (he maximum number of children in the chaperone1s care shall not exceed 36. 1 <or vulnerable adults the club asks that the adult7s .arent or carer be in attendance if the parent, carer or club feels the adult cannot look after themselves. 1 Cha.erones will enforce and abide by this )olicy, the #ode of #onduct and the #onstitution to all members- not &ust children. 1 Chere cha.erones are not satisfied with the conditions for the children& they should bring this to the attention of a #lub %fficer. 0f changes cannot be made satisfactorily, the chaperone should consider not allowing the child to continue. 1 If a cha.erone considers that a child is unwell or too tired to continue& the cha.erone must inform the .roducer and not allow the child to continue1 ?nder the Dangerous erformances !ct& no child of com.ulsory school age is .ermitted to do anything which may endanger life or limb- This could include working on wires or heavy lifting- Cha.erones should tell the .roducer to cease using children in this way and should contact the local authority1 During .erformances& cha.erones will be co-responsible with parents/carers for meeting children at the stage door and signing them into the building. 1 Children will be ke.t together at all times e/ce.t when using se.arate dressing rooms1 Cha.erones will be aware of where the children are at all times1 Children are not to leave the theatre unsu.ervised by cha.erones unless in the com.any of their .arents/carers. 1 Children will be ade=uately su.ervised while going to and from the toilets1 Children will not be allowed to enter the adult dressing room/area unless expressly given permission to do so. 1 Cha.erones should be aware of the safety arrangements and first aid .rocedures in the venue& and will ensure that children in their care do not .lace themselves and others in danger1 Cha.erones should ensure that any accidents are re.orted to and recorded by the society1 Children should be signed out when leaving by the collecting )arent/#arer. 1 If a .arent has not collected the child& it is the duty of the cha.erone and/or #lub %fficer to stay with that child.

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In 2mergencies0 olice E ###

3uckinghamshire County CouncilFs Children and <amiliesF *ocial Care (,"D#D DGH+"" or ,"D#D DGH,%G) Children and <amiliesF *ocial Care has a +D hour emergency team for calls outside office hours2mergency duty team number 0 ,"D#D $GH(,+ Ieneral en=uiries 0 ,(DH %G,(,#,

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