|
CHAIRMAN and CO-ORDINATOR:
Ms Judith Burton
LEGAL & POLICIES’
OFFICER: Ms Morag Thorpe
TREASURER: Mr Richard
Burgess
DATES: November and
December annually
VENUES: Overton Grange
School
Croydon Parish
Church
Homefield Preparatory
School
1 PURPOSE AND FUNCTION OF ORGANISATION
The
object of the Festival is to advance the education of the public in the
Arts and in particular the Arts of Music, Speech and Drama and Dance in all
their branches. The purpose of the
Festival is to provide a platform for participants in these fields to gain
experience of public performance and be assessed by a professional
adjudicator.
2 THE FESTIVAL ENVIRONMENT
The
Festival aims to provide, as far as is reasonably practicable, a safe and welcoming
environment for all. It is organised
and run entirely by volunteers and is independent of the venue/s in which
the various sections take place.
3 TO WHOM DOES THIS POLICY APPLY
This
policy applies to children under the age of 18 years, and also to
vulnerable adults and people with special needs who have been identified to
the organisers by parents/guardians/carers and/or teachers in advance of
the commencement of the Festival.
4 FESTIVAL PERSONNEL
Festival
personnel are volunteers, all of whom are known to, or are personally
recommended by, Festival officers, Committee members or other Festival
volunteers. Some have obtained
clearance through the Criminal Records Bureau. All helpers are easily identifiable by
their official Festival badges. In
the case of a problem, any person wearing a badge will be able to point out
someone who can help. All problems
will be dealt with sympathetically, documented and dated.
5 PREPARATION FOR ATTENDANCE AT THE
FESTIVAL
The
Festival expects that children under the age of 18 years and vulnerable
adults will be accompanied and adequately supervised at the Festival by a
parent/guardian or carer appointed by the parent/guardian for this
purpose. If for some reason this is
not possible, the child or vulnerable person remains the responsibility of
the parent/guardian at all times. Festival personnel are not able to take
on this responsibility. All entrants and Festival personnel will be
provided with a copy of this Child Protection Policy. It is the responsibility of teachers
submitting entries to the Festival to ensure that the parents/guardians and
carers of their pupils receive
a copy of this document when notifying them of the final timetable before
the Festival begins.
6 PERFORMANCE AREAS AND CHANGING AREAS
Performance
areas are all located within local schools.
As each venue is used by more than one organisation, we cannot
restrict public access. Public areas
such as warm-up rooms, eating areas, toilets and corridors are unsupervised
and dedicated changing facilities are not provided. We would therefore remind
parents/guardians and carers appointed by the parent/guardian that they
remain responsible for their children and vulnerable adults at all times.
7 PHOTOGRAPHS, VIDEOTAPES AND PRESS
PHOTOGRAPHY
All
forms of sound and picture recording are strictly prohibited during the
Festival. Only the press and
official representatives appointed by the Festival committee may take
photographs for publicity purposes, including use on the Festival
website. In these circumstances
parents/competitors will be advised and given the opportunity not to
participate.
8 THE LEGISLATION AND GUIDANCE THAT
SUPPORTS THIS POLICY
The
Children Act 1989; The Police Act 1997; The Data Protection Act 1998; The
Human Rights Act 1998; The Protection of Children Act 1999; The Criminal
Justice and Court Services Act
2000; Children Act 2004.
9 POLICY REVIEW
The
organisers will constantly review their policy, revising and enhancing it
as necessary. In doing this they
will look to The British & International Federation of Festivals for
support and that body, in turn, will look to other agencies for good
practice, most notably the NSPCC and Arts Council of England policy
guidelines.
Effective
April 2007
|