Safeguarding/Safer Recruitment

It is the policy of ‘Feet First Dance’ to provide efficient, up to date, safe and enjoyable instruction to all pupils who enrol in the dance school. All instruction will be tailored towards the previous experience of the pupil and no person will be required to perform movements that are considered to be beyond their capabilities.

The premises and the equipment will be checked regularly for any defects or faults that may present a hazard to anyone attending the premises.

All teaching staff within the school are qualified First Aiders and hold an up to date DBS.  All teaching staff are appropriately qualified and are covered by the dance school’s insurance to teach within the school.  An accident book is kept although should any injury occur, a teacher will always endeavor to speak to the parent at the end of class or if necessary, get in touch immediately using an emergency contact number. Any safeguarding concerns/incidents would be reported in the accident book. In order to correct technique, teachers will be required at times to physically correct students. Spotting in contact and lift work is fundamental to the safety of the student and so physical contact will be made during each class.

All teachers and staff will be sensitive to all pupil’s religious beliefs and cultures.

Smoking is not permitted on or around the dance premises.

Chewing gum and/or eating in class is not permitted.

No form of discrimination by race, religion, child’s background etc will be tolerated in the dance school.

In case of emergencies, all contact telephone numbers are held on the registers in class, along with any medical information you have informed us of.

Parents of young children will be asked to come into the classroom to drop off and collect your children.  Young children can be escorted to the toilet area with a teaching assistant where a parent is unavailable. If any parents, regardless of the child’s age, choose to leave the site, they do so on the understanding that it’s a public building and they must be contactable at all times on the emergency contact numbers given and must update the school should numbers change.

 Classes are limited to 15 students where 1 qualified teacher is present, however for classes where children are aged 3-6yrs, 1 teacher and 1 teaching assistant will be present.

Social Media 

Upon starting at the school, all parents are asked to sign a registration form, outlining their preferences for the use of photography of their child and it’s use in advertising/social media. A list of any children whose parents do not wish for their photograph to be published publicly on social media or the website, will be held by all staff.

Anti-Bullying

At all times staff will endeavour to maintain the highest standards of instruction and behaviour. The Feet First Dance retains the right to expel from the school any pupil who persistently disrupts the tuition, uses offensive language or any other anti-social behaviour. If there are any cases of bullying within or outside the school, we would encourage parents or children to discuss this with a member of staff. We do not tolerate bullying and aim to have a welcoming, inclusive environment where children choose to come. We expect students to treat fellow students and members of staff politely and with respect. We also expect this from parents/carers. If you have a cause for concern/complaint then please contact Elaine either by email or telephone so issues can be discussed privately.

Show Policy

As far as possible, adults will not be left alone with a child where there is little or no likelihood of the activity being observed by others.  Parents or relatives will be delivering and collecting their children from onsite and the children will not be allowed on or off site without being checked onto our register.  For the interests of safety, all children’s telephone numbers will be held by their chaperone, along with any medical conditions the children may have.

All volunteers will be made aware of fire regulations/exits. There will be at least one qualified first aid person in the performance space. 

GDPR

On joining the dance school, the personal information you complete on the registration form is held on our database and is password protected.

Reason for holding data; for emergency contact details of those with parental responsibility. Information would be passed to local social services or the police where requested in any safeguarding cases.

Only data of current members of the dance school will be held for their period of attendance. On leaving the dance school, all information will be deleted.

Payments

Invoices for each term will be sent to parents prior to the beginning of term. We take fees on a monthly basis via direct debit on the first of each month. If for any reason we do not receive payment we reserve the right to temporarily suspend classes until payment has been received.

 Attendance/Uniform

We expect students to attend classes regularly and on time for their own benefit. Lack of attendance will affect progress of the individual as well as their classmates. We do not have a strict uniform policy but students must be in leisure attire (no jeans allowed) with their hair tied back and all jewellery removed.

Attending Other Dance Schools

We are happy for students to attend other dance classes. We do ask out of courtesy to ourselves and other teachers, that you inform us of any classes your child may be attending so we can ensure there is no concern of conflict. This is standard practise amongst Dance Schools, however each school’s policy is different and some may not allow attendance at more than one school.

Show Participation

It is expected, as you have chosen to send your child to our classes, that they will be involved in our dance shows. We appreciate that circumstances may mean your child is unable to take part on occasion. Please inform us as soon as possible as this may affect lesson plans.

Cancelled Classes

In the event that classes need to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances we will endeavour to notify parents as soon as possible via email or text. Any cancelled classes will be offered at a later date and where this is not possible a refund will be given