Hounslow Festival of Music, Speech and Dance

Registered Charity (U.K.) No. 1035333
Affiliated to The British and International Federation of Festivals

CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

This Policy has been drawn up to protect the children who are participants in this festival. It is intended to create a partnership between parents, teachers and festival staff to provide an ideal environment for the festival.
  1. PURPOSE AND FUNCTION OF THE ORGANISATION
    Hounslow Festival of Music, Speech and Dance (the Festival) offers a friendly competitive platform for amateur performers in the arts of music, speech and dance, together with an educational assessment of that performance by a relevant professional adjudicator.

  2. THE FESTIVAL ENVIRONMENT
    The Festival is independent of the venues in which the various sections take place. Every effort is made, as is reasonably practicable, to provide a safe environment. Parents, guardians and carers however remain responsible for their own children at all times and must be alert to any danger and anticiate potential hazards such as doors, windows and uneven surfaces. For the Stage Dancing Section all participants, their teachers, parents and carers, must exercise sensible and appropriate discipline when back-stage. Rosin is supplied back-stage for use to help minimise slipping. Smoking is prohibited in all areas of the buildings at all times.

  3. TO WHOM DOES THIS POLICY APPLY
    This policy applies to all competitors under the age of 18. If vulnerable adults or anyone with special needs will be attending the Festival, the Section Organiser needs to be made aware of this before commencement of the event so that suitable provision can be made.

  4. FESTIVAL PERSONNEL
    All Festival personnel are volunteers and will be known to the organiser and in the organiser’s opinion are suitable candidates to be in this position. They will be clearly identifiable by a badge.  Without their hard work and support, the Festival would not be possible.  Anyone wearing a badge may be approached in case of a problem and will be able to direct you to the organiser who will deal with it. All problems will be dealt with sympathetically and will be documented and dated.  Adjudicators are usually members of the British and International Federation of Festivals.

  5. PREPARATION FOR ATTENDANCE AT THE FESTIVAL
    All teachers entering the Festival will be provided with a copy of this Policy, as will any private entries made outside of a school. The Policy can also be viewed on the Festival’s website:
    http://www.neilhawes.com/festival/festival.htm
    It is the responsibility of parents, carers or guardians to ensure that their children will be accompanied to and from the Festival and adequately supervised by responsible adults acting on their behalf.

  6. PERFORMANCE AREAS AND CHANGING AREAS
    For performers in the Dancing Section, there are three changing rooms for girls allocated with the school names clearly marked on the doors. There is one changing room for boys. It is usually the case that mothers assist with the preparation of the girls and fathers their sons. The Section Organiser needs to know in advance if a father wishes to assist his daughter so that arrangements can be made. There is a strict policy prohibiting unauthorised persons entering changing or performance areas.

    Important note for sections other than dancing:  If any school enters a group it must be established whether they are entering under the cover of their school or if the teacher is responsible separately for them.  If a teacher decides to enter a group and be responsible for them, then that teacher must ensure there is a sufficient parent/carer-to-competitor ratio.

  7. PHOTOGRAPHS (by any means, including mobile phones) AND PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY
    To protect the copyright of material used, the competitors and their teachers, the Festival imposes a total ban on video recording and any form of photography.  The Section Organiser reserves the right to confiscate any recording equipment if this rule has been breached.  If press photographers should be invited to take photographs, 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.

  9. POLICY REVIEW
    The Festival Committee will constantly review its policy, improving and enhancing it as necessary.  In doing this they will look to The British and 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.

    Hon. Secretary: Mrs. S. Trapp, MA(Cantab)