Child Protection Policy | shorehamplayers

CHILD SAFEGUARDING POLICY

2nd September 2025

Shoreham Village Players (The Players) recognizes its duty of care under the Children and Young Persons Act 1963, the Child (Performances) Regulations 1968, the Protection of Children Act 1999 and the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (in Scotland change to Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003).

The Players recognise that abuse can take many forms, whether it be physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or neglect. The Players are committed to practices which protect children (those under 18) from harm. All members of The Players and their productions accept and recognize their responsibilities to develop awareness of the issues which cause children harm.

Shoreham Village Players believes that:

The welfare of the child is paramount.
All children, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/or sexual identity have the right to protection from abuse.
All suspicions and allegations of abuse should be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately as laid out below.
All members of The Players should be clear on how to respond appropriately.

We will ensure that:

All children will be treated equally and with respect and dignity.
The duty of care to children will always be put first.
A balanced relationship based on mutual trust will be built.
Enthusiastic and constructive feedback will be given, rather than negative criticism.
Bullying, whether verbal or physical, will not be accepted or condoned.
All adult members of The Players provide positive role models for dealing with other people.
Action will be taken to stop any inappropriate verbal or physical behaviour.
We will keep up-to-date with health & safety legislation.
We will keep informed of changes in legislation and policies for the protection of children.
We will undertake relevant development and training.
We will hold a register of every child involved with The Players and will retain a contact name and number close at hand in case of emergencies.

CHILD PROTECTION OFFICER

Our dedicated Child Protection Officer, Jane Scott, is in charge of ensuring that the child protection policy and procedures are adhered to. This policy will be regularly monitored by the Committee of the Players, particularly when we are planning a production involving children.

CHILD PROTECTION PROCEDURES

Responsibilities of The Players

At the outset of any production involving children, we will:

Undertake a risk assessment and monitor risk throughout the production process.
Identify at the outset the person with designated responsibility for child protection.
Recruit of chaperones with responsibility for looking after the children.
Ensure that children are supervised at all times.
Know how to get in touch with the local authority social services, in case we need to report a concern.
In our communications, such as email and WhatsApp, we will only include people over 18.
Parents will be asked to be the point of contact for their children.

Parents

We believe it is important that there is a partnership between parents and The Players. Parents are encouraged to be involved in the activities of The Players and to share responsibility for the care of children.

All parents have the responsibility to collect (or arrange collection of) their children promptly after rehearsals or performances. It is not the responsibility of the Players to take children home. If someone other than a parent is collecting a child, you must let us know who it is. If the child is going home unaccompanied, you must make sure we know that this is approved by you. In an emergency please message the production’s WhatsApp group to let us know if you are delayed and what other arrangements need to be made.
We ask that children are checked in and out of each rehearsal with the chaperone.
Parents are responsible for informing us of any allergies or medical needs of their child/children. They should also ensure that, if they have an allergy, they bring their own allergen free snacks and any medical requirements with them. We cannot guarantee that our snacks will not have allergens in them.

Unsupervised Contact

It is our intention to ensure that no adult has unsupervised contact with children.
There should always be at least two adults in the room when working with children.

Physical Contact

All adults will maintain a safe and appropriate distance from children.
Adults will only touch children when it is absolutely necessary in relation to the particular activity.
Adults will seek the consent of the child prior to any physical contact and the purpose of the contact shall be made clear.

Managing sensitive information

Please inform us if you do not wish your child’s photo to be shared on our website, marketing material or social media.
The Players will ensure confidentiality in order to protect the rights of its members, including the safe handling, storage and disposal of any sensitive information.

Suspicion of abuse

If you see or suspect abuse of a child while in the care of The Players, please make this known to the person with responsibility for child protection. If you suspect that the person with responsibility for child protection is the source of the problem, you should make your concerns known to the Chair, Elie Williams.
Please make a note for your own records of what you witnessed as well as your response, in case there is follow-up in which you are involved.
If a serious allegation is made against any member of The Players, chaperone, venue staff etc., that individual will be suspended immediately until the investigation is concluded. The individual will be excluded from the Village Hall, rehearsal rooms etc. and will not have any unsupervised contact with any other children in the production.

Disclosure of abuse

If a child confides in you that abuse has taken place:

Remain calm and in control, but do not delay taking action.
Listen carefully to what has been said. Allow the child to tell you at their own pace and ask questions only for clarification. Don’t ask questions that suggest a particular answer.
Don’t promise to keep it a secret. Use the first opportunity you have to share the information with the person with responsibility for child protection. Make it clear to the child that you will need to share this information with others. Make it clear that you will only tell the people who need to know and who should be able to help.
Reassure the child that ‘they did the right thing’ in telling someone.
Tell the child what you are going to do next.
Speak immediately to the person with responsibility for child protection. It is that person’s responsibility to liaise with the relevant authorities, usually social services or the police.
As soon as possible after the disclosing conversation, make a note of what was said, using the child’s own words. Note the date, time, any names that were involved or mentioned, and who you gave the information to. Make sure you sign and date your record.

Recording

In all situations, including those in which the cause of concern arises from a disclosure made in confidence, the details of an allegation or reported incident will be recorded, regardless of whether or not the concerns have been shared with a statutory child protection agency.
An accurate note shall be made of the date and time of the incident or disclosure, the parties involved, what was said or done and by whom, any action taken to investigate the matter, any further action taken eg. suspension of an individual, where relevant the reasons why the matter was not referred to a statutory agency, and the name of the persons reporting and to whom it was reported.
The record will be stored securely and shared only with those who need to know about the incident or allegation.

Rights and Confidentiality

If a complaint is made against a member of The Players, he or she will be made aware of the complaint and the process that will be followed as set out in this policy.
No matter how you may feel about the accusation, both the alleged abuser and the child who is thought to have been abused have the right to confidentiality under the Data Protection Act 2018. Remember also that any possible criminal investigation could be compromised through inappropriate information being released and for that reason all information must be treated as confidential and not disclosed to anyone not immediately involved.

Accidents

Under the Dangerous Performances Act, no child is permitted to do anything which may endanger life or limb. This could include working on wires or heavy lifting.
Children will be notified of areas that are out of bounds.
If a child is injured, in the first instance the production team will apply first aid, if more action is required they will contact the parents and where necessary medical assistance.
If a child comes to a rehearsal or performance with an obvious physical injury a record of this will be made in the accident book to confirm that the child did not sustain the injury while participating in the production.

CHAPERONES

Chaperones will be appointed by The Players for the care of children during the production process. By law the chaperone is acting in loco parentis and should exercise the care of a good parent.
We will aim to have at least 2 responsible adults at every rehearsal and performance to look after the children.
The Chaperones we appoint will be well known to The Players and known to be suitable to work with children.
Chaperones will be made aware of the Player’s Child Protection Policy and Procedures.
Except in emergency situations, no chaperone will be left alone with unsupervised access to children.
If a chaperone considers that a child is unwell or too tired to continue, they should inform the director.
During performances, chaperones will be responsible for the children. Children should be signed in and out at each rehearsal and performance.
Children will be kept together, except when using separate dressing rooms.
Chaperones will be aware of where the children are at all times.
Children are not to leave the venue we use unsupervised by chaperones unless in the company of their parents.
Chaperones should ensure children don’t enter adult dressing rooms alone or if people are changing.
Chaperones will ensure that children in their care do not place themselves and others in danger.
Chaperones should ensure that any accidents are reported to and recorded by The Players.

To contact us please email shorehamvillageplayers@gmail.com.