Safeguarding Policy

KINGSTON THEATRE TRUST 

CHILDREN/VULNERABLE ADULTS SAFEGUARDING POLICY

For Actors and Stage Management

Policy Statement

Kingston Theatre Trust makes a positive contribution to a strong and safe community and recognises the right of every individual to stay safe.

KTT is fully committed to safeguarding the well-being of all children, young people and vulnerable adults which it comes into contact with through the pursuit of the Trust’s objects and more specifically those who participate in productions and events at Rose Theatre Kingston.

This policy seeks to ensure that KTT undertakes its responsibilities with regard to safeguarding and will respond to concerns appropriately.

Safeguarding is about embedding practices throughout the Trust to ensure the protection of children and / or vulnerable adults wherever possible.

Abuse is a selfish act of oppression and injustice, exploitation and manipulation of power by those in a position of authority. This can be caused by those inflicting harm or those who fail to act to prevent harm. Abuse is not restricted to any socio-economic group, gender or culture. It can take a number of forms, including the following;

• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Bullying
• Neglect
• Financial (or material) abuse
   

Definition of a Child

A child is under the age of 18 (as defined in the United Nations convention on the Rights of a Child)
Extensions of this age limit exist for young people who have special needs and for those in local care settings
 

Definition of a Vulnerable Adult

• A vulnerable adult is a person aged 18 years or over who may be unable to take care of themselves or protect themselves from harm or being exploited

This may include a person who;

            -Is elderly and frail

            -Has a mental illness including dementia

            -Has a physical or sensory disability

            -Has a learning disability

            -Has a severe physical illness

            -Is a substance misuser

            -Is homeless

Staff, Volunteers and Trustees should be fully aware of KTT’s Safeguarding guidelines. They should also show respect and understanding for their own rights, safety and welfare and conduct themselves in a way that reflects the principles of Rose Theatre Kingston. The process of implementing the policy is the overall responsibility of the Chief Executive.

KTT recognises its legal duty to report any concerns about unsafe practice by any of its staff, volunteers or trustees to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

All staff, volunteers, trustees and young people/vulnerable adults are provided with a copy of the Rose Theatre's Safeguarding Policy statement and the policy is available to view on the Rose Theatre’s website.

Adult Actors and Stage Management on Rose Productions

All adult actors or stage management engaged on Rose Theatre Productions involving minors and/or vulnerable adults, are provided with KTT’s Safeguarding Policy & Statement. They must be aware that Rose Theatre Kingston has in place Designated Safeguarding Officers who are specifically trained to deal with all safeguarding matters. If an adult actor or member of stage management has issues concerning safeguarding, these should be reported to the production’s Company Manager. If the concern relates to the Company Manager, the adult actor or member of stage management should raise the concern with the Theatre Manager.

Breach of this policy by actors or stage managers may result in disciplinary action under the UK Theatre/Equity Commercial Theatre Agreement.

Breach of this policy by employees may result in disciplinary action under KTT’s disciplinary procedure.

Breach of this policy by volunteers may result in disciplinary action under KTT’s Volunteer Agreement.

Breach of this policy by trustees could constitute a gross misconduct offence and may result in removal as a trustee in accordance with Section 26.8 of the KTT Articles of Association.

Objectives 

In order to achieve the principles of the Policy Statement, KTT will:

• Create an environment where young people and vulnerable adults feel safe and secure, have their viewpoints valued and are encouraged to talk and are listened to
• Continue to develop awareness in all staff, volunteers and trustees of the need for Safeguarding and their responsibilities in identifying abuse, with particular care being taken for young people with disabilities 
• Ensure that all staff, volunteers and trustees are aware of the reporting procedure under this policy
• Ensure that outside agencies are involved as appropriate
• Provide information for parents/guardians/carers outlining procedures laid down within this and any other related policies 
• Ensure young people and vulnerable adults know there are Designated Safeguarding Officers at the Rose Theatre whom they can approach if they are worried.
• Designated Officers are Lesley Rowden (lesley.rowden@rosetheatre.org) and Lucy Morrell (lucy.morrell@rosetheatre.org) both contactable on 0208 546 6983 

Behaviour Statement

Staff, volunteers and trustees are expected to:

• Treat others as you would expect them to treat you
• Provide an example you wish others to follow
• Ensure that another adult is present when you are in the company of young people and vulnerable adults (ideally mixed genders) including situations when a young person/ vulnerable adult is waiting to be collected
• Respect a person's right to privacy
• Encourage young people and vulnerable adults to feel comfortable and caring enough to point out attitudes and behaviour they do not like
• Remember someone might misinterpret your actions and your comments, no matter how well intentioned
• Recognise that caution is required, particularly in sensitive moments, such as when dealing with bullying, bereavement, grief or abuse 
• Be aware of the possible implications of physical contact with young people and vulnerable adults

Staff, volunteers and trustees should never:

• Show favouritism to any individual
• Make suggestive remarks or gestures
• Do things of a personal nature for a child or a vulnerable adult that they could do for themselves
• Allow young people or vulnerable adults to use inappropriate language unchallenged (i.e. swearing, racial/sexual taunts). Where content of script or drama exercise demands strong language or adult themes it must be the responsibility of the staff or volunteer to ensure students feel comfortable and safe.
• Permit abusive youth peer activities (e.g. bullying, ridiculing or initiation ceremonies)
• Jump to conclusions
• Allow yourself to be drawn into any inappropriate attention seeking behaviour by young people or vulnerable adults (e.g. tantrums, crushes) 
• Exaggerate or trivialise child abuse issues
• Rely upon just your good name to protect you
• Believe "it could never happen to me", both dealing with abuse or being accused of committing abuse

Staff, volunteers and trustees should avoid being in the presence of a young person or vulnerable adult alone.  If one-to-one contact is unavoidable staff, volunteers and trustees should:

• Make sure it is for as short a time as possible
• Ensure you remain accessible to others
• Tell someone where you are going, what you are doing and why
• Try to move with the young person or vulnerable adult to areas where there are more people
• Obtain permission from the young person or vulnerable adult before any physical contact is made, for instance if you need to administer first aid 
• Try to avoid unnecessary physical contact especially if it may be misconstrued by the child/vulnerable adult or other people
• Avoid where possible giving young people or vulnerable adults a lift alone, however short the journey. When this is unavoidable, it is advisable to get consent from the young person’s/vulnerable adult’s parents or guardian. You must also ensure the young person or vulnerable adult sits in the back of the car. Staff, volunteers and trustees should also take insurance cover into account when considering giving lifts to young people, as KTT insurance does not cover this.
   

Staff, volunteers and trustees should be aware of, and help to implement, the Rose Youth Theatre Behavioural Code of Conduct which all members of the Youth Theatre must subscribe to.

Referral to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)

A referral to the LADO will be made in every case where it is alleged that a person working with children/vulnerable adults has:

• Behaved in a way that has harmed or may have harmed a child or vulnerable adult
• Possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child or vulnerable adult
• Behaved towards a child/ren or a vulnerable adults(s) in a way that indicates s/he is unsuitable to work with children/vulnerable adults

How to contact the LADO:

Call the relevant Borough’s Single Point of Access (SPA) Team and ask to speak to the LADO.

Kingston: 020 8547 5008 (020 8770 5000 out of office hours)

If anyone is in immediate danger you should always phone 999

- Monitoring and Record Keeping

- All incidents should, ideally, be written up within the hour. Legally they must be recorded within 24 hours.

- Written notes should be attached if made separately from the attached report sheets.

- Reports should be signed by the staff member/volunteer/trustee, with the name printed and designation.

- Reports and records should be passed to the Theatre Manager who in turn will take responsibility for the    safe storage and processing of this information.

If a young person is under 16 written permission must be sought from the parent or legal guardian to collect and process their data.  Collecting data from children under the age of 13 is prohibited under GDPR.  All information will be gathered, recorded and stored in accordance with the GDPR. KTT is aware that it has a professional duty to share information with other agencies in order to safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults. The public interest in safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults may override confidentiality interests. However information will be shared on a need to know basis only as judged by the Designated Safeguarding Officers and the Chief Executive.

All staff, volunteers and trustees must be aware that they cannot promise children, young people or vulnerable adults or their families/ carers that they will keep secrets.

The Role of Designated Safeguarding Officers

- Act as a source of advice, support and expertise within the organisation and be responsible for co-ordinating action regarding referrals, liaising with Children Services and other relevant agencies in cases of abuse and allegations of abuse, regarding both young people/vulnerable adults and members of staff/volunteers/trustees. 

- Ensure each member of staff/volunteer/trustee has access to, and is aware of Kingston Theatre

- Trust’s Safeguarding Policy.

- Ensure the Safeguarding Policy is reviewed annually and in the event of a change in legislation and/or government guidance or any other significant change or event.

- Be able to keep accurate, detailed and secure written records of concerns and referrals.

- Ensure parents/carers see copies of the Safeguarding Policy to alert them to the fact that the KTT may need to report incidents.

The Role of the Board

- To sanction a robust Safeguarding Policy, review it annually (or as recommended by a Designated Safeguarding Officer), monitor and evaluate its effectiveness and be satisfied that it is being complied with.

- To ensure a Designated Safeguarding Officer(s) is allocated with the responsibility for Safeguarding co-ordination, along with a nominated board member.

- To ensure necessary training takes place for the Designated Safeguarding Officer(s) to carry out their role.

- To ensure that there are safe and effective recruitment and disciplinary procedures in place.

- To ensure an annual item is placed on Board meeting agendas, detailing changes affecting policy and procedures, training undertaken and numbers of cases/incidents (without names or details).

- To ensure this Safeguarding Policy is reviewed annually and in the event of a change in legislation and/or government guidance or any other significant change or event.