Kilkenny School of Music

Kilkenny School of Music

Child Protection Policy

Introduction

The Kilkenny School of Music was established in 1982 to give instrumental lessons to young people from Kilkenny and surrounding areas.

As a Registered Charity working with children, the KSM - through its Trustees and staff - is committed to practices that aim to protect children from harm, and in particular:

§ to establish and maintain an environment in which the welfare of the child is paramount

§ to ensure that its policies and procedures protect children from harm regardless of their gender, ethnicity, disability, or beliefs

§ to ensure that all concerns and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously, and responded to appropriately and swiftly.

The purposes of this policy are:

§ to set out how the KSM will safeguard and provide protection for children 

§ to give guidance to Trustees and staff about what procedures they should adopt in the event that they suspect a child may be experiencing or is at risk of harm.

Safeguarding principles

The KSM will seek to safeguard children by:

§ valuing, listening to and respecting them

§ adopting child protection guidelines through procedures and a code of conduct for staff

§ recruiting Trustees and staff safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made

§ sharing information about child protection and good practice with Trustees and staff

§ providing appropriate support to staff through supervision and training

§ assessing risk in relation to all its activities, focusing on prevention and minimising risk.

Good practice 

In line with these principles, the KSM is committed to the following good practice:

§ ensuring that all KSM Trustees and staff are aware of this policy and comply with it

§ to risk assess all situations, activities and buildings in accordance with the KSM Health and Safety Policy to ensure all potential dangers have been identified and risk minimised

§ to have a designated senior person (currently the Director) with responsibility for ensuring the KSM operates within the legislative framework and to co-ordinate action within the organisation and liaise with other agencies in relation to safeguarding

§ for the Director to submit an annual report to the Trustees in relation to the implementation and observance of the policy

§ ensuring that, before any employee joins the KSM, the appropriate checks as to their suitability to work with children have been carried out and are satisfactory.               

No person shall be engaged if they are deemed to be a risk to children.

§ to provide parents/guardians/carers with access to this KSM Child Protection Policy

Guidelines

When working with children and other staff members, all staff are required to comply with the following guidelines at all times:

§ foster an environment which encourages both children and adults to feel comfortable and confident in challenging attitudes or behaviour which they feel to be discriminatory, abusive or inappropriate in any way

§ engage with the KSM Good Practice guidelines detailed below

Practice to be avoided

Staff should never:

§ permit, accept, encourage or ignore abusive or discriminatory behaviour by another person or group of people

§ trivialise the feelings, concerns or beliefs expressed by a pupil, which may include suspicion of abuse or discrimination

§ allow allegations made by a pupil to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon

§ engage in over familiar or inappropriate behaviour towards or contact with or in front of a pupil (i.e. physical, verbal, sexual, horseplay; rowdy or boisterous play, even in fun) or allow or encourage fellow employees to do the same

§ engage in sexual contact or relationship with any pupil, including verbal or gesture suggestion, even in fun

§ show favouritism in any way / undermine in any way

§ confide personal details to pupils, or be party to gossip about staff or pupils, including criticism of either group

§ call, text or exchange email addresses with a pupil for personal purposes outside of KSM business, or befriend/accept pupils on a social networking site

§ give personal money to a pupil

§ invite a pupil to the staff member's private address

Reasonable Force

Reasonable force may be used to restrain a child in self defence or because of imminent risk of injury. Before intervening tell the child to stop, and what will happen if they do not stop. Make it clear that physical contact may be necessary. Keep communicating about what is happening.

Good Practice in one to one situations

§ It is recognised that teaching at the KSM often requires individual pupil/teacher sessions, but teachers are advised to avoid spending excessive amounts of time alone with a single pupil away from others, and are encouraged to work in an open environment avoiding private or secret situations.

§ Staff should encourage and maintain a safe and appropriate physical distance from a pupil

§ Pupils should never be left unsupervised during their scheduled lesson time. If a teacher has to leave the room, they should either bring the pupil with them, or leave the pupil in the care of another member of staff.

§ Staff should avoid taking a pupil in their car. However if it is necessary, they should ensure that they are accompanied by another member of staff and that the School Director knows what is happening.

July 2019

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