Policies

Here at A-Class Dance our top priority is complete professionalism, transparency and care of all students and teachers. A Class Dance are also professionals under the United Kingdom Alliance and International Dance Teachers Association bodies, which lead us in the best possible practices. Please see below all our policies.

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Shop Terms and Conditions:

1. It's important to understand that the colours and material finishes shown on our web site may appear different depending on your computers monitor calibration. We can not accept responsibility after goods have been delivered for any possible difference in colour.

2. We reserve the right to cancel an order for any reason whatsoever, providing a full refund of any monies paid, when an order is cancelled by ourselves you will be notified immediately and refunded immediately.

3. You may not, without written permission, copy any content including all text, images, logos and quotes from this web site.

4. Almost all the products on our web site fall into the category of custom made products. Including some of the items that are listed as 'standard size's' as we may make them to order. Where a custom made product has been supplied correctly, we are not able to provide any exchanges or refunds for any reason whatsoever. It is your responsibility to know your measurements before ordering any clothing items from using our measuring guide.

We take great pride in the quality of our products, however we can not accept returns, due to these items being made to measure products, if you are unhappy with the materials used. You must contact us prior to ordering if you want to check any of the materials we use for our items.

When you place your order, you will have 1 day maximum from the time you placed the order to make changes or cancel the order. After this time scale we would be unable to amend or cancel the order.
Once you have placed your order you will not be able to cancel or amend your order for any reason whatsoever after this time scale.

When an order has been received you do have 30 days to let us know if there are any issues under the consumer rights act 2005, to put right any issues, after this time scale it is up to A-Class whether you are refunded or a replacement sent.

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Returns on any product must be made within the first 30 days of receipt, anything over this time frame will not be able to returned under any circumstances.

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Privacy Policy

Introduction

A-Class Dance is committed to protecting your privacy. Any personal data will be held fairly, in a transparent manner and processed lawfully in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Lawful basis for processing personal data

The GDPR requires a clear legal basis for processing an individual’s personal information. A-Class Dance processes this data under “legitimate interests”. The data processed under this includes but is not limited to membership details, qualification details, communication regarding membership and/or examination matters, for other areas will rely on consent.

A-Class Dance is a member of the ICO and our data protection officer is Amy Whyatt.

What we collect

We may collect and hold the following information

contact information including

Email Address

Name

Age

Contact Number

Any Medical Conditions, Allergies you may have.

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What we do with the information we gather

We require this information in order to provide you with Internal record keeping.

We will periodically send you emails and/or letters regarding important information, examination services/products, events and information that we believe will be essential or of interest to you.

From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone, or email. We may use the information to customise the services that we offer to you.

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Data Retention

We keep this information for our records in order to contact you further whether this is for internal or external events, classes or competitions.

Your data is securely stored on external device to avoid any data leaks or being compromised.

This data is never shown to third parties at any stages.

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Controlling your personal information

We may use your personal information to send you information, such as newsletters relating to A-Class Dance events and activities. If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for these purposes, you may change your mind at any time by emailing us at aclassdance1@gmail.com

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Disclosure

We will not sell, share or pass on your personal details to any third parties, other than described in this Privacy Policy, unless we have your permission or are required to do so by law. This may include governmental agencies, regulatory bodies or other person in line with any applicable regulations, laws, court orders or official request. If you believe that any information that we hold is incorrect or incomplete please email aclassdance1@gmail.com as soon as possible. Your request will be dealt with promptly.

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Security

We are committed to keeping your information secure. To prevent unauthorised access to your information we have put in place suitable safeguard procedures including physical and electronic.

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GDPR Principles

The GDPR principles can be found here

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/principles/

Your Right’s

The GDPR includes the following rights for people:

the right to be informed;

the right of access;

the right to rectification;

the right to erasure;

the right to restrict processing;

the right to data portability;

the right to object; and the right not to be subject to automated decision-making including profiling.

This policy statement may, from time to time, be changed but an updated copy will be posted on the website.

If you have any questions concerning our privacy policy, please email us to discuss them.

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Safeguarding Policy

A-Class Dance Safeguarding

1. Aims 

This is the safeguarding and child protection policy and procedures of A-Class Dance. (ACD). ACD is a safe, inclusive and positive dance school. We are committed to supporting the creative development, safety and wellbeing of everyone in our organisation.

The aims of this policy are as follows:

To actively promote the welfare of children, staff and others who come into contact with ACD and to protect them from harm

To have clear procedures in place for dealing with and referring concerns about the welfare of any individual and/or allegations of abuse

To ensure staff and volunteers know what their safeguarding responsibilities are and to support them in their safeguarding practice

To ensure consistently good safeguarding practice in all areas of ACD work including lessons, competitions and workshops online and in person

To create a culture of safety, equality and protection

We recognise that:

the welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take

all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse 

some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues 

working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare

 We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:

valuing, listening to and respecting them

appointing a designated safeguarding lead for children and young people, 

adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for staff and volunteers 

providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures so that all staff and volunteers know about and follow our policies, procedures and behaviour codes confidently and competently 

recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made 

recording, storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance [more information about this is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office: ico.org.uk] 

sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children and their families 

making sure that children, young people and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern

 using our safeguarding procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately 

using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately 

creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment 

ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people, staff and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance

building a safeguarding culture where staff and volunteers, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns.

promoting, demonstrating and incorporating the values of fair play, trust and integrity in all ACD activities

Identifying and responding to children, young people and vulnerable adults in need or support and / or protection

Supporting children and young people’s development in ways which will foster a sense of self-esteem and independence

2. Scope and Application

This policy applies to the whole dance school 

This policy applies at all times including where pupils or staff are at competitions hosted by other organisations

3. Legal Framework 

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England. A summary of the key legislation is available from nspcc.org.uk/learning

4. Publication and Availability

This policy is published on the ACD website and will be made available in other formats if required

The date of issue of this policy is January 2021. This policy will be reviewed annually

6.  Roles and responsibilities of all ACD staff 

Safeguarding

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our dancers is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone should feel safe and protected from any form of abuse and neglect

Staff must:

Share our commitment to acting in the best interests of our dancers

Be alert to safeguarding issues and report promptly safeguarding concerns to the named responsible person and/or external agencies

Listen to any disclosures from dancers, avoid asking leading questions, make a written record of the conversation as soon as possible and will not promise confidentiality to dancers, ensuring they are aware information may need to be shared

Report any disclosures made to the named responsible person and/or external agencies

Agree to ongoing monitoring of their suitability for a position working with children and vulnerable adults which may include an Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau/ Disclosure and Barring Service Disclosure

Strictly observe the ACD code of conduct in this document

Take prompt and appropriate action if an accident occurs

Take all reasonable steps to prevent abuse of children in contact with anyone within the organisation

Health and Safety

Staff must:

Take all reasonable steps to protect children from hazards

Record all accidents in the organisation’s accident book or other formal recording system immediately or as soon as practicably possible

Familiarise themselves with building/facility safety issues such as fire procedures, location of emergency exits, location of emergency telephones and first aid

Ensure that appropriate staff have access to any parent consent/emergency consent forms for all children taking part in any activities [this information should be stored confidentially but be accessible in case of emergency]

Provide a safe environment for examinations and assessments

Ensure that their activities start and end on time

7.  Use of personal data

Where appropriate, personal data relating to dancers will be kept by ACD.  This data will be subject to GDPR and data protection requirements and will only be used for the purposes of entry to competitions and examinations and providing emergency contact details and medical information to promote dancers’ wellbeing and safety.

8.  Code of Conduct for ACD Staff:

DO:

Behave professionally

Listen to children

Treat everyone with respect

Communicate at an appropriate level

Be aware of policy and procedures

Report any suspicions within our guidelines

Be aware, approachable and understanding

Use physical contact respectfully and responsibly

DO NOT:

Harm a child or frighten a child

Touch inappropriately or insist on unwanted physical contact

Use inappropriate language

Threaten, shout or be aggressive

Force a child to do something they do not want to do

Mistreat, demean, ignore, or make fun of

Show favouritism to any one individual or groups of individuals

Let a child expose him/herself to danger

Make racist, sexist or any other remark which upset or humiliate

Take photos of children without permission

Communicate with children via personal mobile phones or social media without the permission of their parents

9.  Photographing children

Photographs of individual children will only be taken and published if written consent has been obtained from a parent or guardian. General group photographs of dancers will be taken and published as a matter of course at competitions and special events, although we do not include identifying personal information on such photographs. Parents / guardians should inform the principal if they do not wish their child to be included in group photography. 

Parents will be informed that they are welcome to take photographs and films at dance events, but must not publish photographs and films of other people’s children without their parental consent.

10.  First aid

Provided this does not in itself put the child at risk, always try to administer First Aid with another adult present.  Always tell the child exactly what you are doing and why.

Staff should not give over the counter medication to children under any circumstances, but they may help the child take their own medication.  If in doubt about helping someone to use their own medication in an emergency, phone 999.

If a child comes to you for comfort because of a minor accident or fright, it is acceptable with the Code of Conduct to hold their hand or put your arm around them. Just ensure:

you know about any injury and do nothing to make it worse

physical contact is what the child wants, and the kind of contact between you is appropriate to their age and stage of development

you do your best to stay in sight of other adults

If a child needs a doctor or hospital, call the emergency services.

It is nearly always best to stay with them and wait for the ambulance. You should only take the risk of bringing in the child yourself if the emergency services ask you to do so because of exceptional circumstances.

11. Role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead: Amy Whyatt, Principal

The above-named principal is the DSL for ACD.

The DSL will:

manage referrals to other agencies

liaise with other staff and parents about safeguarding concerns

raise awareness of safeguarding principles at ACD

keep appropriate records of any safeguarding concerns or referrals made

be aware that some children (SEND, LAC) face additional risks; be aware of those risks and ensure they have the relevant knowledge to keep them safe at ACD

undergo training as necessary and ensure all staff receive safeguarding training as part of their induction

12.  Safer Recruitment

ACD is committed to practising safer recruitment in checking the suitability of staff.  All ACD teachers undergo identity and employment checks and are required to provide an original enhanced disclosure certificate from the DBS.