Safeguarding CHILDREN Policy
This policy and guidance should be observed by all staff members, musicians, consultants and volunteers of London Chamber Society (the operating company of the London Chamber Orchestra, furthermore referred to as LCS Ltd. and Trustees of the LCO Trust (LCOT).
There will be circumstances in which LCS Ltd staff members, musicians, consultants, volunteers, visitors (to Music Junction sessions) and LCOT Trustees will have contact with children and young people under the age of 18 during the course of their work, mainly but not exclusively if working on an education project.
LCS Ltd believes that a child or young person should never experience abuse of any kind, and is committed to practices that protect children from harm and to ensuring that these practices are followed by its staff, musicians, consultants, volunteers, visitors and LCOT Trustees when attending any LCS Ltd-organised event or project involving children. We refer to our schools and organisations’ Safeguarding Policies to ensure that, where parts of the project are not under our direct jurisdiction, appropriate policies are in place.
(Any activities outside of LCS Ltd’s official remit involving children and LCS Ltd staff, musicians, consultants and volunteers and/or LCOT Trustees remain the responsibility of the individuals and parents/carers involved, and are not covered by this policy.)
The purposes of this policy are:
● To set out how the LCS Ltd will safeguard and provide protection for children and young people who receive LCS Ltd’s services and to protect all parties involved.
● To give guidance to staff, musicians, consultants, volunteers, visitors and LCOT Trustees on the procedures they should adopt in the event that they suspect a young person may be experiencing or is at risk of harm.
● To help identify any practices which could be mistakenly interpreted and lead to false allegations of abuse being made against individuals.
Safeguarding Principles
The LCS Ltd will:
● Implement its safeguarding procedures through a Safeguarding Children Policy, Code of Practice and appropriate training and supervision for staff, musicians, consultants and volunteers.
● Record and report to the relevant authorities any child protection concerns using the procedures set out in this policy.
● Listen to, value and respect children.
● Assess risk in relation to all its activities involving children and take steps to prevent and minimise risk.
We recognise that:
● All children, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity, have a right to equal 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.
Code of Practice
In line with these principles LCS Ltd will seek to safeguard children by:
● Ensuring that all LCS Ltd staff, musicians, consultants, volunteers, Music Junction visitors and LCOT Trustees are aware of this Policy and comply with it.
● Appointing a Designated Safeguarding Person (DSP) with responsibility for ensuring that LCS Ltd carries out its duties under this Policy, who will co-ordinate any action to be taken and who will liaise with other agencies in relation to safeguarding.
● Ensuring that the DSP or other nominated LCS Ltd staff member will attend one relevant training session annually and share good practice across the organisation.
● Ensuring that all relevant DBS and any other required checks are made before any staff member, musician, consultant or volunteer is authorised to work directly with children.
● Reviewing this policy annually and/or in line with changes in legislation.
Data Storage Policy
● If sensitive information relating to children and young people is gathered (i.e. dates of birth, home addresses, copies of identity documents, health declarations) it is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 and parent/guardian permission is obtained for its storage and appropriate use (i.e. sharing with relevant Local Authorities to facilitate Child Licensing applications).
● Sensitive information must have an identified retention period, which reflects the purpose for retaining the information and is in line with the Data Protection Act. When the retention date is reached, they must be securely deleted from electronic storage and corresponding paper/soft copies securely shredded.
● Parent/guardian permission must be sought for any photographs or videos of children and young people that will be retained and used both internally and externally by LCO i.e. in on-going records of project, on website/ social media or in annual report and where appropriate externally by 3rd parties to promote or report on the project i.e. by Music Junction funders, press.
● Media permission is sought via LCO Music Junction Consent form.
● Photographs and videos are stored securely in the LCO Music Junction archive.
Please see the full LCS Safeguarding Policy here
