Definition of Safeguarding

‘Protecting children from maltreatment, preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development, ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.’ Children’ includes everyone under the age of 18.’

(Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021)

1. Everyone who encounters children has a role to play in safeguarding them.  We, The Durham Singers will, when children are involved with our performances, form part of the wider safeguarding system for them.

2. From time to time, The Durham Singers works in collaboration with children’s choirs.  Whilst working with those groups we are, in each and every case, committed to ensuring their safety.  A (named) member of The Durham Singers will liaise with the choir’s teachers and carers.  The (named) Durham Singers representative will ensure that the children, who are members of these choirs, are under the control of their own teachers or choir trainers or carers. The Durham Singers representative will also confirm with them that they have an appropriate Safeguarding Policy in place.

3. The Durham Singers will provide a safe environment for visiting choirs. 

The children’s teachers and carers will be made aware of the (named) Durham Singers representative with whom they can liaise on matters of safeguarding.  This will include areas set aside for the children, teachers and carers where they are able to be kept together and the children supervised.

Children in the choir will not be left unsupervised with any members of The Durham Singers.

Teachers and carers with responsibilities for the choir should make the Durham Singers (named) representative aware of any child who may be vulnerable or on a child protection list.

4. Should any disclosure be made to a member of The Durham Singers from a child it must be immediately reported to the choir’s teachers and carers representative.  Durham Singers members should NEVER promise a child that they will not tell anyone about it as this would ultimately not be in the best interests of the child.

The best approach is to reassure the victim that they are being taken seriously and will be supported.

No victim should be made to feel they are creating a problem or be made to feel ashamed for making a report.  This report should include a clear and detailed summary of the concern; details of how the concern was followed up (concern passed onto the visiting choir’s teachers or carer).

All concerns and disclosures should be written, signed and dated.