Policies

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY POLICY

The Longwell Green and Kingswood Performing Arts Festival offers a wide range of classes in Music, Speech and Dance. The purpose of the Festival is to encourage performance in such a way which cultivates a love for performing arts.

There are no restrictions but to facilitate this in a competitive environment, it is often necessary for sections to present performers in age grouped classes. The Committee is prepared to consider the introduction of classes that would further diversify the type of performance subject to their artistic merit.

PHOTOCOPYING REGULATIONS

If any Own Choice work is selected from an album and is not available as a single copy, one copy may be made for the use of the Adjudicator, provided the performer has already purchased a copy. The photocopy will be retained by the Steward. This concession applies only to publishers and copyright holders who are members of the Music Publishers Association.

The Longwell Green and Kingswood Performing Arts Festival is an organisation run entirely by volunteers and registered with the Charity Commission. It is a member of the British & International Federation of Festivals. This privacy policy explains how we use any personal information we collect about you:

What information do we collect about you?

We collect information about you when you register to compete in the Festival, apply to become a member of the Festival/Friend of the Festival or volunteer as a steward and also if you voluntarily complete surveys or give feedback. We will only ask for such information as is necessary for the efficient administration of the festival. We do not collect ‘sensitive personal data’ unless there is a legitimate reason for this – where an entrant may need support to participate in a class.

How will we use the information about you?

We collect information about you in order to process your entry to classes in the Festival and for any other administrative functions of the Festival.

Access to this data will be restricted to those personnel who administer the Festival.

Access to your data and correction

You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. This can be obtained, without charge, by application to the General Secretary

We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date and all reasonable efforts will be made to ensure this is the case. You may ask us to correct or remove information you think is inaccurate.

Do we share this information with anyone else?

The Festival will not pass collected data to any third party unless required to do so by law, but it should be noted that names (only) of competitors will appear in the Festival programme.

SAFEGUARDING POLICY

The British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech work for amateur festivals everywhere to help create thousands of educational performance opportunities for children and young people each year.

The Federation, and our member Festivals, are committed to ensuring safe environments for children and young people and believe that it is always unacceptable for a child or young person to experience abuse of any kind. We recognise our responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children and young people, by a commitment to recommend best practice which protects them.

This policy applies to our Board of Trustees, paid staff, Adjudicator members, volunteers, students or anyone working on behalf of the Federation and our member Festivals.

We recognise that:

The welfare of the child/young person is paramount
All children, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse
Working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.

The purpose of the policy is:

to provide protection for the children and young people who participate in our festivals, including the children of festival members
to provide staff and volunteers with guidance on procedures they should adopt in the event that they suspect a child or young person may be experiencing, or be at risk of, harm.

We will seek to safeguard children and young people by:

valuing them, listening to and respecting them
adopting child protection guidelines through procedures and safe working practice for staff and volunteers
recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
sharing information about child protection and safe working practice with children, parents, staff and volunteers
sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know, and involving parents and children appropriately
providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training.

The Federation will review this policy each year in November in line with Safe Network guidance, or sooner in light of any changes in legislation or guidance. All changes will be communicated to our member Festivals in time for the start of the new Festival year.

SAFER FESTIVALS

Creating Safer Festivals for Everyone

The Federation and its member Festivals use the following policies and procedures to create Safer Festivals for everyone:

A single, definitive Child Protection Policy adopted by all Federation Festivals.
One or more designated Festival Safeguarding Officers (FSO) appointed for each Federation.
Best practice advice in the form of Safe Working Practice and Festival Child Protection leaflets, with support and training for all Festival staff and volunteers, including clear reporting procedures for anyone with a concern about a child.
Appropriate recruitment and induction procedures for all new Festival staff and volunteers responsible for providing safe environments for everyone attending/performing at a Federation Festival.
All committee members and volunteer helpers wear a Longwell Green and Kingswood Performing Arts Festival identification badge. All teachers/parents/guardians/carers are asked to report all incidents of any nature to anyone wearing an identification badge. All reported incidents will be handled in accordance with the Safe Working Practice and Festival Child Protection best practice advice. In addition, we will ensure the availability of a quiet area/room where concerns can be expressed in private.
For the duration of the Festival all teachers/parents/guardians/carers are responsible for the continuous care and supervision of their own children/pupils/vulnerable adults. If they are unable to attend personally, they must delegate their responsibilities to an identified adult and ensure that their children/pupils/vulnerable adults are aware of the identity and name of the person responsible for their care. This includes supervision throughout all Festival venues, the changing rooms, the passage between the changing rooms and public areas. Practice rooms are not provided.
No unauthorised photography, audio or video recording is allowed at the Festival. Where parents/guardians/carers do not wish photos to be taken at all, then the responsible adult attending should ensure that their child/pupil/vulnerable adult is not included in official authorised photos.
Some children and vulnerable adults may have specific needs on order to take part. If this is the case, we ask the responsible teachers/parents/guardians/carers to contact the Festival Safeguarding Officer prior to arrival. The Festival actively seeks wherever possible to meet these needs but must know beforehand in order to prepare support – or to advise that help cannot be provided on this occasion.
The Festival’s Child Protection Policy and approach to Creating Safer Festivals for Everyone is published explicitly in our Syllabus, Programme and Website. By completing and signing the entry form all parents/guardians/carers and teachers of entrants under 18 (or vulnerable adults of any age) confirm that they give (or have obtained) the necessary consents for the entrants to take part in the Festival. Without consent, the entry to the Festival cannot be accepted.