Studio Cloud Nine believes that:

• The welfare of children is vital

• All children, whatever age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/ or sexual identity have the right to protect from abuse.

• All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately

                    

Cloud Nine has a duty of care to safeguard all children involved in aerial classes from harm. All children have a right to protection and the needs of disabled children and others who may be particularly vulnerable must be taken into account. Studio Cloud Nine will ensure the safety and protection of all children involved in aerial classes through adherence to the Child Protection guidelines. A child is defined as under 18 The Children Act 1989.

 

 

Policy Aims

 

The aim of Studio Cloud nine’s Child Protection Policy is to promote good practice:

• Providing children and young people with appropriate safety and protection whilst in the care of the studio

• Allow all staff/volunteers to make informed and confident responses to specific child protection issues

 

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Promoting Good Practice

 

Studio Cloud Nine will encourage the following:

• Always working in an open environment (e.g. avoid private or unobserved situations and encouraging an open environment i.e. no secrets)

• Treating all young people equally, and with respect and dignity

• Always putting the welfare of each young person first, before winning or achieving goals

• Maintaining a safe and appropriate distance with our students (e.g. it is not appropriate to have an intimate relationship with a child)

• Building balanced relationships based on mutual trust which empowers children to share in the decision-making process

• Making aerial fun, enjoyable and promoting fair play

• Ensuring that if any form of manual/physical support is required, it should be provided openly. Care is needed, as it is difficult to maintain hand positions when the child is constantly moving. Young people should always be consulted and their agreement gained. Some parents are becoming increasingly sensitive about manual support and their views should always be carefully considered

• Keeping up to date with the technical skills and insurance in aerial.

• Being an excellent role model – this includes not smoking or drinking alcohol in the company of young people

• Giving enthusiastic and constructive feedback rather than negative criticism

• Recognising the developments/ needs and capacity of young people– avoiding excessive training or competition and not pushing them against their will

• Keeping a written record of any injury that occurs, along with the details of any treatment given.

 

 

Practice not acceptable You should never:

• Engage in rough, physical or sexually provocative games

• Share a room with a child

• Allow or engage in any form of inappropriate touching

• Allow children to use inappropriate language unchallenged

• Make sexually suggestive comments to a child, even in fun 

• Reduce a child to tears as a form of control

• Allow allegations made by a child to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon

• Do things of a personal nature for children or that they can do for themselves