Privacy Policy
SAFEGUARDING & CHILD PROTECTION POLICY
The aim of the Festival is to advance, promote and encourage the study and practice of the arts of music, speech and drama, and to advance the education of the public in these arts by holding and promoting competitive classes, concerts, workshops and master classes.
The Festival is committed to ensuring safe environments for children and young people.
The Festival follows a strict non-discrimination policy and all entrants are treated equally irrespective of race, gender, religion, physical/ mental disability, sexual orientation, age or ethnic origin.
This Policy relates to children under the age of 18 and those vulnerable adults of any age who are identified to the organisers by completion of Lagan Festival entry form.
All those who assist in running the Festival are volunteers and are easily identified as they wear official Festival badges. They are recruited upon recommendation by those who manage the Festival as professional people in their own right and/or supporters of the Festival with good character.
In the event of a problem, anyone wearing a badge may be approached and, if not able to deal with the problem themselves, will contact somebody responsible to act for them. All problems will be dealt with sympathetically and discreetly, and will be properly documented.
Lagan Festival Nominated Officers for Safeguarding & Child Protection are:
- Child Protection Officer: Sherryn Mulligan [email protected]
- Chairperson: Lynne Webber [email protected]
The primary responsibility for safeguarding and protection of children rests with parents.
The Festival’s Child Protection Policy and approach to creating a safer festival for everyone is built on fostering trust and good relationships with parents/ carers so that all parties put the welfare of children first.
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.
Some children and vulnerable adults may have specific needs in order to take part. If this is the case we ask the responsible teachers/ parents/ guardians/ carers to contact Lagan Festival Organisers prior to arrival. The Festival actively seeks wherever to meet these needs, but must know beforehand in order to carry out a specific risk assessment.
When attending the Festival, Carers must ensure that children and vulnerable adults are adequately supervised by themselves or by another responsible adult acting on their behalf. Festival officials are not able to undertake this task.
Carers should be aware that backstage changing facilities for performers are limited to the toilets and are not supervised.
No unauthorised photography, audio or video recording of children and young people is allowed in our Festival arena.
Where parents/guardians/carers do not wish Lagan Festival Official photos to be taken at all, then the responsible adult attending should ensure that their child is not included in official photos. * In subsequent years Lagan Festival will have photographic consent forms on the entry application form.
A copy of The Lagan Festival Safeguarding Child Protection Policy can be provided upon request.