Momentum Dance Studios Commitment To You:
Child Safety & Feedback/Complaints Handling Policy
Momentum Dance Studios invite students, parents and staff to view a summary of our Child Safety & Complaints Handling Policy below. This policy is our commitment to creating a safe environment for children to learn and perform at our school. We welcome any feedback from students, parents and staff about this policy which is regularly revised.
1. Recruitment Security
All staff with face to face contact with children have a valid Working With Children Number which is verified via the Office of the Children’s Guardian. As a parent, you have the right to request your child's WWCC to "Check the Check" yourself via the Office of the Children's Guardian website.
2. Duty of Care
Our studio is always managed by the school Principal from the reception desk to supervise staff, students and cater to parent enquiries. This also enables our dance teacher’s primary focus to be on the students in their class at all times. We also provide Assistant Teachers in our youngest aged classes when class sizes exceed 8 students.
A child is never left alone at the studio. Late parents are contacted and the child will be supervised by the Studio Manager and their teacher until they arrive.
3. First Aid/Medical
Key staff are first aid trained. First aid equipment is available at the studio. In addition, Medical Action Plans are documented for children with special medical needs in collaboration with parents/carers.
4. Facilitating an Open Environment
Parents are invited to attend Open Day which is held at the end of Terms 1,2 & 3 to observe their child’s lessons. Parents are welcome to check on their child at any stage of their child's class by request through the reception desk. The school Principal actively enters and views lessons throughout lesson times for observation. Private lessons are not offered at Momentum Dance Studios.
5. Performance Protection for Children
Performance experiences are well planned, documented in detail for parents and offered in professional theatre environments only. Careful consideration is made when selecting music, choreography and costuming to portray all children respectfully and are always age appropriate.
Students are not asked to perform for promotional purposes or in competition with other schools/students. Occasionally, we contribute performance work to community based events which are fully supervised by Momentum staff.
6. Feedback/Complaints Handling
We welcome feedback from students, parents and staff which can be done via phone, email or in person. All feedback or complaints are taken seriously and attended to by the School Principal who aims to respond in writing within 48 hours. Anonymous student surveys are available annually for students to provide their opinions about their experience at Momentum Dance Studios, as we strive to improve our services for our students and from their unique perspective.
7. Committment To Ongoing Training & Review
The Principal, Natasha Swan participates in ongoing Child Safety Training through the Office of Children's Guardian (see below Certificate of Achievement) and is committed to regular review of current policies and practices to ensure Momentum Dance Studios is a Child Safe environment.
Note: This policy has been developed by Momentum Dance Studios and based on information sourced from:
Australian Dance Eduction Standards Association (ADESA)
Office of the Children's Guardian - Principles for Child Safe Organisations
Australian Dance Council (Ausdance)
UN Conventions of the Rights of the Child
