Health, Safety & Security Policy
Kimberly Wyatt Dance Academy is committed to providing safe and healthy working conditions and conducting our activities without harm to teachers, students or others.
This Policy is further supported by our ‘Code of Professional Conduct and Standards’ and our ‘Child Protection Policy.’
We will take reasonably practicable steps to prevent accidents and ill health by managing health and safety and security risks at our school.
We will do this by:
• Conducting suitable and sufficient risk assessments to identify risks to teachers, students and others.
• Putting sensible measures in place to help systematically control, monitor and review identified risks.
• Actively maintain and promote health and safety procedures as part of our control measures.
• Providing teachers with clear instructions and information about the risks and hazards they need to be aware of and our health and safety procedures they need to follow to deal with them.
• Challenging unsafe behaviours in a timely manner.
• Ensuring that teachers: have the appropriate qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience for the classes they teach; are DBS checked; and employ current safe dance practices.
• Ensuring there is adequate and appropriate supervision in place – particularly of volunteers and student teachers.
• Implementing emergency procedures including evacuation in case of fire or other significant incident; first aid response to accidents or incidents of injury / ill-health.
• Recording any incidents or accidents that occur during KWDA activities, in an accident book and making changes to our procedures - where needed - to avoid similar, future incidents.
• Engaging and consulting with teachers on existing health and safety conditions / procedures and be open to improvement suggestions from students and parents/guardians.
• Keeping informed of changes in health and safety legislation
• Holding relevant insurance policies and licenses
• Learning from incidents, feedback, or improvement suggestions, to inform the review of this policy, risk assessments and our health and safety procedures - at least annually. This review will form part of the continuous improvement process outlined in our
Quality Assurance Policy
Academy Director and DSL Max Rogers has overall responsibility for Health and Safety and the Policy implementation.
Basic facility provisions
We will use venues and facilities where there is/are:
• Good ventilation – a supply of fresh, clean air drawn from outside or a ventilation system - has windows that can be opened.• Toilets and hand basins, with soap and towels or a hand-dryer. Cleaning products out of reach.
• A supply of drinking water.
• A reasonable temperature.
• Suitable and adequate lighting.
• Enough space for each activity /class.
• Adequate emergency exits with appropriate signage. Doors and gates in good condition.
• Clean venues with appropriate waste containers
KWDA is not responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the venues we use; however, we will take reasonable steps to ensure
that it is safe to use: (e.g. they have the necessary boiler/ gas safe checks in place) and we will report any unsafe conditions that we notice to the management.
HEALTH AND SAFETY PROCEDURES
An Accident Book is held by: Academy Director and DSL Mr Max Rogers and is kept in the first aid bag.
Additional Regular location first aid bags:
Addlestone Community Centre- Main Foyer behind the bar.
New Haw Centre- In both kitchens
Salesian School- Medical Room of the main building
KWDA Private Studio- In the studio
In the case of an emergency or serious injury contact: emergency services on 999 or 112
Daily Procedures - for creating and maintaining a safe dance environment.
These daily procedures are based on generic class risk assessments. Where relevant, teachers should check the class specific risk assessments for any particular safety measures that may need to be taken e.g. relating to student disabilities, allergies, medical conditions, using pointe shoes, floor work, props or specific movements that require careful technique.
Before the class, teachers need to:
1. Keep a register of all students and teachers, including student teachers, present for each class.
2. Know where the first aid box is located; have access to the emergency contact details for students; have access to a phone.
3. Ensure emergency evacuation routes and doors are not blocked or obstructed.
4. Make sure floors are clean, dry and free from obstruction – e.g.no wet floors, trailing cables or bags in the dance area that could cause a slip/ trip hazard.
5. Check that sound equipment, plugs and wires are in good condition.
6. Check with students whether they have any injuries before each class.
8. Ensure students are appropriately dressed and are not wearing clothing that could impede movement.
9. Check students are wearing the appropriate shoes for the lesson. Socks only are not permitted.
During and after class, teachers need to:
10. Provide adequate supervision of student teachers and children or any volunteers. 11. Clear up spills quickly to avoid slip hazards.
12. Check that any props and resources used are appropriate for the class, well maintained and safe.
13. Employ safe dance practice techniques – including warm up; cool down; adapting exercises for students with injuries; recognising poor technique and posture to avoid injury.14. Activities are appropriate for the student’s stages of growth and development ability, age and experience.
15. Explain specific activities to the student including safe use of equipment.
16. Make sure the children wear knee pads or use mats if there is a risk of knee injury. 17. Help the students moving any chairs
(younger children should not lift chairs at all).
18. Ensure that each child is collected by their parent /guardian or person nominated by the parent/guardian. Children should wait inside the buildings. Encourage and remind students to wear warm clothing and change into appropriate outdoor footwear.
19. Record illnesses or accidents in the accident book – discuss with parents after class.
20. Stop the class if it is unsafe to continue.
21. Raise any health and safety issues or concerns with DSL Max Rogers or Deputy DSL Faye Jones or Kimberly Rogers.
EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURES
We may need to evacuate the buildings we use in an emergency – e.g. If there is a fire. In such cases we will follow this procedure when at our regular venues:
1. If you discover a fire, you must raise an alarm using the fire alarm call points or by raising a verbal alarm.
2. All teachers and volunteers will escort the children out of the building using the nearest emergency exit. Note: - the nearest exit may not be the main entrance.
3. Children will be escorted and will be asked to hold hands to help them stay together. It is important to stay calm and keep our students and children calm during an evacuation.
4. Other areas of the building used by KWDA e.g. toilet facilities and kitchen areas will be swept/ checked by teachers to help ensure full evacuation.
5. The DSL or deputy DSL will take the registers with them and ensure they have access to the emergency contact list.
6. The students, teachers and any volunteers will go to the venue assembly point. The school principal (or teacher in charge) will call the emergency services, if needed.
7. A role call will be taken using the register to account for students and teachers.
8. Do not re-enter the building unless it is safe to do so.
ARRANGEMENTS FOR ACCIDENTS AND ILL HEALTH
Accidents and illness can happen at any time. We recognise that it is important to provide immediate attention if someone is ill or injured, whether the event or exposure related to/ initiated during, a KWDA class, or not. What is important is that they receiveimmediate attention and that an ambulance is called in serious cases.
FIRST AID
At a minimum, our first aid arrangements will include:
• A suitably stocked first aid box.
• An appointed person to take charge of first-aid arrangements including looking after the first aid box and calling the emergency
services when required. The ‘appointed’ person is DSL Max Rogers – in their absence the Deputy DSL and then class teacher will
assume the responsibilities of the appointed person.
KEEPING RECORDS
All teachers have access to the students in their classes’ medical records on the KWDA booking registers. Further details of
individuals that require more support are available also.
We will keep records of all injury or illness incidents in the KWDA accident book which is in the first aid bag.Keeping records helps identify any improvement measures that can be taken to avoid similar incidents in the future and when
completing risk assessments.
• We will inform parents and guardians of any entry in the accident book concerning their child and any first aid given and will be
contacted in case of emergency.
• Records will be kept securely and confidentially in accordance with our ‘Data Protection Policy.’
• Any serious incidents will be reported to the local authority as per the RIDDOR regulations.
SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS
In the very rare event that a teacher is working alone.
• Lone teachers should make sure someone knows when they stay teaching outside of their normal hours and should always carry
a mobile phone.
• Teachers should be vigilant for any visitors they do not recognise or any persons displaying suspicious behaviour.
• Teachers should call the police if they feel there has been an intrusion or feel threatened or intimidated. Teachers will
implement emergency evacuation procedures (above) if they assess that it would be safer to remove children from the building
due to such an intrusion.
• Although life threatening attacks are very rare, in the event of an actual or perceived threat to life from an intrusion, teachers will
assist the children to evacuate the building and ask them to run and hide when outside of the building. In such circumstances all
teachers should to call the police on 999 or 112.
• If teachers see or hear about something that could be terrorist related, they will call the Anti-Terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321 –
all members of the public are encouraged to do the same, on police advice.
FURTHER INFORMATION
• The Health and Safety Executive first aid requirements www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid
• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1979
•Management of health and safety at work regulations 1999
• Government reportable incidents and accidents www.hse.gov.uk/riddor
Drafted August 2022
Redrafted: August 2024
Next Update: August 2025