Safeguarding and Prevent

Many of you teach children, young people and adults who need us all to look out for them, and you may film them for your course. This policy explains how we keep everyone safe, what to do if you're worried about someone, and who to talk to. If in doubt, tell us: you'll never be wrong to raise a concern. Jackie and Jess

Our safeguarding team

• Designated Safeguarding Lead: Jess Porter, [email protected].
• Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead: Jackie Sanderson, who covers when Jess is away (via [email protected]).

16 and 17 year olds on our courses and in our community

Learners aged 16 and 17 can join all our courses and our community spaces. To keep them safe:

• every account holds a date of birth, and under-18 accounts carry an age flag that moderators can see (other members can't)
• under-18 accounts start with the most private settings: profile visible to members only, no location, no contact details shown
• adults and under-18s can't send each other private messages, except a tutor or assessor messaging a learner about their course. Those messages are logged, can be seen by moderators and the Designated Safeguarding Lead, and are kept on record
• moderators are told when an under-18 joins a group or forum, and posts and reports involving an under-18 are reviewed first
• members must not share images or details of anyone under 18 in community spaces (see Community and moderation)
• Jess Porter completes a risk assessment for under-18 learners, reviewed each year

What we do

• Assessors and quality assurers who watch footage of under-18s hold a current enhanced DBS check (or the equivalent in Scotland or Northern Ireland) and complete safeguarding training every year.
• Footage of under-18s is viewed only by your assessor and our quality assurers (including our external quality assurer), held privately by Bunny Stream (BunnyWay d.o.o., Slovenia), stored in Frankfurt, Germany, with a copy in London (not on our website hosting), opened only through private links that expire after 10 minutes, deleted on schedule and never used in marketing.
• We teach consent before you film anyone (see Filming safely).

If you're worried

• If a child or adult is in immediate danger, call 999.
• Otherwise, contact Jess Porter at [email protected] the same day.
• Concerns about a child in your own teaching setting also go to that setting's safeguarding lead and, where needed, to children's services where the child lives: the local council in England, Wales and Scotland, or the Health and Social Care Trust Gateway Team in Northern Ireland.
• The NSPCC helpline gives free advice on 0808 800 5000 or [email protected].
• If a post, message or report in our community raises a safeguarding concern, moderators pass it to the Designated Safeguarding Lead the same day (see Community and moderation).
• If something in a learner's film or work worries an assessor, they pass it to the Designated Safeguarding Lead, who decides on next steps, which may include contacting the local authority.

Prevent

Teach.Dance isn't legally bound by the Prevent duty, but we follow its principles as good practice because our learners teach children and young people. If you're concerned that someone is being drawn into extremism, tell our Designated Safeguarding Lead. We don't tolerate extremist or hateful content in learner work or in our community spaces.

Criminal record checks

The rules differ across the UK: DBS in England and Wales, Disclosure Scotland (PVG) in Scotland, and AccessNI in Northern Ireland. Since 1 September 2026, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, supervision no longer takes a volunteer or assistant out of regulated activity with children. The safe practice unit in your course explains what this means for your classes.

Related policies

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