The safety and wellbeing of every child who comes to The Future Performer is more important than anything else we do.
The Future Performer runs musical theatre classes, workshops and holiday camps for young people in Bromley. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of every child who attends, and to creating an environment in which they feel safe, respected, listened to and supported.
We believe that:
This policy has been developed with regard to current safeguarding legislation and guidance in England, including Working Together to Safeguard Children.
This policy applies to The Future Performer and to anyone working for or on behalf of it, including assistants, helpers and any freelancer or contractor engaged to work with the children. It applies at every class, workshop, holiday camp and rehearsal, and to any activity we run away from our usual venue.
Kim Thursfield is the Designated Safeguarding Lead for The Future Performer. She is responsible for safeguarding arrangements, for responding to concerns, and for deciding when a concern needs to be referred on.
Kim holds current safeguarding training covering children, adults and special educational needs, provided through her local authority and refreshed annually.
Kim leads every session and is present throughout. If for any reason she is not available and a concern cannot wait, a parent or carer should contact one of the following directly. Concerns should never be held back because a particular person is unavailable.
Kim is DBS checked and works alongside one assistant, who is also DBS checked. No adult who has not been appropriately checked works unsupervised with the children.
We run a maximum of twenty four children per class with two adults present. No class or camp session runs with fewer than two adults in the room.
Safeguarding concerns can take many forms and may include physical abuse; emotional or psychological abuse; sexual abuse or exploitation; neglect; bullying or cyberbullying; discrimination; grooming; online abuse; inappropriate adult behaviour or professional boundaries; domestic abuse or other circumstances affecting a child's safety; concerns about a child's mental or emotional wellbeing; or any behaviour that causes a child to feel unsafe.
A concern does not need to involve an allegation of abuse. Any situation in which there is a reasonable concern about the safety or welfare of a child should be taken seriously.
We aim to create an environment where children feel able to speak openly about things that worry them. If a child tells us about something that is worrying them, we will:
We will never blame or shame a child for raising a concern.
Any safeguarding concern involving a child at The Future Performer should be reported to Kim Thursfield, Designated Safeguarding Lead, as soon as possible.
Email: info@thefutureperformer.co.uk · Telephone: 07804 622314
If there is an immediate risk of harm or an emergency, call 999 without delay.
Where a concern indicates that a child may be at risk of significant harm, we will take appropriate action and, where necessary, contact the relevant local authority children's social care service, the police or another appropriate safeguarding agency.
We will not allow concerns about reputation, a class, a booking or any other business consideration to override the safety and welfare of a child.
Any allegation or concern involving an adult working for or on behalf of The Future Performer will be taken seriously. We will not attempt to investigate an allegation beyond what is necessary to establish the immediate safeguarding concern. Where appropriate, concerns will be referred to the relevant safeguarding authority or the police and managed in accordance with their advice. No adult will be permitted to continue unsupervised contact with a child where doing so could place that child at risk.
We expect all adults working with children here to maintain appropriate professional boundaries. Adults should:
Communication with families is with the parent or carer, not directly with the child.
Children are signed in at the start of each session and are supervised throughout. They remain in the hall with us until they are collected.
Children are released only to a parent or carer, or to another adult named by the parent on the enrolment form. If someone else is collecting, we need to be told in advance.
If a child has not been collected at the end of a session, we will stay with the child and telephone the parent or carer using the numbers given on the enrolment form. A child is never left waiting alone and is never sent to wait outside. We ask parents to contact us if they know they are going to be late. A late collection charge applies after thirty minutes, as set out in our Terms and Conditions.
Kim is first aid trained and carries a first aid kit to every session. There is also a first aid kit kept in the kitchen at The Carey Scutt Hall.
We keep an accident and incident book, which is kept with Kim at every session. Any accident, injury or incident is recorded at the time, and the parent or carer is told the same day.
Where a child needs medical attention beyond first aid, we will call for medical help and contact the parent or carer immediately.
The Carey Scutt Hall has a fire exit leading directly outside from the hall itself. In the event of an evacuation, we leave by that exit and take the register with us so that every child can be accounted for outside. Children are not sent back into the building for belongings.
We ask for allergies, medical conditions, special educational needs and any medication on the enrolment form before a child's first session, and we ask parents to tell us as soon as anything changes.
This information is used only to keep the child safe and to make sure they can take part properly. It is treated as confidential and is covered in our Privacy Notice.
We ask for photo consent on the enrolment form, and a parent can say no without it affecting their child's place in any way. Consent can be withdrawn at any time by telling us.
Where consent has been given, photographs may be used to show what the classes are like, on our website and social media. We do not publish children's full names alongside their photographs. Children are never photographed or filmed in an inappropriate situation, and we do not photograph children in changing areas.
We ask parents and carers not to photograph or film other people's children at our sessions or performances.
We have a zero tolerance approach to bullying, harassment and discriminatory behaviour, whether it happens in the room, online or on social media. Concerns will be taken seriously and dealt with appropriately. We will not tolerate discrimination on the basis of characteristics protected by law, or any other behaviour that undermines a child's dignity, safety or wellbeing.
Where we engage anyone who will have contact with the children, appropriate checks and safeguarding considerations are undertaken for the role. Where a DBS check is required, the appropriate level of check is obtained. A DBS check is only one part of safer recruitment and does not replace references, suitability checks, induction or ongoing oversight.
Safeguarding information is handled sensitively and securely. Confidentiality will never be used as a reason to withhold information where sharing it is necessary to protect a child. Where there is a safeguarding concern, we may share relevant information with parents and carers, children's social care, the police or other appropriate agencies where there is a lawful and safeguarding basis for doing so. Information is shared on a need to know basis and recorded appropriately.
Safeguarding concerns and the actions taken are recorded accurately, factually and securely, and are accessed only by people with a legitimate reason to do so. Safeguarding records are kept for as long as is appropriate, which may be longer than the periods set out in our Privacy Notice for ordinary enrolment information.
We recognise parents and carers as partners in keeping children safe. We will communicate openly wherever appropriate and encourage parents to raise anything at all about their child's safety or wellbeing. There may be circumstances where information cannot be shared with a parent because doing so could increase the risk to the child, and in those circumstances we will follow appropriate safeguarding advice.
The Future Performer
Designated Safeguarding Lead: Kim Thursfield
Email: info@thefutureperformer.co.uk · Telephone: 07804 622314
The Carey Scutt Hall, Plaistow Lane, Bromley BR1 3AR
If you are concerned that a child is at immediate risk of harm, call 999.
You can also contact:
This policy will be reviewed at least annually, and sooner where there are significant changes to legislation, guidance or the way we run our classes.
First published: September 2026 · Next scheduled review: September 2027