Safeguarding & Prevent

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding is aimed at protecting vulnerable children and adults from harm, Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults at risk and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice.

What is Prevent?

Part of NSCD’s Safeguarding duty also includes protecting vulnerable individuals from the risk of radicalisation and extremism. Prevent is one of four national strands within CONTEST, the UK’s long term Counter Terrorism Strategy. The Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 requires NSCD to have ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’.

What we do at NSCD

We understand the importance of safeguarding the health and wellbeing of all our stakeholders and hold an annual budget dedicated to training our key Designated Safeguarding Officers externally. Alongside this we invest internally in both online and in-person training for staff and full-time students.

Have clear policies & procedures in place relation to Safeguarding & Prevent
Have a Designated Safeguarding & Prevent Lead supported by a team of Officers across all of NSCD’s provision, who report back to our Safeguarding Committee
Support a culture of vigilance across NSCD so all staff, students & visitors feel supported in raising a concern
Train all staff in Safeguarding & Prevent at a level appropriate to their role
Include student inductions for Centre for Advanced Training, Access, Undergraduate & Post graduate levels
Take all concerns seriously & act upon them in a timely & appropriate manner, whilst offering full support through NSCD & specialist services
Have a thorough recruitment process, making sure staff are appropriate to work with our diverse student body
Have a Prevent Risk Assessment Plan, which is currently set at a LOW Level

Reporting a concern

If you are worried about yourself or someone you know at NSCD please contact a member of staff who will refer this to a member of the Safeguarding team. Full list of our Safeguarding Team is below

Safeguarding & Remote Education

At NSCD we have adjusted to working remotely with our students, our Safeguarding procedures remain an the centre of our work and have / will be adjusted to take into consideration the changing landscape of provision during Covid 19. For further information on keeping safe online for parents and children that may access our work please see the links at the bottom of the page.

For those living in Leeds this list contains key contact numbers to help people through the coronavirus outbreak including:

Leeds Domestic Violence Service helpline
Cancer Support Helpline
COVID-19 support line for anyone in Leeds with family members or friends who are critically ill, or have died from any illness during COVID-19
Emergency food response
Helpline number for those that are self-isolating and don’t have friends or family nearby.

Download our Prevent Statement & Policy and / or Child Protection and Adult at Risk Policy Statement

NSCD are dedicated to Safeguarding all our students and staff, if you have a Safeguarding concern or query please contact our Safeguarding Team, by phone on 0113 2193006 or email safeguarding@nscd.ac.uk.

Safeguarding Lead – Tracy Witney

Safeguarding Officers – Francesca McCarthy, Rose Chadwick, Matthew Slater, Phil Sanger, Eric Assandri & Hannah Perry.

NSCD work in partnership with the Prevent Regional Coordinator (North East) as part of the Due Diligence & Counter Extremism Division of the Department of Education

Helpful Links

One Minute Guides –

Radicalisation and preventing extremism

Leeds Safeguarding Children’s Board

Child Sexual Exploitation

Domestic Violence & Children’s Service

Female Genital Mutilation

Mindmate

County Lines