Ballet

Modern

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Acrobatics

Musical Theatre

Boys Street

Private Classes

Intruder Handling

Description of Areas Around the Town Hall

• Lobby
• Main hall
• Police office
• Town Clerk office
• Toilets (male, female and disabled)
• Upstairs chamber
• Lift
• Kitchen
• Back door area
• COSHH cupboard (locked)
• Cupboard in kitchen area (locked)
• Car Park at rear

Emergency Exits

• Front door
• 2 middle exits in main hall
• Back door
• Fire exit in chamber

Start and End of Lessons

We will implement a one-way system. Children are dropped off at the front door and collected from the back door, with teachers monitoring both drop-off and collection. 

Parent to give written consent if child is able to walk home alone.

Front and Back Doors Locked

We will lock the front and back doors during lesson times, when possible, by dropping the latch.

Monitoring Children at All Times

A teacher or assistant must escort children to the toilet. Older dancers, aged 12 and above, may go without supervision.

Uniform

Uniforms make our dancers and teachers easily identifiable, fostering unity, professionalism, and ensuring everyone is recognised as part of our community.

Emergencies

We will train our teachers and assistants to effectively handle various scenarios should they arise.

Intruder in the Building

Incidents involving an intruder, especially one that is armed, will evolve rapidly. This could result in significant injury and or loss of life. How the situation unfolds will depend on the circumstances, making it near enough impossible to outlay a clear response procedure. However, by outlining options this allows us to exercise our judgement, to determine the most appropriate course of action if an emergency unfolds.

• Respond immediately dependent on the circumstances. Your response may include a combination of evacuation, lockdown or shelter and this may also change as the situation unfolds
• Do not approach them or make sudden/fast movements
• If you sense an intruder has entered the room in a hostile nature assume they are armed, even if you can’t see a weapon
• Answer any questions they may ask slowly and calmly
• Try to do something that will shift the intruder’s attention away from our dancers, if you can do so safely
• Code statement to move dancers to a safe place is ‘TIMEOUT’ making a ‘T’ action with the hands
• Call 999 as soon as safely possible
• Where time permits, the decision regarding your response, should be made in consultation with the police.
• Know your options and revise this each term

Reactions to an Intruder Entering the Building

• If someone who is not teaching or attending the lesson enters the room. Please assess the situation immediately
• Parents should not be in class unless they have the teacher’s permission
• Sometimes parents may enter if the child forgets a drink, snack or shoes
• Is this a parent we know? Is it a stranger? Is it a person of note?
• If the intruder is not someone we know and is wanting to walk through the class. Please politely ask them to use the path at the side of the town hall instead
• If the person who is entering the room is acting agitated in any way, please use the ‘TIMEOUT’ code to remove the children from a potential situation
• If the class teacher can calmly talk to the intruder and explain a class is taking place. Hopefully this will be enough to remove them from the room calmly
• Intruders can still become violent without a weapon
• Never put yourself or the dancers in harm’s way if possible
• Please decide which of the actions below is most suitable for the situation

Reactions to an Armed Intruder Entering the Building

1. Evacuation

• Immediately assemble children you are responsible for
• Take register with you if possible
• Leave all other belongings
• Evacuate the building as quietly and calmly as possible through the nearest fire exit
• Keep dancers calm and shielded
• Carry young dancers or those with disability if possible
• If leaving through the back door fire exit or side pathway exit, dancers should be taken to “Tod’s Piece” park area
• If leaving through the gated exit, the chamber fire exit or the front door, dancers should be taken the “Market Place”
• If you are able to sound the emergency alarm safely, then do so
• Reassure dancers and try to keep them together
• Call 999 or ask someone to do this
• Take a register if appropriate

2. Lockdown and Hide in Secure Space

• If an intruder enters the main hall and the fire exits are unable to be used, move all of the children to the kitchen, Town clerk office, Police office or toilets for safety. There is an internal lock on the male toilets’ outer door, as well as all of the individual female toilets
• Barricade or lock the doors
• If an intruder enters the chamber, the fire exit is the only option to move dancers to safety
• If you are able to sound the emergency alarm safely, then do so
• Call 999 if safe to do so
• Wait for help and reassure and comfort dancers

3. Fight

• Your last resort is to fight back to protect yourself and the children in our care
• If you cannot evacuate or hide safely and only when you or your student’s life is in imminent danger, act with physical aggression towards the intruder
• Use items in your area such as chairs or fire extinguishers to create a barrier between the intruder and human life.
• Throw items at the intruder, if possible

Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children and Young People Means

Protecting children from maltreatment, preventing impairment of a child’s health or development, ensuring that children are growing up with the provision of safe and effective care and taking action to ensure that children have the best life chances.

At Curtain Upp® Stage School we will do this by:

• Identifying and responding to concerns about a child or young person
• Providing a safe and happy dance environment
• Supporting development through dance in a way that fosters a sense of belonging/self/sense/community/independence
• Supporting young people to communicate freely with us, supporting their communication methods, providing time and space to talk
• Fostering an environment of trust and building appropriate professional relationships

If an Intruder has Exited the Town Hall

• Call 999
• Ensure dancers are safe and calm
• Secure all exterior doors to prevent the intruder from re-entering
• If there is a weapon left, do not touch it, simply supervise it and allow only the police to take the weapon

Recovery

When it is safe to do so:

• Register and headcount of students and staff
• Attend to the needs of your students and staff including first aid
• If available, designate a member of staff to take any students needing medical attention out to the ambulance while you stay in the room
• Record any surfaces you noticed the intruder touched
• Follow your sign out process to ensure parents are here to collect each child
• If required, bring in trained professionals to assist with the after effect/impact the event may have had on students/staff
• Prepare a message/email to go out to parents and their families

Calling 999

When calling 999 emergency services, be prepared to provide the following information:

• Your name
• Telephone number
• Where you are located now (inside or outside of the Town Hall)
• The nature of the incident and where it took place
• If you are unable to communicate with the dispatcher on the other end of your 999 call, keep the line open and they may be able to listen, and learn important insights about what is happening

Arrival of the Police

Wait for the emergency services to arrive; they will assist any necessary evacuation and ensure everyone exits calmly in a single file.

These terms were first created on August 15, 2024

and last updated on August 26, 2024