Code of Conduct + Child Safe Policy - Main St Funk Dance Studio Epping

GENERAL CLASSROOM RULES AND ETIQUETTE

Parents are not permitted in the dance room unless invited in by the teacher. This is to limit distractions.
Parents of new students are invited in to watch on their first lesson.
There is no be no photos or videos taken during class time (unless by a MSF staff member) due to child safe and copyright laws.
There is to be no smoking inside the complex. If you wish to smoke, you must stand outside of the gate.
Parents are asked to refrain from interrupting class times. If there is an issue that needs to be discussed, parents may wait until the principals have finished teaching for the night or call to arrange an appropriate time.
Cash payments are to be made to a Main St Funk staff member who is not timetabled to teach at that time. Alternatively, payments can be placed in a clearly labelled envelope.
Main St Funk students are required to bring their own water bottle that is clearly distinguishable as their own.
Parents of Main St Funk students are asked to escort their child to and from the car/dancing. Please refrain from waiting for them in the car park.
Main St Funk are only responsible for students during their scheduled class time. Parents are asked to make sure their child is supervised before and after their scheduled class time.
In the event that a child can’t make it to their class a courtesy email is appreciated.
It is asked that students be punctual in order to have a proper warm-up. This will reduce the risk of injury and also eliminate classroom interruptions.
Main St Funk expects full attendance where possible. This ensures a consistent and progressive term.
Before and during any Main St Funk performance, parents are not permitted backstage or in the dressing rooms.
Main St Funk believes that a dance class should feel like a team where everyone is treated equally and works equally as hard. No one student is the star and no student is left behind.

PAYMENTS

Term fees must be paid in full by the third week of term unless prior arrangements have been made with the principals.
Unfortunately, Main St Funk is unable to reimburse for occasional missed lessons for illness, school camps etc. In the case of extended absence (3 consecutive lessons or more) please contact the principals to discuss your options.

UNIFORM AND SHOES

MSF students are required to comply with uniform and shoe regulations as outlined here: https://mainstfunk.com/2022/02/27/uniform-guideline/

PHOTOGRAPHY

During the course of your child’s lessons, photography and videos will be taken by Main St Funk and its associates. These may be put on public display, used in marketing material, made available for purchase and remain the property of Main St Funk.

AMBULANCE/EMERGENCY

In the event of an emergency involving your child, in the case where it is not possible or practical to contact you, appropriate medical assistance will be administered, for which you will bear the cost.

REHEARSALS

Main St Funk run one rehearsal leading up to the end of year performance. This is compulsory for all students if they wish to participate in the end of year concert.
Please make a note of these rehearsal times and dates: https://mainstfunk.com/student-info/#Dates

BULLYING

Main St Funk prides itself on the friendly, family & inclusive nature of its classes.
Main St Funk have a ZERO TOLERANCE for bullying. Any student, parent or staff member seen to be behaving in a way that can be identified as bullying will be dismissed from Main St Funk effective immediately.

CHILD SAFETY POLICY

Main St Funk is committed to child safety.
We want children to be safe, happy and empowered. We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers.
We are committed to the safety, participation and empowerment of all children.
We have zero-tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistent with our robust policies and procedures.
We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we follow rigorously.
Main St Funk is committed to preventing child abuse and identifying risks early and removing and reducing these risks.
We have robust human resources and recruitment practices for all staff and volunteers.
We are committed to regularly talking about and training and educating our staff and volunteers on child abuse risks.
We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers.
We are committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children, the cultural safety of children from a culturally or linguistically diverse background, and to providing a safe environment for children with a disability.
We have specific policies, procedures and training in place that support our leadership team, staff and volunteers to achieve these commitments.
We are aware of the inherent risks associated with dance schools and we continue to evaluate these risks and implement solutions to keep our young people safe.
We are committed to providing an environment where all young people feel valued and can learn in a supportive atmosphere regardless of their skill level.
We are committed to employing teachers that uphold these values and we will stop classes and remove teachers should we feel their behaviour is inappropriate.
We lead on child safety from the top. Studio owners and key management staff all uphold and practice child safety and are on hand to support others in the organisation.
Whilst we believe that discipline is important in the dance training industry, this does not involve yelling in a demeaning manner or isolating, threatening, bullying or victimising students.
Each teacher will have very clear expectations for behaviour in class and this will be communicated directly to students, whilst all students are expected to comply with these expectations, we must all agree that they are fair and just.
Parents are an important part of our dance community and should always feel their children are safe. We expect all parents and carers to uphold the child safe standards and code of conduct.
Our policies are well communicated to all staff, volunteers, children, families and members of the community.
We are committed to the holistic development of the children in our care and endeavour to incorporate discussions, workshops, displays and good teaching practice on health and wellbeing. This includes physical, mental and emotional health.
We have zero tolerance of bullying and regularly work with our staff, teachers and students to ensure this is embedded in our culture.
We have stringent anti-bullying policies in place to support our commitment to child safety.
We are committed to continually improving our facilities to ensure the safety of our children and young people and to remove all risks of child abuse.

CODE OF CONDUCT

All staff, volunteers and board members of Main St Funk are required to observe child safe principles and expectations for appropriate behaviour towards and in the company of children, as noted below.

All personnel of Main St Funk are responsible for supporting the safety, participation, well-being and empowerment of children by:

adhering to Main St Funk’s child safe policy at all times
taking all reasonable steps to protect children from abuse
treating everyone with respect
listening and responding to the views and concerns of children, particularly if they are telling you that they or another child has been abused and/or are worried about their safety or the safety of another
promoting the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal children (for example, never questioning an Aboriginal child’s self-identification)
promoting the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of children with culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds (for example, by having a zero tolerance of discrimination)
promoting the safety, participation and empowerment of children with a disability (for example, during personal care activities)
ensuring as far as possible that adults are not left alone with a child. All private lessons must be conducted with an open door policy where appropriate.
reporting any allegations of child abuse to Main St Funk’s Child Safety Officer (Carla Jobson)/leadership, and ensure any allegation is reported to the police or child protection
reporting any child’s safety concerns to Main St Funk’s Child Safety Officer (Carla Jobson)/leadership
if an allegation of child abuse is made, ensure as quickly as possible that the child/ren are safe
encouraging children to “have a say” and participate in all relevant organisational activities where possible, especially on issues that are important to them.

STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS MUST NOT:

develop any “special” relationships with children that could be seen as favouritism (for example, the offering of gifts or special treatment for specific children)
exhibit behaviours with children which may be construed as unnecessarily physical. It is understood that physical contact in the dance environment is important, for example correcting a child’s position of arms or feet however this will be appropriate physical contact with no sexual or abusive intention
put children at risk of abuse (for example, by locking doors)
do things of a personal nature that a child can do for themselves, such as toileting or changing clothes
engage in open discussions of a mature or adult nature in the presence of children (for example, personal social activities)
use inappropriate language in the presence of children
express personal views on cultures, race or sexuality in the presence of children
discriminate against any child, including because of culture, race, ethnicity or disability
attend work under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol or discuss the use of these with any children
have contact with a child or their family outside of Main St Funk without the Child Safety Officer’s (Carla Jobson) knowledge and/or consent (for example, no babysitting.) Accidental contact, such as seeing people in the street, is appropriate
have any online contact with a child or their family (unless necessary, for example providing families with e-newsletters)
ignore or disregard any suspected or disclosed child abuse
yell at children in a demeaning manner
ignore, threaten, isolate, bully or intimidate children

By observing these standards you acknowledge your responsibility to immediately report any breach of this code to Main St Funk’s Child Safety Officer (Carla Jobson)/leadership.

Failure to comply with this code of conduct where a staff member (teaching or non-teaching) casual relief staff, volunteers, contractors, parents or carers are suspected of breaching any obligation, duty or responsibility within this policy, Main St Funk will take disciplinary action, including in the case of serious breaches, summary dismissal.

If you believe a child is at immediate risk of abuse phone 000.

By enrolling into Main St Funk and completing the registration process online, you are acknowledging that you have read, understood and agree to comply with the rules and regulations, child-safe policy and code of conduct at all times.