Inspiring music beautifully sung

Safeguarding

Leicestershire Chorale Safeguarding Policy September 2025

Who are Children or Vulnerable Adults?

  • In this context, anyone up to the age of 19 is a child and anyone over 18 years who is or may be unable to take care of themselves or unable to protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation is a vulnerable adult.

How Leicestershire Chorale operates

Leicestershire Chorale is a Registered Charity, composed of choir members. Officers are elected and others may be co-opted to serve on the committee.

  • Rehearsals are run by our self-employed Musical Director or a substitute on occasions, with an accompanist. There are neither employed staff nor volunteers in the conventional sense.
  • Most choir members are independent adults, but Leicestershire Chorale welcomes young people between the ages of 16 to 18 as choral scholars and these young people rehearse and perform alongside full choir members.
  • Other young people may be invited to participate in choral works requiring children and/or youth voices with Leicestershire Chorale as long as they bring a parent or other responsible adult who remains responsible for them throughout rehearsals and performances.
  • Choir rehearsals and performances are group activities, and there is no need for a member of the choir to be alone with another member of any age. Leicestershire Chorale is therefore unlikely to be targeted by a person seeking opportunities to abuse children or vulnerable adults. Nonetheless Leicestershire Chorale recognises the need to safeguard any young and vulnerable members and the Committee has therefore agreed the following Safeguarding Policy.

Legal Context

The law requires any organisation involving young people and vulnerable adults to take all reasonable measures to ensure that the risk of harm to their welfare are minimised, and where there are concerns, to share them with other local agencies. The relevant legal requirements arise from:

    • The Children Act 2004
    • The Human Rights Act 1998
    • The Protection of Children Act 1999
    • The Sexual Offences (Amendments) Act 2003; revised 2019
    • The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1990
    • Safe from Harm (Home Office guidance for voluntary organisations) 1993
    • Working Together to Safeguard Children 2025.
  • Leicestershire Chorale recognises that it is not the role of our organisation to decide whether a child or vulnerable adult has been abused or not, but that members should be aware of how to recognise the signs that young people may be being abused or are at risk of abuse and to report this to the appropriate person in the choir, ie the Chair. Concerns will be reported to Social Care, the police and/or the NSPCC who have powers to investigate child protection concerns under the Children Act.

Leicestershire Chorale’s Safeguarding Policy 

  1. Leicestershire Chorale will publicise its Safeguarding policy on its website (leicestershirechorale.org.uk) and draw it to the attention of members at the beginning of each season.
  2. Audiences and Social Events: Leicestershire Chorale is aware that children and vulnerable adults may attend their concerts as members of the audience, or attend social functions hosted by Leicestershire Chorale. It is the responsibility of the parent, guardian or carer to ensure adequate supervision.  If a parent/guardian/carer is not personally attending an event this policy requires them to be satisfied that the child or vulnerable adult will be accompanied and adequately supervised by a responsible adult acting on their behalf at all times.
  3. Privacy: Parents and guardians should be aware that photography, audio and video recording are undertaken from time to time at concerts and rehearsals.  The images and recordings are used both on- and off- line including on the web.  They provide valuable tools to promote the work of the choir to a wider audience and form part of the historical record of our work.
  4. Abuse: The term child abuse is used to describe a range of ways that people harm children. There are four main categories of abuse namely physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect. Leicestershire Chorale notes the importance of being alert to signals of abuse and to the difficulty children or vulnerable adults may have in reporting it.  Leicestershire Chorale endeavours, by the implementation of this safeguarding policy, to protect and minimise the risks of abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Abuse can happen anywhere, including at home, in a residential or nursing home, in a hospital, at work or in the street.
  5. Leicestershire Chorale has nominated a Designated Person who is DBS-checked and who will attend appropriate training as required.
  6. Choir members will report any concerns to the Designated Person. In the absence of the Designated Person the matter should be brought to the attention of the Chair or the President. A permanent confidential record will be kept of the report.
  7. If Leicestershire Chorale should need to recruit staff, then it will apply safeguarding principles to ensure that appointees are suitable to work with young or vulnerable people.

Procedures:

  1. If the vulnerable person is in immediate danger or needs emergency medical attention, call the police and/or ambulance service.
  2. If the person at the centre of the allegation is working with vulnerable persons at the current time, remove them in a sensitive manner from direct contact with vulnerable people and follow the procedures below.
  3. If possible, inform the safeguarding lead and/or the Chair.
  4. If none of the above applies the named person will:
    1. Make a note of the concerns reported to them.
    2. Speak to the safeguarding lead who will decide how to handle the reported abuse.
    3. Refrain from discussing the matter with anyone else.
  5. The safeguarding lead will consult with a local Safeguarding organisation and decide whether to escalate the report by either:
    1. Raising concerns with the police – for serious or possible criminal offences.
    2. Requesting an assessment by the local authority social care department about whether a vulnerable person is in need of protection.
  6. Where cases are escalated, the committee will co-operate with the police or local authority in dealing with the reported incident.
  7. If the police take no action, the safeguarding lead and the chair will agree as to whether an internal investigation is appropriate.
  8. If it is decided to hold an internal investigation takes place those carrying will:
    1. Inform all parties involved of the reported abuse as soon as possible.
    2. Inform the family/guardians of the person reported as being been abused of the incident.
    3. Arrange separate meetings with both parties within 10 days of the reported incident. A joint meeting may be arranged if appropriate.
    4. Both parties should be given the chance to bring a friend or representative to the meeting.
    5. Meetings will be attended by the named safeguarding officer and at least one other committee member.

Review process:

  • This policy will be reviewed annually at the first committee meeting of the year (Autumn term 2026).

Signed by the Safeguarding lead on behalf of the Committee

Jeanne Simpson

Safeguarding Lead Leicestershire Chorale