Are you FolkSafe?
English Dance and Song Spring 2022
This article appears in English Dance and Song, the magazine of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. The world’s oldest magazine for folk music and dance, EDS was first published in 1936 and is essential reading for anyone with a passion for folk arts.
Whenever you lead or organise an event, whether you volunteer or are paid, you have a duty of care towards everyone who is involved.
Effective safeguarding is vital and is a legal requirement at all levels – not just for large-scale businesses, organisations or groups, but for anyone who works with children or adults at risk, as Sam Fisher, Safeguarding Officer at Brass Bands England, explains.
It’s important to consider that any one of us can become ‘at risk’ at any point during our lives, due to illness, disability, mental health, financial difficulties or something else. Information and support around safeguarding is far more readily available than ever before. Everyone has the opportunity to – and should – learn about best safeguarding practices.
Brass Bands England (BBE), one of Arts Council England’s Sector Support Organisations, promotes, represents and supports brass bands across the UK. As part of this, we provide support to bands and the wider music and arts sector, to excel in music making, increase participation and connect with communities. We also provide support and help to organisations around safeguarding.
The launch of FolkSafe, in partnership with the English Folk Dance and Song Society, is designed to enable folk arts practitioners to access the same benefits offered to members of BBE, for the same discounted price.
It’s based on the BandSafe programme, launched by BBE in April 2019. BBE’s BandSafe programme has developed from a concept – an aim to provide our own members with everything they need to meet all their safeguarding needs, under one banner; to an established initiative, approved by NSPCC. The current training programme was developed in partnership with NSPCC, in line with current safeguarding and child protection standards for the voluntary and community sector. Continued uptake from our membership and excellent feedback from the training and support we offer is concrete evidence that it’s valued by so many in the brass band community. We are proud to be supporting the folk community in the same way.
There are many things that must be considered when analysing current safeguarding procedures and, indeed, when implementing new ways of supporting colleagues and group members. These include legislation, government guidance, reputation management, procedures and protocol, all of which help to create and reinforce a supportive environment for all.
Resources in FolkSafe training include:
A folk version of the well-established BandSafe toolkit
A members and non-members version (the non-members version is available to all), used in conjunction with guidance documents, supporting effective policy writing.
Guidance documents
Comprehensive supporting documents, covering all aspects of safeguarding
Templates
These include membership forms featuring personal details, equipment inventory, emergency contact/ medical information, photographic consent and data protection agreements; code of conduct and risk assessments.
Media and web resources
Body of Persons Approval (BOPA )and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) support videos and various webinar recordings.
DBS checks
Free DBS applications for volunteer positions, £40 for professionals (including application support).
FolkSafe is available from £60 for members of the English Folk Dance and Song Society: log into efdss.org/account to access the members-only website for details.
For more safeguarding information and advice, see our dedicated Safeguarding webpage.
