SOUTH LONDON YOUTH THEATRE

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Updated and published August 2024

SLYT wants every child in our care to thrive in our environment, and to feel the tremendous reward and benefit of participating in creating theatre at this level.

• FEES: Termly fees should be paid in full on the first day of each school term, or in two instalments on the first day of each half term. Payment reminders will always be sent to the e-mail address registered with SLYT. Late payments attract an admin fee of £15 for each late payment.

 

• NOTICE: Fair and written notice of ONE FULL TERM (12 weeks) should be given prior to the cancellation of any classes attended, or payment of ONE FULL TERMS fees in lieu of notice will be required.

 

• LATENESS: SLYT classes should be attended from the advertised start time and until the advertised finish time, and no other arrangement to arrive late or leave early from another activity is allowable or encouraged.  In the event that another activity (attended outside of SLYT) clashes with our advertised schedule, no refund will be made.

 

• PERFORMANCES: By enrolling in SLYT classes you/your child agrees to perform in the one production per year associated with their class and to fully commit to weekly classes, attending on time and regularly, missing only in exceptional circumstances of illness or planned holiday or school residential trips.  Acting classes perform in Spring Term (February or March production in 2025) and Musical Theatre classes perform in Summer Term (July production, Saturday 5th July 2025).

 

• Participation in any SLYT production involves a one off “show fee” which contributes to the cost of theatre hire, chaperones and other elements of creating theatre which ticket sales alone never cover. This fee is payable once and has ranged in the past from £15 – £45 per child. 

 

• ABSENCES: Any child who misses 3 classes in one 12 week term will be asked to forfeit their place to a child on the waiting list.

 

• Any child in a named lead role during “show term” must commit to all classes and not miss any more than 2 classes, or forfeit their role to another student/understudy.

 

• Any child who withdraws from SLYT following the formal announcement of casting will not be offered any refund on class fees.  We encourage all parents to support our casting decisions which are always arrived at fairly and following rigorous observation or audition. All SLYT productions are large scale ensemble pieces designed to showcase all students abilities.

 

• In the case of any parent withdrawing their child from an SLYT production having already purchased tickets, no refund will be made.

 

ADVANCED SENIOR DRAMA – Wednesday 7.30-9.00pm

• In order to manage the demand for this class, from September 2023 entry into this class will be by audition only. Any student in school years 12 & 13 is welcome to register for this class, and will in turn be invited to attend a group audition, from which a maximum of 20 students can be taken each September. Students wishing to continue in this class will be asked to re-audition each year.

 

• Any student attending Advanced Senior Drama commits to generating ticket sales of a 10 ticket minimum for the annual production (Wendy And Peter Pan in 2024).  

 

• Prior to auditions for roles for any production, students agree to disclose any planned absences for school residential or any other conflict with SLYT weekly classes and agrees to allow this to be taken into account with regards to casting of SLYT productions.

CHILD SAFEGUARDING POLICY STATEMENT

South London Youth Theatre offers extra-curricular performing arts classes and workshops to any child of school attending age. We therefore have a responsibility to reflect and uphold in our work and our ethos, the standards and policies of the schools attended by our students for their normal schooling, in every aspect of child safeguarding.

The safety and welfare of our students is of paramount importance. SLYT aims to create at all times a safe space for children and young people to be themselves, and to flourish through the practice of the performing arts.  SLYT leaders support students by encouraging self-esteem, self-confidence and independence.

All South London Youth Theatre teachers undergo enhanced DBS (formerly CRB) checks, and no adult working with or delivering any aspect of SLYT’s work can do so without providing evidence of this.

Every SLYT activity is overseen by a qualified first aider who also conducts regular risk assessments of the working environment. The course attended by our first aider is a Full Paediatric First Aid Course, which complies with the Department for Education / EYFS requirments.

South London Youth Theatre holds full public and employers liability insurance, which is valid in any venue we visit or use.

The purpose of this policy statement is:

• to protect children and young people who receive South London Youth Theatre’s services from harm.

• to provide staff, as well as children and young people and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection.

This policy applies to anyone working for and/or on behalf of SLYT.

We believe that:

➢ children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind

➢ we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practice in a way that protects them.

We recognise that:

• ➢ the welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take

• ➢ all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse

• ➢ some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues

• ➢ working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, careers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare

We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:

• valuing, listening to and respecting them

• appointing a nominated child protection lead for children and young people

• adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for staff

• recruiting and selecting staff safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made

• recording, storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance

• using our safeguarding and child protection procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know

• using our procedures to manage any allegations against our children, young people, staff and representatives appropriately

• creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise

• ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place

• ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people and staff, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance

• building a safeguarding culture where staff, children and young people treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns.

If an SLYT teacher has concerns about a student or if a student makes a direct disclosure the following advice must be followed:

Listen carefully and keep an open mind. Do not attempt to decide if abuse has taken place or not.

Keep calm. Keep your responses to the pupil calm and reassuring, even if they are telling you distressing or shocking information

Never guarantee secrecy or confidentiality. Explain to the student that to make sure they are safe you will need to speak to others to help you

Never ask leading questions. You must not ask leading questions or cross question the student. Let the student tell you what he/she wants to and do not press for more. Too much questioning may prejudice later investigations or cause the child to become anxious and retract his/her information.

Do not attempt to investigate matters further. Your role is to listen, record and report your concerns to the DSL.

Do not attempt any examination or remove a student’s clothes to look further at an injury. Under no circumstances should photographs be taken of a pupil’s injury.

Be aware that younger students may disclose issues of a safeguarding nature in general conversations rather than as a specific disclosure. Children who are affected by abuse or neglect may also demonstrate their needs and distress without specific concrete evidence through their words, actions, behaviour, demeanour, written work, art work or through other children.

There may also be concerns raised about a parent’s interaction with a student or issues such as parental alcohol misuse, domestic violence or mental health.

If there is any concern at all, this must be reported to the DSL and recorded. In many safeguarding cases it is not one major incident which triggers a referral but a series of seemingly more minor events. It is therefore crucial that all concerns are recorded and reported to the DSL without delay.

If any SLYT student or parent/guardian of an SLYT student has any concerns about an SLYT teacher, this should be reported immediately in writing.

Contact details:

Head of Safeguarding
Name: Spencer James
Email: [email protected]

South London Youth Theatre seeks to uphold the policies and values of the venues we hire. In the event that any enquiry or complaint is not resolved fully by contacting the DSL of SLYT, we would recommend contacting any of the following:

Southwark Council LADO	Eva Simcock		Telephone020 7525 0689
Southwark Council MASH team			Telephone 020 7525 1921 020 7525 5000 (out of hours) email: [email protected]
St Faiths Centre Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)	SALLY ANN HODGE	Principal of Dulwich Ballet School and trustee of St Faiths Community & Youth Association.	[email protected] 07958 753883

This document was first created in February 2010 and most recently updated in February 2021.