The BCMA feel very strongly that our students, families, teachers, volunteers, staff and management, and all who visit the premises or events have the right to feel safe, accepted and welcome at all times and that we strive to achieve this to the highest degree. In particular, all children who come to the BCMA have a right to feel and to be safe. The welfare of the children in our care is, and will always be, our priority. We have a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse and harm in any way. We aim to create a child-safe and child-friendly environment where children feel accepted and have fun while enjoying being involved in the performing arts.

In order to support this and to effectively guide all those involved at the BCMA, we have taken great care to provide specific guidelines for clarity. The Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy and Procedures, (and associated documents) sets out to demonstrate the strong commitment of management, contractors, staff and volunteers to child safety and wellbeing, and how our company keeps children safe from harm, including from child abuse, supports their cultural and individual rights and beliefs and endeavors to make all feel welcome and included.

The BCMA prioritises the safety and wellbeing of children and what steps we take to do this. Our Child safety document has been written by the BCMA Director, Paula Heenan based on the Victoria Government standards, and have been reviewed and endorsed by Laurenza Buglisi, Managing Director of Juno’s Circle: Counselling, Training and Consulting. Additional documents to those attached are available on request.