Safeguarding Young Performers In Welsh Eisteddfodau

An eisteddfod should be a place where children and young people can perform, compete, learn, and celebrate Welsh culture with confidence. Folk singing, folk dancing, cerdd dant, recitation, instrumental music, and creative performance all depend on an atmosphere in which young participants feel respected and secure.

Safeguarding is therefore part of the event’s core organisation, rather than an administrative task added shortly before competition day. A clear policy helps committees prevent harm, respond to concerns, protect personal information, and make sure every adult understands their responsibilities.

Local eisteddfodau vary in size and setting. Some take place in schools, chapels, community halls, or theatres, while others use several venues over a weekend. A practical safeguarding framework needs to work in each of these environments while reflecting Welsh law, community expectations, and the distinctive character of the Welsh-language cultural sector.

Why Safeguarding Belongs At The Centre

Safeguarding covers the prevention of abuse, neglect, bullying, exploitation, discrimination, and avoidable harm. It also includes promoting welfare, protecting children online, managing health and safety, and creating suitable arrangements for children with additional needs. A young performer may need support because of an immediate risk, a disclosure, an injury, anxiety, or a concern about contact with another person.

The responsibility belongs to everyone involved in an eisteddfod. Trustees, organising committees, adjudicators, conductors, accompanists, stewards, volunteers, parents, teachers, and venue staff all influence the experience of young competitors. A designated safeguarding person should coordinate the arrangements, but safeguarding should never depend on one individual being available at every moment.

A written policy gives the committee a consistent way to act. It should explain who receives concerns, how information is recorded, when an external referral is required, and how the welfare of the child is prioritised. It should be written in plain language and available in Welsh and English where appropriate, so that families, volunteers, and young people can understand it without specialist knowledge.

Creating Clear Roles And Accountability

Every eisteddfod should appoint a named safeguarding lead and a deputy. Their contact details should be available to committee members, participating schools, parents, and venue staff. The lead should have enough authority to pause an activity, change an arrangement, or seek advice when a child may be at risk.

The committee should define the responsibilities of adults who supervise children. An adjudicator may be responsible for judging performance but should not be left to manage a distressed child alone. A backstage volunteer may help with movement between rooms but should not take a child away from a public area without a clear reason and suitable authorisation. These boundaries reduce confusion and protect young people as well as adults.

Recruitment checks must be proportionate to the role. Anyone undertaking regulated activity with children may require a Disclosure and Barring Service check, while other roles may need identity checks, references, a declaration of suitability, and a safeguarding briefing. A DBS check is one part of safer recruitment; it does not replace supervision, training, or professional judgement.

Committees should keep a simple record of who has completed checks, training, and policy acknowledgement. Volunteers who join shortly before the event need the same essential briefing as people who have worked with the eisteddfod for years. Familiarity with the community must not be treated as proof that formal safeguards are unnecessary.

Planning A Safe Experience Before The Event

A risk assessment should consider the full journey of a young performer, from registration to departure. This includes arrival points, changing areas, rehearsal rooms, performance spaces, toilets, refreshment areas, car parks, transport, overnight accommodation, and collection arrangements. The assessment should consider both ordinary risks and less predictable situations, such as a lost child, a fire alarm, severe weather, or a sudden venue change.

Registration information should be limited to what the event genuinely needs. The committee may require emergency contact details, medical information, access requirements, consent for participation, and permission for photography or recording. Families should be told how this information will be used, who can access it, how long it will be retained, and how they can raise a concern.

Children should know what will happen when they arrive. A short child-friendly briefing can explain where to go, which adults are available, what to do if they feel worried, and how to report bullying or inappropriate behaviour. Clear signs, named meeting points, visible badges, and a published timetable can reduce anxiety and help children identify trusted adults.

Supervision arrangements should reflect age, maturity, group size, venue layout, and the needs of individual performers. Avoid isolated one-to-one situations wherever possible. If a private conversation is necessary, it should take place where another responsible adult is aware of it and where privacy does not become secrecy. Parents and teachers should receive practical information about rehearsal access, waiting areas, collection procedures, and late changes.

Matching Risks With Practical Controls

A useful policy turns general principles into actions that volunteers can follow during a busy event. The following framework can help committees check whether important stages have a clear control and a named person responsible for it.

Event stage Common safeguarding concern Practical control Primary responsibility
Registration and arrival A child becomes separated from their group or is collected by an unauthorised person Use sign-in procedures, agreed collection details, and a staffed help point Registration lead
Rehearsals and backstage Unsupervised access, inappropriate contact, or children entering restricted areas Set access boundaries, use visible supervision, and keep movement records where needed Stage or venue lead
Performance and judging Distress, discriminatory comments, or unsuitable communication Brief adjudicators and presenters; provide a clear route for raising concerns Safeguarding lead
Photography and recording Images are used without permission or identify vulnerable children Apply consent preferences, restrict access, and explain publication arrangements Communications lead
Breaks and refreshments Bullying, allergic reactions, or children being left without support Provide supervision, dietary information, and accessible welfare arrangements Welfare lead
Departure and transport A child leaves with the wrong person or is left behind Confirm collection, use a late-collection process, and record incidents Event coordinator

This approach also supports proportionate planning. A small community eisteddfod may use a compact team and a single venue, while a large festival may need separate leads for welfare, transport, backstage activity, and digital communications. The policy should be scaled to the event without removing essential protections.

Digital safeguarding deserves specific attention. Online registration systems, group messaging, livestreams, social media posts, and shared photographs can expose children to unwanted contact or reveal personal information. Adults should communicate through approved channels, avoid private messaging with young performers, and follow a clear process for moderating comments and removing inappropriate content.

Responding To A Concern Or Disclosure

A child may disclose something directly, hint at a problem, or show a change in behaviour. Adults should listen calmly, take the concern seriously, and avoid promising complete confidentiality. They should not investigate, ask leading questions, or express shock or disbelief. The safest response is to explain that the information must be shared with the people who can help protect the child.

The person receiving the concern should make a factual record as soon as possible. This should include the date, time, location, people present, the child’s own words where possible, and the action taken. Opinions, assumptions, and unnecessary detail should be avoided. Records must be stored securely and shared only with those who have a legitimate safeguarding role.

The designated safeguarding lead should follow the eisteddfod’s referral procedure and seek advice from the relevant local authority safeguarding service, police, or another appropriate agency when necessary. An immediate danger requires urgent action. The event’s policy should include emergency contacts and make clear that protecting a child takes priority over preserving the programme or avoiding embarrassment.

Concerns may relate to an adult, another young performer, a family member, an online contact, or the organisation itself. The same careful process applies in each case. If the concern involves the safeguarding lead, the deputy or an external safeguarding service should be contacted. No committee should attempt to settle a serious allegation through an informal conversation.

Supporting Inclusion, Dignity, And Welsh Culture

A strong safeguarding policy recognises that children experience events differently. Young people with disabilities, communication differences, health conditions, caring responsibilities, or previous experiences of harm may need additional planning. Reasonable adjustments could include a quiet room, accessible routes, extra transition time, a familiar support person, adapted performance arrangements, or information in an alternative format.

Language is part of inclusion. Children should be able to express a concern in the language in which they feel most comfortable. Welsh-speaking staff and volunteers can offer reassurance and improve communication, particularly when a young person is upset. Where interpretation is needed, committees should use a suitable arrangement rather than relying on another child to translate sensitive information.

The culture of the event should make respect visible. Adults should avoid humiliating comments about mistakes, appearance, accent, ability, gender, or background. Adjudication can be rigorous while remaining constructive. Rules about costumes, movement, physical contact, changing areas, and audience behaviour should be communicated in advance and applied consistently.

Bullying and discriminatory behaviour should be addressed promptly, whether it occurs in the venue, during travel, in a group chat, or through social media. Young performers need to know that competition does not excuse intimidation. Celebrating Welsh tradition is strongest when every child can participate without feeling that they must hide part of their identity to belong.

Training Volunteers And Reviewing Practice

Safeguarding training should be short enough to complete and specific enough to be useful. A briefing can cover signs of abuse, responding to disclosures, boundaries, missing children, photography, online contact, emergency procedures, and reporting routes. Scenario-based discussion helps volunteers understand what to do when the timetable is under pressure.

The committee should provide a written code of conduct for adults. It can cover appropriate language, physical contact, use of phones, private communication, transport, alcohol and substance use, confidentiality, and professional behaviour. Volunteers should also know that safeguarding concerns can arise from poor practice even when there is no allegation of abuse.

After the eisteddfod, the committee should review incidents, near misses, feedback from children and families, and any difficulties with supervision or collection. The review should focus on learning rather than blame, while still taking action where conduct or decisions fell below the required standard. Young people can contribute through an age-appropriate feedback form, a youth panel, or a trusted adult.

Policies should be dated, approved, and reviewed regularly, particularly after a significant incident, venue change, new digital activity, or change in legislation or official guidance. Local committees can seek support from Cymdeithas Eisteddfodau Cymru, their local authority, safeguarding professionals, and partner schools when developing or revising arrangements.

Priorities For Every Organising Committee

A committee does not need a complicated manual to begin improving protection for young performers. It needs clear ownership, realistic procedures, and a willingness to practise those procedures before the doors open.

These steps should sit alongside wider policies for health and safety, data protection, equality, complaints, first aid, and emergency planning. Cross-referencing them prevents gaps and helps volunteers find the right procedure quickly.

A safeguarding policy becomes meaningful when it is visible in everyday decisions: who stands at the backstage door, how a child reaches a welfare lead, whether a photograph is published, and how a worried performer is heard. The quality of these small decisions shapes trust in the whole eisteddfod tradition.

Cymdeithas Eisteddfodau Cymru can help local committees keep that trust strong by sharing good practice, building volunteer confidence, and supporting events that place children’s welfare alongside artistic achievement. Every eisteddfod organising team should review its policy before the next programme is published, involve young performers and families in that review, and make the resulting safeguards part of the event’s culture from the first rehearsal to the final applause.