Safeguarding Policy & Code of Conduct

This Safeguarding Policy & Code of Conduct exists to spell out how we like to interact with each other at Tique, rather than leave it to assumption. We believe that saying it out loud, and writing it down, helps normalise how everyone — staff, volunteers, interns, artists, guests, and others — treats one another. It’s by no means a complete document, but a starting point.

We ask everyone we work with to read this Safeguarding Policy & Code of Conduct and agree to it.

We won’t tolerate a breach of this policy — but we fully recognise that mistakes are human, and we’ll always approach them with that in mind.

1. Purpose and scope

This policy sets out our commitment to a safe, respectful space, free from discrimination and harassment, for everyone involved in our work — audiences, artists, participants, staff, volunteers and trustees. Safeguarding and equality are not add-ons to our cultural work; they are conditions for it.

This policy applies to everyone who works with or on behalf of Tique, in any capacity and at any level, including trustees, employees, freelancers, volunteers, interns, commissioned artists, and contractors. It covers all activities carried out under Tique’s name, including events, workshops, online spaces, and social occasions connected to our work.

Everyone covered by this policy is asked to read it, agree to it before starting work with the organisation.

2. Our commitments

Safeguarding

We take our duty of care seriously, whether they attend as audience members, participants, students, or performers. We will:

Appoint a named Safeguarding Lead and Deputy, whose contact details are kept current and visible to all staff, volunteers and interns.
Take every concern, disclosure or allegation seriously, respond promptly, and promise complete confidentiality.
Keep a written, dated, factual record of any concern or disclosure, store it securely, and share it only on a need-to-know basis.
Report concerns about immediate danger to the relevant emergency services or statutory safeguarding authority without delay, and otherwise refer promptly to the Safeguarding Lead.

Anti-discrimination and equality

We will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, victimisation or bullying on the basis of any protected or personal characteristic, including but not limited to:

Age
Disability
Neurodivergence (including but not limited to autism, ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia)
Political views
Race, ethnicity, nationality or national origin
Religion or belief (including non-belief)
Sex
Sexual orientation
Gender identity and gender expression, including being transgender, non-binary, or gender non-conforming
Pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership
Socio-economic background, caring responsibilities, or immigration status

This applies to how we recruit, programme, cast, commission, pay, promote and platform people, and to how everyone in our spaces treats one another. Jokes, ‘banter’ or comments that demean people on these grounds are treated as breaches of this policy, regardless of intent.

LGBTQIA+ inclusion

We actively welcome LGBTQIA+ people as staff, artists, participants and audiences, and we work to make our organisation a place where LGBTQIA+ people are safe and can thrive, not merely tolerated. We will:

Use the names and pronouns a person tells us to use, in all internal and public-facing materials, unless the person asks us not to for their own safety.
Treat outing someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity without their consent as a serious breach of this policy and, where relevant, of confidentiality.
Ensure that facilities, forms, and communications do not force anyone to disclose or justify their sexual orientation or gender identity unnecessarily.
Address homophobic, biphobic or transphobic language, jokes or conduct in the same way as any other form of discrimination, promptly and seriously.

Trans rights

Trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people are entitled to the same dignity, safety and access as everyone else at this organisation. We will:

Respect each person’s own understanding of their gender, and not require medical, legal or diagnostic proof of someone’s gender identity in order to treat them accordingly.
Support requests to update a person’s name and records within the organisation without requiring a legal name change, where operationally possible.
Not require staff, volunteers or participants to justify or debate their identity as a condition of taking part in our work.
Treat any bullying, harassment, exclusion or deliberate misgendering of a trans or non-binary person as a disciplinary matter.

Commitment to accessibility

We want our work, our venue, our websites and our organisation to be genuinely open to disabled people and people with access needs, whether as artists, staff, volunteers or audiences. We will:

Ask what access requirements someone has, in a straightforward and non-intrusive way, rather than assuming what a person can or cannot do.
Provide reasonable adjustments to roles, recruitment processes, rehearsals and events, such as flexible working, accessible formats, extra time, or adapted equipment.
Consider physical access, sensory access, and communication access when planning activities and venues.
Provide information in accessible formats on request, and make sure our website, marketing and ticketing communicate clearly what access provision is available.
Treat a person’s disability or health information as confidential, sharing it only with those who need to know in order to make adjustments or keep someone safe.
Welcome feedback on access barriers and treat it as a standing invitation to improve, not a one-off complaint to close down.

Disclosure and accommodations

We actively encourage everyone involved with Tique to let us know if they are neurodivergent, disabled, or have any other condition or personal circumstance that could affect how they take part in our work, so that we can put the right support in place rather than leaving people to cope alone. We will:

Invite people to share access needs or neurodivergence at the point of joining (recruitment, onboarding, or sign-up), and make it clear this is optional and never a condition of taking part.
Make sharing this information easy and low-pressure, through a simple form, a private conversation with a named contact, or whichever method the person prefers.
Never require a diagnosis or formal documentation before making reasonable adjustments; someone’s own description of their needs is enough for us to act on.
Check in periodically, since needs can change or someone may not feel ready to disclose straight away, and keep the door open at any point in their time with us.

3. Standards of behaviour

Everyone covered by this policy agrees to:

Treat all colleagues, volunteers, interns, artists and audiences with dignity and respect.
Never use their position to initiate or pursue a romantic or sexual relationship with an participant where there is a significant imbalance of power, trust, or vulnerability.
Never share, request or produce sexual images of, or make sexual advances.
Challenge poor practice, discriminatory behaviour or safeguarding concerns when they see them, and report rather than ignore them.

4. Code of conduct

This section sets out, in practical detail, how everyone covered by this policy — staff, freelancers, volunteers, artists and contractors (‘representatives’) — is expected to behave, whether in workshops, rehearsals, performances, tours, or online.

Appropriate boundaries

Representatives are expected to be respectful, professional adults who set clear boundaries in their interactions with others. There is no place for sarcasm, ridicule, derogatory remarks, or any conduct likely to cause emotional distress, including:

Targeted criticism, belittling, or persistent mockery of a participant.
Hostility, verbal abuse, scapegoating, or excessive or unreasonable demands.
Harassment of, or discriminatory language towards, a person because of disability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or any other characteristic.
Using social isolation, exclusion from activities, or the ‘silent treatment’ as a form of punishment or control.

Representatives should treat all participants consistently and avoid singling any individual out through gifts, special favours, or letting one person bypass rules that apply to others.

Personal, off-programme contact should be handled with care, including home visits either way, personal messages, sharing personal social media, or giving out a personal phone number, particularly where there is a power or care imbalance.

Respectful treatment and control

Support and guidance should always aim to respect a person’s autonomy and dignity, never to control through fear, coercion or force. The following are never acceptable, under any circumstances:

Any form of physical punishment, or hitting, pushing, shaking, grabbing or similar physical acts.
Humiliating, intimidating, or using sarcasm or swearing to shame a participant.
Confining someone in a locked or enclosed space, or withholding food, water, medication, or toilet access as punishment or control.
Exposing a participant to content, language or themes without appropriate warning where this could reasonably cause distress — content warnings should be used where a workshop or performance touches on sensitive themes.

Any physical intervention used as a genuine last resort to prevent harm must be reported to the Safeguarding Lead the same day and recorded in writing.

Physical contact

Physical contact should only happen where it is a necessary and proportionate part of the activity — for example, guiding a dancer’s posture, comforting a distressed participant, or assisting someone who is injured or has a support need — and representatives should use their judgement, seek consent where possible, and explain what they are doing and why. Physical contact should never be initiated for the representative’s own comfort or gratification, and any physical demonstration of a skill or technique should be done openly, with the participant’s agreement.

Preventing sexual misconduct

Representatives must never engage in, or attempt to initiate, any romantic, intimate or sexual relationship or communication where this would exploit a position of trust, care, or power imbalance, regardless of whether the person appears to consent. This includes:

Sexual jokes, comments, or gestures directed at or in front of a participant.
Inappropriate or unwanted touching, or undressing in front of a participant.
Personal messages, calls, or social media contact of a romantic or sexual nature.
Sharing, showing, or discussing sexual or pornographic material with a participant.
Sending or requesting sexually explicit images, text, or messages involving a participant, without their clear and freely given consent.

Representatives should be cautious about personal remarks, probing questions about a participant’s relationships or body, or discussing their own or a participant’s personal or sexual life, particularly where there is a support or care relationship. If a participant behaves in a way towards a representative that raises concern, the representative should handle it professionally and report it to the Safeguarding Lead.

Digital and online conduct

The same standards apply online as in person. Representatives should be cautious about contacting vulnerable participants through personal social media or messaging accounts, should use official or supervised channels for programme-related contact, and should never request or share sexual content involving a participant without clear, freely given consent. Photos and video of participants will only be taken, used or shared with appropriate consent, and public-facing content (including marketing and social media) will use sensitive language and include content warnings where relevant.

Breaches of this code

Conduct that breaches this code will be addressed under our disciplinary procedures and, where relevant, reported to the appropriate statutory authority. Anyone with concerns about a possible breach — including concerns about their own colleagues — should raise them with the Safeguarding Lead without delay; the duty to report a concern applies to everyone, regardless of seniority or relationship to the person concerned.

5. Raising a concern

Anyone — staff, volunteer, artist, participant, carer or member of the public — can raise a safeguarding or discrimination concern. We will:

Provide at least one named contact, and one alternative contact, so concerns can be raised even if they involve the usual Safeguarding Lead.
Listen to the person raising the concern without judgement, and not promise confidentiality that cannot be kept.
Record concerns factually, in the person’s own words where possible, with dates and any witnesses noted.
Act promptly and proportionately, which may include an internal investigation, referral to statutory agencies (police or adult social care), or contact with a relevant professional body.
Protect anyone who raises a concern in good faith from retaliation, even if the concern is not ultimately upheld.
Keep those affected informed as far as is appropriate and legally possible, and review what happened afterwards to see what the organisation can learn.

6. Confidentiality and information sharing

Information about a safeguarding concern, or about a person’s protected characteristics (such as health, sexual orientation, gender history, or immigration status), will be shared only with those who need to know it in order to keep people safe or fulfil a legal duty. We will not disclose a person’s trans status, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics to third parties without their consent, except where the law requires it or where there is a risk of serious harm.

7. Responsibilities and governance

The Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for ensuring this policy is in place, resourced, and followed.
The Safeguarding Lead is responsible for day-to-day oversight, handling concerns, and keeping records.
All staff, volunteers, artists and contractors are responsible for following this policy, and speaking up when something is wrong.

This policy will be reviewed at least annually, or sooner following any significant incident, change in law, or change in best practice guidance.

8. Contact

If you have any questions or would like to file a complaint, you can send an email to the Safeguarding Lead at safety@tique.space.