Early Years and Reception - Entering the Social World for the first time.

Do I have to stay with my child during the dance lesson ?
We strongly recommend that for the first dance lesson you stay within the social reception area in the dance studios or within the same building at Swanmore College of Technology. Then if your child suddenly gets nervous and leaves the dance lesson they will be reassured by your presence. After the first week the child gets more confident and forgets about you. There is a Cafe directly below the Dance Centre and a supermarket within walking distance of Roynon at Southampton which some of our customer use.

What happens if I arrive early or collect late ?
Our reception area at Southampton is a closed area suitable for children coming, going and waiting and we would never push a child out. Indeed the reception is an area usually manned by one of our staff and many of our regular customers and we care that all our customers are looked after.

We would appreciate if you do not intentionally leave small children unattended for a long period of time. We always ask for phone and mobile numbers so we can ensure that late parents have not been involved in accidents or other problems and we reunite stray children with one of the named guardians you give us. The welfare of your children is key to our relationship with you.

Do you let children out with strangers ?
We cannot interrogate everyone who collects children but we are very cautious about people we do not know. We are specifically on the lookout for new people and make a special effort to know our parents and guardians.

Can children come and go as they please ?
Some children are collected by adults who do not enter the building and some children in their late teens may ask for permission to leave but generally our parents consider the dance centre as a secure site and we try to enforce this policy whereby children are not allowed to come and go without reason. It is a policy that the latched main door always remains closed whilst not being used.

Can children go to the toilet ?
We let all new children know where the toilets are and that they are free to leave a class at any time. Children can be put under great stress thinking they can't go. If a child leaves a class for an unnatural length of time we discreetly enquire if they are alright.

What happens if a child forgets its shoes ?
We can often lend spares if they are available. We would encourage you to label personal clothing as we accumulate large numbers of single socks etc. in the lost property box. We try our best to reunite lost items with their owners.

90% of dance bags sold are pink. We try to sell other colours as well. 100% of lost dance bags are pink. There is a connection here ?!?

Do you touch or physically repremand children ?
We never physically repremand children. Parents are advised that dance training will by its very nature include some minimal physical contact: e.g. holding hands; putting a knee or foot into the correct position to avoid possible injury etc.

Is the dance centre a clean place for children ?
We have a cleaner who attends on a daily basis. We try and ensure that the dance centre is as clean as possible.

Are drinking facilities available ?
Dancers require plenty of water and facilities are available. Soft drinks are available free during Summer School and certain events. Sometimes we hire independant caterers on behalf of our customers. We urge parents to ensure their children are hydrated and encourage both parents and children to consider appropriate hydration and nutrition.

What is your policy on behaviour ?
We do not tolerate anti-social behaviour but we do tolerate excited children having fun. Very rarely we have become aware of bullying and whilst it can usually be dealt with, we have in the past, had very unfortunately to refuse dance lessons to individuals on behalf of our customers as a whole. As we are careful to monitor the behaviour of children under our care, problems occuring are rare and can normally be solved by supervision.

What happens if a child finds the classes too demanding ?
Children often find the first few weeks or months at school hard work so we constantly monitor students to ensure they are in the right class. We are pleased to discuss and make appropriate action to ensure a happy child.

What happens is a child finds the classes undemanding ?
We believe that this is the number one reason for children leaving classes. Often they find it difficult to explain this to their parents because nothing is actually physically wrong. We do our best to challenge and promote all students to the level at which they are challenged but not overwhelmed. Because we have a large number of classes (often simultaneously) we can often offer students the right challenges without disturbing their parent's difficult time schedules. With the exception of National Dancing we do not have mixed ability classes.

Does my child have to attend every week ?
Please let us know if you cannot attend. We mark a register to identify attendances for safety reasons but also to highlight missing weeks which might indicate you have a problem we do not know about and we follow these up.

Missing odd lessons is fine but arbitrary attendance means that a child gets left behind which disrupts the general quality of lessons for everyone else and is very stressful to children who find that they are expected to do things they have not been taught. We are not a babysitting service - we ensure all children in our care learn to dance!

Is the dance centre a friendly place for children ?
Our customers are friendly to children and so are we. There is a community atmosphere. We have plenty of space. We can accommodate nappy changing (but please take nappies away with you for disposal) the odd spills and mishaps and can provide crayons paper and tissue hankies, cups etc. Our sponsors have given us their trust and we strive to make Roynon a good place for children to develop.

Will my child get taught by the same teacher every week ?
Adults love to be taught by different teachers but children find too much change disruptive. If we have to make a change the new teacher normally stands in so that the children are familiar with them before hand.

We provide stand-ins when a teacher is sick and often classes for very small children have class assistants. Helpers keep a watchful eye and do the dance class with the children. These helpers are either trainee teachers without full qualifications or some of our senior students.

Can I watch the dance classes ?
There is a viewing week for parents as well as shows summers schools and other events. Generally though the attention span of children gets broken when other parents move in and out of the dance studios and so we would kindly ask that in normal circumstances you should wait quietly outside until the end of the class.

Do you photograph children ?
Never without permission. Our photographer Tony Graham attends at times other than class times for portraits. Your extra attendance on photo dates is entirely optional but many people like this service.

Major school shows are recorded onto DVDs. You are welcome to opt in or out of school shows without obligation and you will be given a form to sign. For legal reasons we must have your written consent. The DVD's are distributed to Roynon Customers only.

Potential ambiguities in the Protection of Children Act 1978 the Data protection act and current changing attitudes in political correctness have lead us to regretfully scrub out the faces of the children on this web site to make them non-identifiable. We hope that you will understand that we do like your childrens faces but legislation is getting ever more difficult for carers of children. We could face a prison sentence if we were to seriously misjudge things.

It is of utmost importance that none of the children we care for can be traced or identified by unscrupulous individuals on or off the internet. We value you and your childrens confidentiality and hope you still enjoy the pictures.

Do you abide by Theatrical Licensing and other issues relating to Children ?
We always contact and obtain permission from the Juvenile Employment Officers in the local Councils when putting on shows. Mostly all we need is an exemption certificate but sometimes we need details from our customers if minors need to be registered. We are legally responsible for ensuring that your child attends normal school and we face heavy penalties if we get any of these legal matters wrong.

We ensure the relevant Criminal Records Checks for Matrons during shows where appropriate. We do not transport children in cars. We have necessary insurance and copyright permissions. We all have to take these aspects very seriously.

What if my child has a health problem or disability ?
We ask you to give us relevant health details. Our qualified teachers study basic anatomy; Red Cross first aid and attend a specific health and safety course as part of their teacher training. We will always try to do our best and are very pleased to try things out on behalf of our children and their parents and carers on the understanding that if we cannot manage we can at least have tried. We have a number of successful dancers with serious medical problems.

Can I dress my child on site ?
Most small children can be dressed by their parents in the reception areas at Southampton and Swanmore. There is also a changing room in the Southampton Dance Centre and changing rooms at Swanmore appropriate for older students.

What are the dance teachers like ?
Our dance teachers enjoy working with children and have great respect for their individual needs.

Are dance lessons just for children ?
No. We provide dance lessons for Mums and Dads, Teenagers and OAPs.