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Ethos & Governance

The Dulwich Festival

The objectives of the Dulwich Festival as stated in its Memorandum of Association are:

The advancement of education of the general public in the arts

The provision, or assistance in the provision, in the interests of social welfare, of facilities for recreation, physical education or leisure -time activities for the public at large, being facilities of which those persons have need by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, poverty or social and economic circumstances and will improve the conditions of life for such persons by promoting their physical, mental and spiritual well being.

The Trustees and Management team work together in a spirit of collective responsibility to deliver these.

In accordance with these objectives we set out our policies with regard to:

Financial and reputational risk

  • Ensuring the health and safety of all participants, especially vulnerable groups
  • Protection of personal information and property of participants
  • Investment of assets of Dulwich Festival.

The approach followed in each case is to:

  • Provide clear and up to date policies
  • Communicate these policies
  • Allocate clear responsibilities
  • Record and deal promptly with any exceptions
  • Audit and review these policies on an annual basis.

Definitions

Management Team
Where referred to, this means: the Festival Director; the Festival Co-ordinator and under certain circumstances also the Artists’ Open House Co-ordinator and the Festival Treasurer.

Louise Wood
On behalf of the Trustees
17th March, 2016

Financial and reputational risk

Overview
It is the policy of the Trustees to protect the assets, including the reputation of the Dulwich Festival. This includes the prevention of fraud, theft or other significant loss.

Policies
The Festival’s governing document is the Memorandum and Articles of Association, which provides authority for the Trustees’ organisational framework and actions.

APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEES/DIRECTORS

New Trustees/Directors are appointed by the current Board of Trustees following due diligence by the Independent Finance Specialist and involves ensuring that they have no criminal record or any evidence of financial impropriety which disqualifies them under The Companies Act.

Trustees/Directors are appointed for a term of 8 years, which is then renewable.

Trustees/Directors will be appointed to provide a wide range of skills, experience and contacts appropriate to the needs of the Festival.

All Trustees and the Festival Director are also officers of the Registered Company, Dulwich Festival Limited.

Trustees/Directors are allocated roles such as Chair, Deputy, Finance and Health & Safety and these roles are rotated.

Trustees/Directors are appointed and released with the unanimous agreement of all (other) Trustees and the Festival Director.

Trustees/Directors meet at least three times a year and minutes are recorded.

CONTRACTS FOR OFFICIALS OF THE FESTIVAL

Those engaged for services by the Festival are given contracts outlining the roles, responsibilities and remuneration. The Festival Director signs these contracts on behalf of Dulwich Festival Limited. The Chair of the Trustees will sign the contract of the Festival Director.

References are taken for all those engaged by the Festival and these are reviewed by the Festival Director.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH THIRD PARTIES (VENUES, CO –SPONSORS)

Where the Festival enters into arrangements with third parties such as venues, agents, co – sponsors and sponsors a short document will be provided outlining the roles responsibilities and any financial obligations on each side.

The Festival Director will sign these documents.

Action may be taken against those representing themselves as part of The Festival or otherwise obtaining a trading benefit under the auspices of The Festival.

LICENSES, CONSENTS AND APPROVALS

It is the responsibility of the Management Team to ensure that appropriate licenses, consents and approvals are in place for the activities of the Festival.

INSURANCE

The Festival obtains Public Liability Insurance to cover its day-to-day activities.
In the case of failure to deliver (due to unforeseeable circumstances) The Festival will aim to refund all ticket sales less any costs incurred, not covered by insurance.

VOLUNTEERS AND STEWARDS

There are a number of voluntary positions associated with the Festival and the Management Team aims to ensure that these are individuals without criminal record and are of good character. See section on Health & Safety.

KEEPING OF FINANCIAL RECORDS

The Treasurer, who is qualified in bookkeeping and the maintenance of computerised accounting systems, maintains financial records for the Festival.

These records are held for a period of 7 years.

Bank accounts with dual signatories are maintained and reviewed by the Trustee with responsibility for Finance.

Any funds held over between Festivals shall be invested for an appropriate return and used in a way that preserves them for the overall objectives of the Festival. These will also be held to provide an appropriate buffer for expenses incurred in advance of the forthcoming Festival.

All Trustees at their meetings review draft, management and final accounts as these become available.

The Festival Treasurer under the direction of the Festival Director prepares budgets and forecasts prior to each festival and these are reviewed by The Trustees.

Given its role in the community, the Festival aims to pay creditors within a period of two months of the end of the Festival unless specific circumstances apply.

PRODUCTION AND INDEPENDENT EXAMINATION OF ACCOUNTS

Draft accounts are produced within a period of five months of the Festival and final accounts are submitted to Companies House and The Charities Commission, in line with statutory deadlines.

An independent and suitably experienced Finance specialist appointed by The Trustees examines the accounts before submission to Companies House and The Charities Commission.

DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS AND FEEDBACK GENERALLY

Any issues affecting financial or reputational risk will be referred to The Trustees and dealt with at the earliest opportunity and at least within two weeks unless obtaining relevant information takes longer than this.

THE MANAGEMENT TEAM WILL ENSURE THAT ANY DATA APPEARING ON THE WEBSITE, TWITTER OR OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA, EMANATING FROM FESTIVAL SOURCES, IS ACCURATE AND CONSISTENT WITH THE FINANCIAL RECORDS.

THE TRUSTEES WILL ENSURE THAT PROPER FINANCIAL CONTROLS ARE IN PLACE AND DOCUMENTED ( EG DELEGATION OF AUTHORITIES, BANK SIGNATORIES AND BANK PAYMENT APPROVAL PROCEDURES)

Communication

Outline information on the website and in publications.

Annual Accounts are published and submitted to Companies House and the Charity Commission.

Responsibilities – The Board of Trustees

Recording and dealing with exceptions
The Board of Trustees at their annual meeting will review all complaints, and feedback received. Any ‘serious incidents’ as defined by The Charities Commission will be reported to them (Fraud, large donations from unknown sources, disqualified persons acting as a Trustee, evidence of criminal activities, lack of policies in key areas relating to beneficiaries and volunteers and staff and suspicious allegations received from any source).

Audit and review
The Board of Trustees at their annual meeting will review all policies relating to Finance and Reputation and investigate and, where appropriate, implement any changes to them.

Ensuring the health and safety of all participants, especially vulnerable groups
Overview

It is the policy of the Trustees to take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of participants, officials and volunteers of the Dulwich Festival.

Policies

HEALTH & SAFETY OF BENEFICIARIES AND OFFICIALS

Venue fitness for purpose
A number of public venues are used for Festival events. Usually the venues are licensed by Southwark Council and hence subject to all necessary checks at periodic intervals. Where a venue is not already licensed, a member of the Management Team attends the venue to assess its suitability to be used under the Temporary Events Notice Scheme and thus licensed by Southwark.

Areas covered include good access, Disabled access, good security, assessment of appropriate attendee numbers, well maintained external fabric, appropriate signage for emergency exit and services, meeting of electrical and gas requirements, fire safety equipment testing and record and the availability of appropriate responsible personnel at the event.

For the Artist’s Open House private homes are used and a selection of these is selected and visited in advance for their fitness for purpose by the Management Team. For all participants the application form contains a statement on accessibility. Notices advise that organizers and participants cannot accept liability for any loss, damage or injury sustained by any member of the public visiting any Artists’ Open House Venue.

For the public walks the route is selected in advance to ensure that it is appropriate for the numbers attending. Numbers are restricted and the walk leader and an attending steward are responsible for the management of the group although attendees are reminded that their safety is their own responsibility.

Two large Fairs are part of the Festival and these are organized and managed by independent bodies under the auspices of the Festival Management Team. The competence and performance of these bodies is assessed in relation to good management practice and the events themselves in relation to access, good security, well maintained external fabric, appropriate signage for emergency exit and services, meeting of electrical and gas requirements, fire safety equipment testing and record and the availability of appropriate responsible personnel at the event. Events and catering within these Fairs (such as concerts and performance art) fall within the responsibility of these bodies.

The event organiser will ensure that all licenses, consents and approvals are obtained for planned activities.

Selection & training of stewards
Stewards are welcomed from all sections of the community.

A minimum of two stewards is provided for each event.

Stewards wear badges highlighting their role.

Stewards are volunteers and a small group of regular stewards are maintained and are personally known to the management team.

All stewards are provided with training in advance and clear guidelines about their roles and responsibilities on the night (see Appendix I).

At the event, fire
Fire procedures are outlined at the beginning of each event.

A list of number of attendees is maintained by the box office.

Stewards are responsible for directing participants to the nearest available exit in conjunction with venue staff, this includes being aware of any attendees who may require assistance in the case of an emergency.

A record of any incidents is maintained.

At the event, first aid
Stewards at the beginning of each event check First Aid facilities.

Stewards are responsible for providing access to first aid facilities and for referring any larger incidents to the emergency services (these include any possible fractures, potential injuries to sight, burns head injuries and potential loss of consciousness).

A record of all incidents is maintained.

Food & drink
Volunteers at several evening events maintain a bar. No alcohol is served to anyone who cannot provide proof of age.

Food is only provided under the auspices of venues, which provide these as part of the normal course of their business and thus comply with usual Health and Safety requirements.

Electrical equipment
A small number of electrical facilities belong to the Festival and the Management Team maintains these.

Where a third party brings musical or visual aid equipment the management team will ensure that cabling is not obtrusive. Any electrical equipment brought onto site must have been agreed with the management team and have a current Portable Appliance tested (PAT) certificate and must be used with a Residual Current Device (RCD).

Transport
The Festival encourages use of public transport and maps are provided for this purpose.

HEALTH AND SAFETY OF VULNERABLE BENEFICIARIES

Children
Children are the responsibility of parents or guardians at all times.

However the Festival takes the protection of children very seriously and in line with best practice and current legislation aims to take all reasonable steps to ensure that those benefitting from or working with the Charity are not harmed in any way through contact with it.

Stewards are charged with ensuring that any lost children are reunited with their parents and with taking an overview of any situations that may lead to their harm.

Guidelines are reviewed in conjunction with developments in the appropriate legislation, specifically The Child Care Act (2006) and The London Safeguarding children Board and the Southwark Safeguarding Children Board (SSCB).

Adults and children with special needs
We make every endeavor to ensure that events are accessible to those with special needs (although this is not always possible) and details are published in promotional material drawing attention to this.

As needs may vary considerably, we welcome those visiting with special needs to contact us in advance so that any specific needs can be planned for.

DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS AND MORE GENERAL FEEDBACK

FEEDBACK MAY BE OF TWO KINDS:
All feedback is welcomed and dealt with by the Management Team and reviewed periodically by the Trustees.

Feedback that takes the form of a complaint is dealt with by the Festival Director and is reported to the Trustee responsible immediately with a view to resolving the issue within two weeks.

Communication
Outline information on health and safety policies and responsibilities is published on the website and in promotional publications.

Responsibilities
The Management Team, including the Festival Director, is responsible for health and safety issues and a designated Trustee overviews them.

Recording and dealing with exceptions
All health and safety incidents are logged, acted upon and maintained by the Management Team.

Audit and review
Periodic surveys are conducted of all aspects of the Dulwich Festival, including client satisfaction and the range and fit of events and attendees. The Management Team and the Trustees review the feedback to ensure that improvements can be made in future years.

The Board of Trustees at their annual meeting will review all health and safety policies and investigate and where appropriate implement any changes. They will also attend and monitor a number of the events in order to review how well the procedures and the information are working in practice and instigate remedial action as necessary. Where appropriate the advice of third parties (such as Local Authorities) will be sought.

Protection of personal information and property

Overview
It is the policy of the Trustees to take all reasonable steps to ensure the privacy of data belonging to participants. However the Festival organizers cannot take responsibility for the security, loss or damage to personal property of those providing, working or attending Festival events.

Policies

ELECTRONIC DATA PROTECTION
The Festival organizers will aim to ensure that all data provided through its ticketing and mailing systems is held only for the purposes of the purchasing of tickets unless specific permission has been obtained to provide attendees with sales and marketing information.
The ability to unregister from any mailing database is provided.
PHOTOGRAPHY

Public photography of individuals and performers will be discouraged at performance events except where this is in a public arena such as a park or thoroughfare where prevention of this is considered unfeasible.

OTHER PROPERTY PROTECTION
The Festival organizers cannot accept responsibility for the security, loss or damage to personal property of those providing, working or attending Festival events.

DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS AND MORE FEEDBACK GENERALLY
Any feedback received relating to personal property or electronic data will be dealt with by the management team

Communication
Outline information on personal information and property and how to feedback comments or complaints on these is provided on the website and in promotional publications.

Responsibilities
The Management Team, is responsible for personal information and property issues and these are overviewed by a designated Trustee with responsibility for these.

Recording and dealing with exceptions
All incidents relating to personal information and property of participants will be recorded by the Management Team and acted upon as appropriate. The Board of Trustees will review these incidents at their regular meetings.

Audit and review
The Board of Trustees at their annual meeting will review all personal information and property policies, investigate and where appropriate implement any changes.

Investment of the assets of the Dulwich Festival

Overview
It is the policy of the Trustees to ensure that any assets (usually funds) retained by the Dulwich Festival from one year to the next will be held in such a form that it is secure, subject to relevant Government Deposit Protection Schemes, is accessible and is not significantly diminished in real terms so that it is available to meet the objectives of the Festival on a short as well as medium term basis.

Policies

SELECTION OF BANK ACCOUNTS
The Festival Treasurer will review and manage the cash in bank of the Dulwich Festival with a view to ensuring that this is held in a secure manner and with a reasonable return given market conditions.

REVIEW OF BANK ACCOUNTS
The Dulwich Festival Treasurer will review any accounts held periodically.

OTHER ASSETS
No other significant assets or investments are held.

Communication
The outline accounts, including cash in hand shall be available to anyone who requests these.

Responsibilities
The Treasurer is responsible for the management of funds held and the Trustees at the presentation of budgets, draft and final accounts review this. A designated Trustee has responsibility for these.

Recording and dealing with exceptions
The treasurer will report any issues to the Festival Director and the Board of Trustees immediately.

Audit and review
The Board of Trustees at their annual meeting will review the investment policy and, where appropriate, implement any changes

AGREED 17th March 2016

Appendix I – Information for Stewards

INFORMATION FOR STEWARDS AT THE DULWICH FESTIVAL

Many thanks for volunteering as a steward at the Dulwich Festival, without your time, energy and support the festival could not happen.

Your role
As a steward your role is to a) make sure the event is safe b) help the event run smoothly.

This can mean a variety of tasks including checking location of fire exits and extinguishers, showing people to their seats, directing people to toilets, ensuring there are no distracting noises etc. Actual tasks may vary on the night so you should be flexible according to the needs of that individual event.

Timings
Please can you report to the venue 40 minutes before the doors open. Doors will open 30 minutes before the scheduled event time. Please remain until the event is over and any clearing up/setting down has been completed.

Badge
Please collect a Dulwich Festival steward badge from the Box Office on arrival and wear it at all times when you are on the relevant premises or present at an event.

Fire
When you arrive at the venue, please check where the fire extinguishers are kept and familiarize yourself with the fire exits and correct fire procedures. Make sure that fire exits are kept clear at all times. If you do not have a mobile phone, check whether there is a telephone on the premises and whether there is access to it during a performance in case of an emergency. In the case of fire please direct people towards their nearest fire exit.

First Aid / Lost Children
Check first aid facilities and make a written record of any accidents that you should give to the Box Office.

Any found children should be taken to the Box Office until their parent/guardian can be found.

Seating
Wheelchair users should be asked to sit at the end of an aisle and near to a fire exit. Make sure that there is still access for other patrons when a wheelchair is in place.

Please be in the position allocated to you when the doors are opened for the general public. In a venue with an outer foyer, a steward should always be in the outer foyer throughout the event and a minimum of 2 stewards should be in the auditorium while the public is on the premises. The stewards in the auditorium should position themselves in the aisles on opposite sides where they are able to see the audience in case of an emergency.

People arriving late for an event should be held inside the door to the auditorium and shown to a seat where they will cause the minimum disturbance during the performance.

Remember that you are in charge! Do not allow members of the public to pressure you into letting them sit where they want to if it is likely to cause any sort of hazard, e.g. in front of a fire exit. Please be proactive in a busy venue and direct people to seats and ask them not to leave gaps to avoid rows with a lot of empty seats in the middle. Where possible, try to leave empty seats on the ends of rows near to the aisles for late arrivals.

Most importantly, enjoy the event!
Thank you for being part of the Dulwich Festival team.

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