Saffron Walden Musical Theatre Company Youth Group
DIGITAL SAFETY POLICY
Terminology:
Staff refers to all those working for or on behalf of SWMTC, full time or part time, in either a paid or voluntary capacity.
Child refers to all young people who have not yet reached their 18th birthday.
Parent refers to birth parents and other adults who are in a parenting role, for example stepparents, foster carers and adoptive parents.
USE OF MOBILE PHONES DURING REHEARSALS - cast are permitted to bring mobile phones to rehearsals, but they must remain in bags, turned off or silent for the duration of the rehearsal. Should they be required for recording music / harmonies etc, the Director/MD will permit usage.
USE OF MOBILE PHONES BY CAST BACKSTAGE DURING SHOW WEEK
Mobile phones must be turned off or on silent once a performance starts.
Under no circumstances should any videos to be taken/made backstage
Photos in costume may be taken, but only in designated areas as follows:
Girls Dressing Room: in front of double white doors
Boys Area Upstairs: on landing (not in dressing rooms)
Absolutely no phones permitted in Green Room
Absolutely no photos are permitted to be used on social media without prior permission of those featured and also by an SWMTC Production Team member.
Youth Group Members use their devices at their own risk; SWMTC cannot accept any liability for loss or damage.
SWMTC reserves the right to remove access to mobile devices temporarily if it is necessary to safeguard or promote the welfare of anyone in the SWMTC community.
Group chats
Youth Group Members are cautioned against the creation of group chats, particularly where this crosses large age gaps.
Youth Group Members are reminded of this at the beginning of each production season.
Inappropriate content found to be shared in the presence of children will be dealt with in line with the Safeguarding Policy.
Social Media
SWMTC staff are instructed not to accept ‘friend’ requests or otherwise follow the social media profiles of SWMTC Youth Group Members under the age of 18 that would allow private contact between the staff member and child, or would give the child access to the personal profile of a member of staff. This rule applies for any member of staff and SWMTC Youth Group Member, even after the production has ended, and remains in effect until the child is 18 and has left school.
Additionally, SWMTC Staff are not permitted to post or publish information, including media, pertaining to Youth Group Members except where it has previously been published by SWMTC.
No photos are permitted to be used on social media by SWMTC Youth Group members without prior permission of those featured and also by an SWMTC Production Team member.
Photography and video
SWMTC predominantly uses photography and video for three purposes:
· publicity,
· education (in the course of a learning exercise, for example as a reference for a dance routine)
· parental communication.
SWMTC sources permission for photography and video of Youth Group Members in the lead up to first rehearsals for each production with provision for parents/Youth Group Members to opt out of specific uses or all uses.
The law recognises Youth Group Members’ own rights – from the age of 13 – to decide how their personal information, including images, is used.
Youth Group Member use of photography and video should conform to the company Safeguarding Policy. Where staff judge photography or video use by Youth Group Members to be inappropriate, restrictions of devices or other appropriate measures may be put in place.
SHARING NUDES AND SEMI-NUDES See the SWMTC Safeguarding Policy, available on the SWMTC website.
APPENDIX A: POLICY UPDATES & REVIEW
This version dated 1 August 2026
Date of next review: August 2027