Incident Procedures and Process Policy

Revolution Performing Arts

Person responsible for policy: Fiona Da Silva-Adams, Founder & CEO

Version: 2 (supersedes the version reviewed 29th July 2026)

Reviewed: 24th September 2026

Effective from: 24th September 2026

Next review due: Before the Martyn’s Law commencement date is reached (expected spring 2027), then September 2027, or sooner if legislation or guidance changes.

The Revolution Performing Arts (RPA) Incidents Procedures & Process Policy is in place so that we respond effectively to health and safety incidents and other emergencies that might occur at any RPA session or event. Most of the people in our care are children, so every procedure in this policy is written first and foremost to keep children safe.

Scope

This policy applies to all RPA activity: weekly after-school clubs, holiday programmes (including those funded through the Holiday Activities and Food programme), enrichment weeks in schools, December sharings and the main May performance. It applies to all employed staff, freelancers and volunteers.

It should be read alongside RPA’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, Health and Safety Policy, and the safeguarding and emergency procedures of each venue we work in.

Key risks

These emergency procedures are to be followed by staff and volunteers in a significant incident or emergency, for example:

• Fire, or a fire alarm activation.
• Sudden bad weather, flooding or structural failure.
• A serious accident, injury or medical emergency.
• A missing or uncollected child.
• An intruder, or a person on or near the site who presents a threat of violence.
• A terrorist attack or other marauding attack, including with a knife or other weapon.
• A suspicious item, or a threat received by phone, message or social media.

Where we work and who is in control

RPA usually delivers in premises that are controlled by someone else, including schools, halls and theatres. We therefore work within each venue’s own emergency arrangements and make sure they are known and followed.

Before the first session at any venue, the Session Lead will confirm and record:

• The venue’s fire evacuation procedure, alarm sound and assembly point.
• The venue’s lockdown or invacuation procedure and signal, and the safest rooms to shelter in.
• The location of fire exits, first-aid provision and the nearest public-access defibrillator.
• The venue’s named contacts and, for schools, the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead.
• The full address, postcode and main entrance to give to the emergency services.

When working on school premises, including after-school clubs and enrichment weeks, RPA staff follow the school’s visitor, sign-in and safeguarding procedures and the terms of any hire or letting agreement.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026, which came into force on 1st September 2026, requires schools that let their premises to be satisfied that the hirer has appropriate safeguarding arrangements in place. RPA will share this policy and our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy with any school on request, and any safeguarding concern arising on school premises is reported to RPA’s DSL and to the school’s DSL.

Counter-terrorism

The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO), whose public-facing guidance and resources are now hosted at ProtectUK, has produced specific advice to help reduce the harm from a terrorist or marauding attack in crowded places.

The key message remains “Run, Hide, Tell”. With children in our care, staff lead the children through each step and do not leave any child behind to act alone:

• Run – run to a place of safety, taking the children with you. This is a far better option than surrendering or negotiating. Leave belongings behind. If there is nowhere to go, then hide.
• Hide – it is better to hide than to confront. Move the children into the safest room, away from doors and windows. Lock or barricade the door if you can. Turn phones to silent and turn off vibrate. Keep children calm and quiet.
• Tell – call the police on 999, but only when it is safe to do so. Give your location, explain what you have seen, and state the number of children and adults with you.

If you can, use your judgement to stop other people, including parents arriving for collection, from entering an area where an attack may be taking place.

Follow police instructions when they arrive, keep your hands visible and do not make sudden movements.

Martyn’s Law – Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn’s Law, received Royal Assent on 3rd April 2025. The Home Office published its statutory section 27 guidance on 15th April 2026, and the Security Industry Authority (SIA) will regulate the Act.

Commencement is expected in spring 2027. The exact date is still to be confirmed by Parliament. There is no grace period after commencement, so RPA is preparing now.

The Act applies to the person in control of qualifying premises or events. In summary:

Category	Threshold	What is required
Standard duty premises	Between 200 and 799 people may reasonably be expected to be present at the same time, counting everyone, including staff and performers, at peak times.	Notify the SIA and put in place public protection procedures covering evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, so far as reasonably practicable. No physical security measures are required.
Enhanced duty premises	800 or more people.	Standard duty requirements, plus public protection measures, a designated senior individual and a compliance document.
Qualifying events	800 or more people at the same time, with entry controlled through measures such as a ticket or payment.	Enhanced duty requirements, held by the event organiser.
Schools and other education settings	200 or more people.	These remain in the standard tier even when more than 800 people are present. Events held on education premises are not treated as qualifying events.

Where an event takes place at premises that are themselves qualifying premises, such as a theatre or school, the responsible person is the person in control of those premises, not the organisation hiring them.

For almost all RPA activity, therefore, the venue holds the legal duty and RPA’s role is to co-operate fully with the venue’s public protection procedures.

Action for RPA

• Weekly clubs and holiday programmes: attendance is well below 200, so these are not in scope in their own right. Where they take place in a school or venue that is in scope, RPA staff will know and follow that venue’s procedures.
• December sharings and the May performance: for each event, including the May performance on Sunday 23rd May 2027, which is expected to fall after commencement, RPA will record the expected peak number of people present. This includes the audience, performers, staff and volunteers. RPA will confirm in writing with the venue who the responsible person is, obtain the venue’s public protection procedures, and brief all staff and chaperones on them before the day.
• Events controlled by RPA: if RPA were ever the person in control of premises or an event that met the thresholds, such as a self-run ticketed event of 800 or more people at a non-qualifying site, RPA would take specialist advice and complete all required steps, including SIA notification, before the event.
• Voluntary adoption: regardless of whether the thresholds are met, RPA adopts the four public protection procedures below as good practice for every session, and all staff complete the free ProtectUK Martyn’s Law or ACT awareness training.

Public protection procedures

These procedures apply at every RPA session and event. Where a venue has its own procedure, the venue’s procedure takes priority and RPA staff support it.

1. Evacuation – moving everyone out

This is used for fire, structural danger, or where the threat is inside and a safe route out exists. See the Evacuation section below.

2. Invacuation – moving everyone in

This is used where the danger is outside, for example a hostile person in the grounds, a nearby incident, or dangerous weather.

Bring all children indoors immediately, away from the danger, take a register, and wait for the all-clear from the venue or police.

3. Lockdown – securing the room

• Staff are told the lockdown signal for each venue and RPA’s own discreet code phrase, which is set out in the staff briefing sheet and not published, so that children are not alarmed.
• Close and lock or barricade doors, close blinds and move children out of sight of doors and windows.
• Keep children quiet and low to the floor. For younger children, present it calmly as a “quiet game” or “statues”.
• Silence phones, take a register, and call 999 if the police have not already been called.
• Do not open the door to anyone until the police or venue confirms the all-clear. A fire alarm during a lockdown should be treated with caution unless there is clear evidence of fire.

4. Communication – raising the alarm and keeping people informed

• Every Session Lead carries a charged mobile phone and knows how to raise the alarm at their venue.
• The Incident Lead informs the venue, RPA’s Founder & CEO and the DSL as soon as it is safe.
• Parents and carers are contacted using RPA’s agreed channels, including phone, text and the RPA WhatsApp community, with clear, factual information on where and when to collect their child.
• Staff do not post on social media about an incident.
• Radios and public address equipment are tested before every performance.

Keeping children safe on site – access, supervision and collection

The attack at a children’s holiday dance club in Southport on 29th July 2024 showed how quickly an intruder can reach children through an open, unsupervised entrance.

The following arrangements are in place at every RPA session:

• Controlled entry: once a session has started, external doors are kept closed and, where the venue allows, secured from the outside. Fire exits must never be locked from the inside and must always be openable in an emergency.
• One point of entry: parents and visitors use a single, supervised entrance. At holiday programmes and performances, a named member of staff keeps oversight of the entrance at drop-off and collection times.
• Visitors: no one may enter or observe a session unless they have identified themselves and signed in. Staff challenge anyone they do not recognise, politely and without putting themselves at risk, and raise the alarm if the person’s behaviour is concerning.
• Live register: the Session Lead holds an up-to-date register at all times, either on paper or on a secure device, with emergency contacts and relevant medical information. This ensures that every child can be accounted for during an evacuation, invacuation or lockdown.
• Staffing: sessions are staffed to RPA’s ratios and never rely on a single adult, so that one adult can stay with the children while another raises the alarm or deals with the incident.
• Collection: children are only released to authorised adults. Alternative collectors must be notified in advance and verified, for example using the family password.
• Missing child: if a child cannot be accounted for, the Session Lead secures the rest of the group, searches the venue immediately, contacts the parent or carer, and calls 999 if the child is not found within a few minutes. This must be handled in accordance with RPA’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and Missing Child Policy.

Sharing concerns about risk of violence

The Southport Inquiry’s Phase 1 report, published in April 2026, found that warning signs about the perpetrator were repeatedly lost or diluted between agencies, that no organisation took ownership of the risk, and that concerning behaviour was wrongly explained away by his autism.

RPA’s response is:

• Any concern about anyone – a child, young person, parent, member of staff or member of the public – who expresses a fixation with violence or weapons, makes threats, or behaves in a way that suggests they could cause serious harm is reported to RPA’s Designated Safeguarding Lead on the same day and recorded.
• The DSL takes ownership of the concern and makes the appropriate referral without delay: 999 if there is an immediate threat; otherwise the police on 101, children’s social care, and/or Prevent through the local authority. Suspicious activity can also be reported to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.
• Where RPA is working in a school, the concern is also shared with the school’s DSL.
• A child or young person’s special educational needs, disability or neurodivergence must never be used as a reason to dismiss concerning behaviour. Their needs are considered alongside, not instead of, the risk.
• Information is shared proportionately and securely, in line with data protection law, which does not prevent information being shared to keep children safe.

Sharing your plans

For all but the smallest events with low risks, or those in fixed venues with established procedures, RPA draws up and discusses our plans with:

• The police.
• The fire and rescue service.
• The ambulance service.
• Emergency planning.
• For fixed premises such as theatres, halls and schools, the venue management.

RPA’s emergency plan is to:

• Get people, and children first, away from immediate danger.
• Summon and assist the emergency services.
• Handle casualties.
• Deal with those who have been displaced but not injured, and keep children supervised until they are safely handed to a parent or carer.
• Liaise with the emergency services and other authorities and, where the situation is serious, hand over responsibility for the incident or emergency.
• Protect property.

Emergency procedures

Staff and volunteers in an emergency should:

• Raise the alarm and inform the public.
• Deliver an onsite emergency response, such as using fire extinguishers where trained and where it is safe to do so.
• Summon the emergency services and continue to liaise with them.
• Facilitate crowd management, including evacuation where necessary and the evacuation of people with disabilities.
• Facilitate traffic management, including access for emergency vehicles.
• Implement incident control.
• Provide first aid and medical assistance.

First aid, medical assistance and ambulances

As well as workers, RPA will include children and the visiting public in its first-aid, medical and ambulance needs assessment. RPA will have enough medical assistance onsite and liaise with the local NHS and ambulance service so they can balance needs against local capacity.

Except for small, low-risk events where ambulances may not be required, and at events where they are not onsite, plans will be drawn up in conjunction with the local NHS ambulance service to clarify how patients will be taken to hospital.

• Every session has at least one first aider present, with paediatric first aid where required for the age of the children and RPA’s registration.
• Children’s medical needs, allergies and care plans are held with the register, and any required medication travels with the group during an evacuation.
• At holiday programmes and performances, RPA carries a bleed control kit, and first aiders are briefed on controlling catastrophic bleeding using resources such as ProtectUK and citizenAID.
• Staff know the location of the nearest public-access defibrillator and adrenaline auto-injector at each venue.

RPA has clear emergency roles and responsibilities

RPA appoints people to implement procedures if there is an incident or emergency. At every session, one person is the named Incident Lead, normally the Session Lead.

RPA makes sure that all relevant staff members, whatever their normal role, understand what they should do in an emergency, including:

• The location of exits and the assembly point.
• How to use emergency equipment.
• How to raise the alarm, and the venue’s evacuation and lockdown signals.
• Who they should receive instructions from.
• Who is responsible for the register, and which children they are responsible for.

Evacuation

Emergencies can develop very rapidly. RPA makes sure it is equipped to move children and audiences to a total or relative place of safety without delay. The following actions help implementation.

Escape routes and exits

• Plan escape routes and make sure they remain available and unobstructed.
• Check before every session that fire exits are unlocked from the inside, clear of props, costumes, bags and equipment, and that exit signage is visible.
• Confirm the assembly point for each venue and show it to staff, volunteers and children at the first session of each term, holiday programme or enrichment week.
• Make sure escape routes are suitable for everyone, including children and adults with disabilities or additional needs. Individual evacuation plans are agreed with families where a child needs extra support.
• At performances, position a member of staff or steward at each exit, give a clear safety announcement before the show, and keep aisles and gangways clear at all times.

Moving and accounting for children

• When the alarm sounds, stop the activity and lead children calmly out by the nearest safe route. They should leave as they are, including in costume or dance shoes, without collecting belongings.
• The Session Lead takes the register and, where possible, any medication. Backstage and dressing-room chaperones stay with their own group throughout.
• Check toilets and changing areas on the way out if it is safe to do so.
• Take a headcount at the assembly point and report anyone unaccounted for immediately to the fire service or venue. No one re-enters the building for any reason.

Reuniting children with parents and carers

• Agree a reunification point with the venue that is separate from the emergency services’ access route.
• Children stay with RPA staff until handed over to an authorised adult, and every handover is recorded against the register.
• At performances, audience members are asked not to collect children from the stage or dressing rooms during an evacuation. Staff bring children to the reunification point.

After the incident

Once the risk has been reduced to a tolerable level, consideration can be given to restarting the performance or event.

Only restart after consultation with other key agencies onsite, including the emergency services and venue. Make sure staff are back in position, every child is accounted for, and services are ready.

Following any significant incident, RPA will:

• Record the incident in writing as soon as possible, including times, actions and decisions.
• Inform parents and carers, the venue and, where relevant, the school.
• Notify Ofsted of any serious accident, injury or illness to a child in our care as required by RPA’s registration, and in any event within 14 days.
• Report to the HSE under RIDDOR where the incident is reportable, and inform RPA’s insurers.
• Refer any allegation against a member of staff or volunteer to the Local Authority Designated Officer.
• Offer welfare support to children, families, staff and volunteers, and hold a debrief so that lessons are learned and this policy is updated.

Transfer of authority for an emergency or major incident

If the emergency services declare an emergency or major incident onsite, all event personnel and resources will work under the command of the police.

However, the police may declare one part of the event to be under their authority to respond to the emergency or major incident, while leaving other parts of the event under RPA’s control as the event organiser.

Training, testing and validation

• All staff and volunteers are briefed on this policy at induction and at the start of each term and holiday programme.
• All staff complete safeguarding training and ProtectUK counter-terrorism awareness training, with refreshers as required.
• Staff delivering in schools are asked to read Part One of KCSIE 2026 and follow the school’s safeguarding procedures.
• A lockdown and evacuation walk-through is carried out with children at each venue at the start of each term and holiday programme, in an age-appropriate and non-frightening way.
• Validation of RPA’s emergency plan may take the form of a table-top exercise at least once a year, where staff work through a range of scenarios, including a marauding attack, and establish the effectiveness of RPA’s responses.
• RPA tests communication systems, including radios and public announcement equipment, before each event.

Legislation and guidance

This policy has been checked against:

• The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025.
• Home Office section 27 guidance, published in April 2026.
• ProtectUK guidance.
• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026.
• The Department for Education’s safeguarding guidance for after-school clubs, community activities and tuition providers.
• The Southport Inquiry Phase 1 report, published in April 2026, and the Government’s response published in July 2026.
• The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.
• The Purple Guide.

Review notes – September 2026

This policy was re-issued on 24th September 2026 as version 2 to correct errors in the July 2026 version and to reflect KCSIE 2026 and lessons from Southport.

• Corrected: the Evacuation section was incomplete. The “Escape routes and exits” list ended with an empty bullet point and the rest of the section was missing. It has been completed, with new guidance on moving and accounting for children and reuniting them with parents. The logo overlapping the text on that page has also been fixed.
• Corrected: the Martyn’s Law section stated that the standard duty applies to events of between 200 and 799 people. The standard duty applies to premises. Events are only in scope in their own right at 800 or more people with controlled entry, and the duty sits with the person in control of the premises. The section has been rewritten with the tiers, the education-setting position and specific actions for RPA.
• Added: public protection procedures covering evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication have been adopted for all sessions. Site security, access, supervision and collection arrangements have also been added, together with a procedure for sharing concerns about the risk of violence, informed by the Southport Inquiry Phase 1 findings.
• Added: working within venue procedures and school lettings, reflecting KCSIE 2026, which came into force on 1st September 2026; post-incident reporting to Ofsted, under RIDDOR and to the LADO; and a training and drills schedule.
• The HSE’s RIDDOR consultation closed on 30th June 2026. This policy will be updated once any resulting changes to reporting requirements are confirmed.
• Southport Inquiry Phase 2 and the SIA’s final Martyn’s Law guidance, expected in autumn 2026, will be reviewed when published.

Next scheduled review: Before Martyn’s Law commences, expected in spring 2027, and no later than September 2027.