5b: Codes of practice within my professional communities

I work in a few different settings however mainly within one Primary School as both a teaching assistant and also leader of extra-curricular dance and drama lessons. As this is the case, for task 5b I have been to the school website to see what their codes of practice may be. The first quote I came across was the school’s mission statement.

 

‘Our school community aims to provide an education that develops children to their full potential within a safe, happy and creative environment.

We aim to maintain a Christian ethos that encourages curiosity and life-long enthusiasm for learning and fosters mutual respect for people of all faiths and cultures.’ (www.highamstjohns.com/mission_statement)

 

This briefly encompasses all the school’s ethical framework without having to go into individual policies. It shows the aims of the school and what it prioritizes as important in the development of all pupils at the same time as reminding all staff what our focusses should be.

 

In order to discover more detailed regulations for ethical codes of practice within a school setting, I came across the ‘NUT Code of Professional Ethics’ (www.teachers.org.uk/files/active/0/NUT-Code-of-Professional-Ethics.pdf‎). This is a specific, thirteen point list in which all of the aspects of teaching are covered. Some points are more appropriate to more senior members of staff due to their increased responsibilities however it highlights the key attitudes that should be used when working within a school.

 

From a dancing perspective, I have looked for something similar to refer to in my freelance dance teacher capacity. As I do not teach in line with any dancing examination body, I wanted to find something more appropriate for my type of classes. I found a company called “The Foundation for Community Dance” which seemed to be more appropriate to my job. Their Code of Conduct is:

 

Code of Conduct

This Code of Conduct translates the core values of community dance into standards of ethical and responsible practice to which community dance professionals adhere. It enables them to be clear and upfront about how they go about their work, their ethical stance on how they approach their work, and the expectations people can have of them in terms of their professional behaviour, actions and attitudes.

The Code covers five areas:

1.     Professional competence

2.     Responsibility

3.     Safety

4.     Working with people

I believe this covers all the bases with regards important areas of ethical conduct. I really like this companies attitude to ethical regulations and believe they have been able to show all the important aspects of ethically running a business. My personal favourites include:

 

Professional competence: As a community dance artist, teacher and/or leader,  I believe that I have a responsibility to myself, the profession and the people whom I work, to do the best I can. I aspire to bring quality to everything I do and commit to investigating in my own continuing professional development to ensure the relevance and quality of my practice and uphold the standards of the profession within the relevant and legislative frameworks and government directives.

 

Safety: As a community dance artist, teacher and/or leader I believe that every participant has a right to enjoy their dancing in an environment that provides for their personal safety, and that I have a responsibility to act in the best interests of their physical and mental wellbeing in the work that I do. I am committed to ensuring that my practice is informed by, and complies with, relevant statutory or legal requirements that safeguard my own and others’ legal, civil and human rights.

 

I have picked these out as I feel they cover so much in so little words. I believe in these principles very strongly and feel they are essential in running dance classes that are morally and ethically sound.