Terms and Conditions

These terms govern use of the National Dance Safe Register at bdsadancesaferegister.co.uk ("the Register"), operated by the British DanceSport Association ("BDSA", "we", "us"), a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales, company number 14812869, registered office 80 The Strand, London WC2R 0DT.

By using the Register you accept these terms. If you are accepting on behalf of a dance school, you confirm you are authorised to do so.

Definitions. Listing means an entry for a dance school. School means the business or individual operating a dance school. Accreditation means a status awarded following assessment against the Safe Dance Standard. Parent means any member of the public using the Register.

The Register is a public list of UK dance schools. Some have been assessed against the Safe Dance Standard; most have not.

Accreditation is not a guarantee. It records that a school met the published requirements at the point of assessment, based on the evidence provided. It is not a warranty about the school's ongoing conduct, the safety of any class, or the behaviour of any individual.

A listing is not an endorsement. Most schools on the Register have not been assessed. The absence of accreditation does not mean a school is unsafe, and must not be presented as such.

We are not a regulator. We have no statutory power over dance schools. We do not inspect premises unannounced, supervise classes, or employ or vet individuals on a school's behalf.

Parents remain responsible for their own decisions. The Register is one source of information. It does not replace your own judgement, questions and checks.

Schools are listed from publicly available information. We record the source and date for each. We do not verify listing details unless the school claims and updates the listing, or the school is assessed.

Listing is free and automatic. A school does not need to consent to being listed, and inclusion does not imply any relationship with BDSA.

Corrections and removal. A school may claim its listing to correct details. A school may request removal, and we will consider each request, but we may decline where the listing is accurate and there is a public interest in it remaining. Where we remove a listing we may retain a record that it existed.

To claim a listing you must confirm you are authorised to act for the school. We may ask for evidence and may refuse or reverse a claim.

You are responsible for keeping claimed information accurate. You must not claim a listing for a school you do not operate.

Where two people claim the same school, we will decide who holds it, and our decision is final.

Applications are open at our discretion and may be closed, restricted to invited schools, or reopened at any time.

We do not guarantee an outcome. Paying the fee entitles you to an assessment, not to accreditation.

You must give complete and accurate information. Declarations you make in the application are binding. If a declaration later proves untrue, accreditation may be paused, downgraded or withdrawn.

Evidence. You must provide the evidence specified for each requirement. We may contact individuals directly to verify records, including teachers, and you confirm you have told them we may do so.

Personal data of others. Where you submit information about teachers or staff, you confirm you have a lawful basis for sharing it and have informed those individuals. You must not upload documents containing personal data we have not asked for.

The current fees are published on the site. At the date of these terms, £30 for the first year and £20 for each following year.

Fees are payable in advance and are non-refundable, including where accreditation is not awarded, or is later paused, suspended or withdrawn.

Renewal fees are taken automatically. You may cancel at any time; cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid period, and accreditation ends when the paid period ends.

We may change fees on notice. Changes do not affect a period already paid for.

Fee waivers may be granted at our discretion. A waiver covers fees only and has no effect on assessment or on the outcome.

Assessment is carried out by trained BDSA assessors against the published Safe Dance Standard. Each requirement is judged met or not met against published criteria.

We may ask questions, request further evidence, and contact third parties to verify what you have told us.

Outcomes are Accredited, Enhanced, or not accredited. We publish the outcome on the Register.

Accreditation lasts three years, subject to fees remaining paid and to the conditions below.

Our decision is final. If you believe a decision was reached in error you may write to us setting out why, and we may agree to reassess. We are not obliged to, and any reassessment is at our discretion and free of charge.

Certain evidence carries an expiry date, including DBS checks, first aid certificates, insurance and policies. You must keep these current and update your records when they expire.

If expired evidence is not updated within 90 days, accreditation is paused until current evidence is provided.

You must tell us promptly if anything material changes, including a new teacher, a new or closed venue, a change of designated safeguarding lead, or a change in insurance.

We may carry out spot checks.

We may pause, suspend, downgrade or withdraw accreditation where a school no longer meets the Standard, where a declaration proves untrue, where evidence is not kept current, or where we consider it necessary in the interests of child safety.

We may publish a notice on a school's listing, and may suspend a school's accreditation.

A notice draws attention to a matter and asks parents to contact us. It does not change the school's status.

A suspension means accreditation is not in force.

We will tell the school when we do either, and the reasons. Public wording is limited to a standard statement. We do not publish the underlying reasons.

While accredited, you may display the badge we provide, on your own website and materials, to indicate your status.

The badge is served from our systems and reflects your current status automatically. You must not copy, screenshot, alter or reproduce it, or display any representation of accreditation after it has been paused, suspended, withdrawn or expired.

You must not imply BDSA endorses your school beyond the status held, or use BDSA's name or marks in any other way without permission.

This licence ends immediately when accreditation ends.

You keep ownership of what you upload. You grant us a licence to store, process and use it for the purposes of assessment, maintaining the Register, and defending any challenge to a decision.

Information you provide for your public listing will be published.

Evidence you submit for assessment is not published. It is available to BDSA staff and assessors.

We retain assessment records after a decision, including where accreditation ends, so that we can evidence the basis of decisions made.

You must not submit false information, impersonate another school, upload malicious files, attempt to access another school's data, scrape the Register, or use it to build a competing directory.

We may suspend access where we reasonably believe these terms have been breached.

Nothing in these terms excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be excluded.

To parents and members of the public. The Register is provided free and for information. We do not accept liability for decisions taken in reliance on it. Accreditation reflects a point-in-time assessment and is not a guarantee about any school, class or individual.

To schools. Our total liability in connection with the Register is limited to the fees you have paid us in the twelve months before the claim. We are not liable for loss of profit, loss of business, loss of reputation, or indirect loss.

We do not warrant that the Register will be available uninterrupted or error-free.

We process personal data in line with our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms.

Where you submit personal data about your teachers or staff, you are responsible for having a lawful basis and for informing those individuals.

We do not ask for, and you must not upload, copies of DBS certificates. We record the details we need and verify them directly with the individual.

We may update these terms. Material changes will be notified to schools holding an accreditation. Continued use after a change means you accept it.

If any clause is found unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.

Contact. British DanceSport Association, 80 The Strand, London WC2R 0DT · 020 3150 0005 · info@bdsassociation.com

Safeguarding concerns should go to BDSA BeSafe: 0800 917 9081 · besafe@bdsassociation.com · bdsabesafe.co.uk. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.