About Our Charity

Haddon Charity of Performing Arts (Formally known as Outreach and Community Action Project / OCAP) was established in January 2011 by a group of dedicated individuals who wanted to make performing arts and children’s access to it a right, not a privilege. Originally it was founded as a constituted voluntary group, however, as of December 2018 became a registered charity with the charity commission (registration Number 1181254)

The charities objectives are as follows:

• To advance the education of the public and in particular, but not exclusively, children and young people in the appreciation and practice of performing arts (drama, music and dance) through the provision of classes, workshops and opportunities to participate in artistic performances.
• To advance and help young people through:
  a) The provision of recreational and leisure time activities provided in the interest of social welfare, designed to improve their conditions of life;
  b) Providing support and activities which develop their skills, capabilities to enable them to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals.

Although we teach performing arts, we strongly believe that our overreaching aim is ‘changing lives through performing arts’ and as such we believe performing arts acts as the tool to effect social change and improve quality of life.

As a charity we support access to performing arts for those young people for whom access to extra-curricular activities may have barriers to participation, be it social, economic, mental health, disabilities or isolation in all its forms.

Our charity is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire in a beautiful Grade 2 listed converted church which boasts 3 large studio spaces as well as a recreational space complete with T.V, pool table, arcade machines to give our users a comfortable space to relax and socialise in. We also have a beautiful 5* rated kitchen space as well as toilets, shower and disability bathroom facilities.

Teacher Training Program
Our organisation is committed to providing excellent opportunities for our students to grow and develop as well as gain valuable work experience to assist with references, CV experience as well as assisting with college / university applications. Some of our classes will be delivered by students on the teacher training program however all are overseen by a qualified member of staff. We also appoint in house peer mentors who act as check in points for our younger students as well as offering to be a safe person they can talk to about any issues they have.

Insurance / training and policies
We are a fully insured service and every staff member or teaching assistant over the age of 16 is DBS checked. Every staff member is also safeguarding trained and we have 4 designated safeguarding leads (there are posters up throughout the studios identifying the safeguarding leads) All staff also have first aid training, in addition there are designated first aiders at every session and first aid kits are located in each area of the studios.
We have comprehensive policies and although we do not make these widely available, mainly due to the size of the document, we can make them available upon request.

Wider Community Reach
Our organisation believes strongly in community reach and benefit be it organising a local litter pick or through our volunteering program. We also specialise in supporting other voluntary groups and organisations helping them to grow and develop their organisation and offering support and guidance to groups less established. This work helps ensure that we are reaching beyond the walls of our own work and helping the community as a whole to grow.

Children and Young people with additional needs
Our organisation specialised in the provision for children and young people with additional needs, not only do we have an on site SENCO however we also ensure that all staff undergo rigorous training to ensure that every aspect of our organisation is accessible. We also have an excellent pastoral care team who work diligently to ensure that our young peoples mental health and emotional well being are at the fore front of everything we do.

We ensure that each child is catered for regardless of the complexity of their needs, we also support the family as a whole and have access to various therapies such as CBT and Hypnotherapy all provided at no additional cost, rather, as part of our commitment to the young person in our care.

We also have access to a BSL Interpreter and as an organisation we encourage all our staff to speak basic British Sign Language to further ensure inclusivity to all.