Brass Band England promotes BandSafe

Friday 23rd June marked the first BandSafe seminar, which was generously hosted in Rochdale by the North West Area Brass Band Association. BBE’s BandSafe Coordinator, Heidi Bradley, led the participants in an evening of presentations and discussion.  The aim of the evening was to take a more in depth look at the BandSafe online toolkit and to share good practice between bands.

The reaction from those attending was very positive, with Shirley Woodward, General Secretary of the NWABBA, commenting: “The NWABBA are delighted at the success of the Seminar. An audience of 20 people, representing 12 of our member bands from all sections took part. It was very inspiring to take part in the discussion group. It was a pleasure to organise and take part in the event.”

BBE were also keen to gain feedback from bands who had already registered and used the BandSafe toolkit and supporting resources.  Heidi Bradley said, “The feedback we are gaining from bands is crucial in the continuous development of BandSafe, ensuring it is a dynamic tool that helps bands develop, we are keen to ensure that what we offer is fully supportive to volunteers running Brass Bands, assisting them to run the band more effectively as opposed to an added layer of work.  The feedback gained from the session has already helped me make some tweaks to the site which will assist and support those volunteers”

Brass Bands England will continue to innovate and develop the programme in-line with the latest and up to date regulatory framework. We hope that BandSafe will become the definitive tool for the brass band community in relation to governance and safeguarding. For further information about BandSafe, or to register your band click here.

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