WHY CHOOSE GSOD?
More Than Just Dance Classes…
At Geelong School of Dance, we’re passionate about creating a space where children feel supported, seen and excited to come each week. While students learn quality dance training, the heart of GSOD has always been about building confidence, friendships and a genuine sense of belonging.
💚 A place children feel they belong
Whether your child dances once a week or multiple days, every student is welcomed as part of the GSOD family. We pride ourselves on creating a positive and inclusive environment where children feel comfortable being themselves, make lasting friendships and look forward to coming to dance each week.
💚 Teachers who genuinely care
At GSOD, our teachers do more than teach dance. They encourage confidence, celebrate progress and create supportive relationships with every student. We understand that every child learns differently, and we’re passionate about creating classes where children feel safe, encouraged and proud of themselves.
💚 Supporting confidence through dance
At GSOD, dance is about so much more than learning steps. Every class is designed to help children grow in confidence, build friendships, develop coordination and feel proud of themselves in a positive and encouraging environment. We love watching students grow in confidence, celebrate their progress and discover a genuine love of dance each week.
💚 The perfect balance of fun and structure
Our classes are designed to be engaging, positive and age-appropriate while still helping students build strong foundations and skills. We believe children learn best when they feel happy, supported and excited to participate.
💚 Smaller class sizes so every child feels seen
We pride ourselves on capped class numbers, allowing teachers to provide quality attention, encouragement and support to every student throughout class.
💚 Recreational dance without the pressure
GSOD proudly focuses on quality recreational dance education in a supportive and non-competitive environment. Our goal is for children to enjoy dancing, grow in confidence and develop a lifelong love of movement, without the pressure of competitions or exams.
💚 Age-appropriate classes families can feel good about
We carefully choose age-appropriate music, costumes, choreography and class content to create a positive, child-friendly environment for every student
💚 Optional performance opportunities
From their very first time on stage to our spectacular End of Year Concert and Mid Year Showcase, students have the opportunity to be involved in exciting optional performances throughout the year. These special experiences help children build confidence, celebrate their progress, create lasting memories and feel part of something truly special.
💚 Purpose-built facilities designed for families
Our modern, purpose-built dance studio has been designed to create a welcoming and inspiring environment where students feel comfortable, confident and excited to dance each week.
💚 Programs for every age and stage
From our preschool Lil Groovers program through to our Primary and High School classes, GSOD offers Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Acro, Circus and more, with carefully designed programs that support progression, creativity and confidence at every stage.
💚 Trusted by Geelong families since 2009
For over 15 years, GSOD has proudly provided a warm, supportive and family-focused dance community where children can grow not only as dancers, but as confident young people.
OUR STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT TO CHILD SAFETY
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Our organisation is committed to child safety.
We want children to be safe, happy and empowered.
We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers.
We are committed to the safety, participation and empowerment of all children.
We have zero tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures.
We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we follow rigorously.
Our organisation is committed to preventing child abuse and identifying risks early, and removing and reducing these risks.
Our organisation has robust human resources and recruitment practices for all staff and volunteers.
Our organisation is committed to regularly talking about and training and educating our staff and volunteers on child abuse risks.
We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers.
We are committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children, the cultural safety of children from a culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children with a disability.
We have specific policies, procedures and training in place that support our leadership team, staff and volunteers to achieve these commitments.
We are aware of the inherent risks associated with dance schools and we continue to evaluate these risks and implement solutions to keep our young people safe
We are committed to providing an environment where all young people feel valued and can learn in a supportive atmosphere regardless of their skill level
We are committed to employing teachers that uphold these values.
We lead on child safety from the top. Studio owners and key management staff all uphold and practice child safety and are on hand to support others in the organisation.
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Whilst we believe that discipline is important in the dance training industry, this does not involve yelling in a demeaning manner or isolating, threatening, bullying or victimising students.
Each teacher will have very clear expectations for behaviour in class and this will be communicated directly to students, whilst all students are expected to comply with these expectations, we must all agree that they are fair and just.
Parents are an important part of our dance community and should always feel their children are safe. We expect all parents and carers to uphold the child safe standards and code of conduct. Our policies are well communicated to all staff, volunteers, children, families and members of the community. We are committed to the holistic development of the children in our care and endeavour to incorporate discussions, workshops, displays and good teaching practice on health and wellbeing. This includes physical, mental and emotional health We have zero tolerance of bullying and regularly work with our staff, teachers and students to ensure this is embedded in our culture. We have stringent anti bullying policies in place to support our commitment to child safety.
We are committed to continually improving our facilities to ensure the safety of our children and young people and to remove all risks of child abuse Child Safe Standards in all Victorian Dance Schools are now compulsory by Law.
We are proud to say that we have undertaken and completed "Keep Kids Safe In Dance Training" provided By Jackie Scott.
It is so imperative when looking for a dance school or any activity involving children that you choose an organasation or studio that is Child Safe & is compliant with the child safety guidelines.
Emily Bradley - Director & Principal
Geelong School of Dance