Chaperone service

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About this service

It is a legal requirement that whenever children of compulsory school age are engaged in public performances or entertainment under a license issued by the Local Education Authority, they must be supervised at all times by a registered chaperone, unless they are under the direct supervision of either parent or an agreed tutor.

A child taking part in a performance, which can include TV or filming, theatre, sporting activities or modeling, will require chaperoning.

Application for a Chaperone Licence must be made to the Local Education Authority in whose area the prospective chaperone lives. In Wiltshire the Local Education Authority is Wiltshire Council. Due to various checks which have to be made, the time between the Local Education Authority receiving an application and the issuing of a Chaperone Licence can take a while - please allow for this.

It is clear that chaperone's hold a key role in ensuring that the experience a child gains whilst engaged in such performances or entertainment is one that they enjoy and find beneficial.

Responsibilities of a Chaperone

• A Chaperone's first priority is always to the child
• A Chaperone is the key person to whom the child looks to for guidance, protection, clarification and support.
• One of a Chaperone's greatest strengths is their ability to negotiate with the production company 'on site' and be able to say no when what is being requested of the child is contrary or detrimental to either the child's health, well being and/or education. For example, requesting a child to stay at a place of performance over and above the hours/times laid down in either the child's licence or the regulations, lack of education time, and so forth (contact the Local Education Authority if you experience difficulties here).
• At no time should a child perform if unwell
• Chaperones should keep a note of important contacts, for example, their Licensing Authority, the child's Licensing Authority, the Local Authority in whose area the child is performing, the child's Agent and the child's Parent/Legal Guardian.
• The maximum number of children chaperones are allowed to have in their care at any one time is 12. But, in a lot of instances this will be too many (diverse mixture of ages requiring more concentrated supervision and so forth). We recommend 8 children to be the maximum in many cases.
• The child should not perform if a licence has not been granted, unless they fall within the exemption period.
• Chaperone's should not presume that a child is licensed. Always ask to see a child's Licence upon arrival at a place of performance.
• If the production company cannot prove that a child is licensed, Chaperone's should contact the child's LEA urgently, otherwise a contravention may have occurred.

A chaperone will need to be familiar with the information contained in the broadcast tables below.

Broadcast Performance Table

	Age 0 to 4	Age 5 to 8	Age 9 & Over
Maximum time at place of performance	5 hours	7.5 hours	9.5 hours
Maximum times present	Between 9.30am & 4.30pm	Between 9am & 4.30pm	Between 7am & 7pm
Maximum performing time	2 hours	3 hours	4 hours
Maximum continuous time to take part without a rest	30 minutes	45 minutes	1 hour
Minimum rest/meal times	All times when not taking part	Present 3.5 hours: 2 breaks, 1 hr meal & 15 mins rest Present 8 hours: 3 breaks, 2 x 1 hr meal & 15 mins rest	Present 4 hours: 2 breaks, 1 hr meal & 15 mins rest Present 8 hours: 3 breaks, 2 x 1 hr meal & 15 mins rest
Education	Nil	3 hours per school day (see Education for aggregated hours)	3 hours per school day (see Education for aggregated hours)

EXCEPTIONS BBC/ITV and Contractors for children aged 13 and over only (Ref 27(2)(a)

Maximum time 7 day week
12 hrs any 1 day OR 10 hrs any 2 days OR 9.5 hrs any 3 days provided not present on any other day that week & not present after 7pm on a maximum of 20 days in the previous 12 months.
Times between 7am & 7pm OR between 10am & 10pm

ALTERNATIVE TO ABOVE EXCEPTIONS (Ref 27 (2)(b)

Maximum time 7 day week
12 hrs in 1 day provided not present more than 4 hrs on any other day that week and: does not take part for more than 2 hrs any other day that week and: does not take part on day following a day on which he/she was present after 7pm and:has not been present after 7pm on any of the 6 previous days.
Times between 7am & 7pm OR 10am or 10pm

Non-Broadcast Performance Table

Performances (same nature)	2 per day	1 performance & 1 rehearsal OR 2 performances
Peformances per week	Max. 6 days per 7 day week	Max. 8 consecutive weeks requires 2 week interval before performing again in ANY production
Time gap between performances	14 hours must elapse between the end of the previous days performance and the beginning of the following days performance	14 hours must elapse between the end of the previous days performance and the beginning of the following days performance
Performance time	Max. 3 hrs 30 mins	including breaks
Appearance in performance	Max. 2 hrs 30 mins	aggregated
Intervals	1.5 hours minimum	Between 2 performances OR 1 performance & 1 rehearsal
Exceptions to Intervals (in any week)	On not more than 2 days minimum of 45 minute intervals between performances and/or rehearsals. Maximum 6 hours at place of performance	On not more than 2 days minimum of 45 minute intervals between performances and/or rehearsals. Maximum 6 hours at place of performance
School Day	Attending school after the morning session	1 performance OR 1 rehearsal ONLY
Performance hours	Age 12 & under	Age 13 and over
Earliest Arrival	10am	10am
Latest Arrival	10pm	10.30pm
Exception (1)	10.30pm	11.00pm
Exception (2)	Not later than 11pm on not more than 3 evenings per week, provided that he/she is not so present on more than 8 evenings in a period of 4 consecutive weeks.	Not later than 11pm on not more than 3 evenings per week, provided that he/she is not so present on more than 8 evenings in a period of 4 consecutive weeks.
Medical (1)	YES (period longer than 1 week)	Performing over 6 consecutive days
Medical (2)	NO (period less than 1 week)	Performing under 6 consecutive days
Arrangements for getting home	Applicant shall ensure that suitable arrangements (having regard to the child's age) are made for the child to get to his/her home or other destination after the last performance or rehearsal or the conclusion of any activity on any day.	Applicant shall ensure that suitable arrangements (having regard to the child's age) are made for the child to get to his/her home or other destination after the last performance or rehearsal or the conclusion of any activity on any day.

Production companies are required to log certain activities during a performance i.e. arrival and departure times at the place of the performance. In many cases this task is designated to the chaperone who completes the forms and submits them to the company at the end of each day.

Related information

• Peformance/stage licences for school aged children

Related documents

• Application for Chaperone's Approval Application for Chaperone's Approval 94kb
• Medical Certificate for Children in Entertainment
• Medical Questionnaire for Children in Entertainment

Last updated: 11 April 2013