When a child is about to be licensed for a performance or activity in England, one question almost always comes up: what about school? The answer is that the licence does not mean the child stops being a pupil. A child with a performance licence still has to keep up with their education, and the local authority checks this before the licence is granted.
This guide covers England only. The rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are different, so if a child is working there, ask the relevant local authority instead.
The short answer
In England the ground rules sit in the Children (Performances and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014. Under regulation 13, the child’s home local authority must not grant a licence unless it is satisfied that the child’s education will not suffer, and it has approved the education arrangements and the place where the child will learn.
In plain terms, a child does not start performing and then think about school later. The education plan has to be in place and signed off by the council before the work begins.
Who is responsible
The person who runs the production or engages the child is the applicant for the licence, and is called the licence holder. Under regulation 13 it is the licence holder who must make sure that any approved education arrangements are carried out. It is not usually the chaperone’s task to arrange the tutoring, but a chaperone worth their salt will want to know who the licence holder is and when the child is due to be taught, because it shapes the day.
The local authority is the body that checks. If the council is not happy with the education plan, it can refuse the licence or add conditions. So the plan needs to be realistic from the start, not something cobbled together the night before a shoot.
The tutoring rule for a private teacher
Most licensed children are taught during the performance period by a private teacher. When that happens, the local authority must approve the teacher and the course of study. Regulation 13 gives two possible approaches.
The first way is direct: on each day the child would normally go to school, the education must add up to at least three hours.
The second way offers more flexibility across a week and a four-week block. The child needs at least six hours of education a week, arranged on the days they would normally attend a maintained school, and with no more than five hours in any single day.
Whichever route is used, the council must be satisfied that the course of study makes sense, will be taught properly, and is in front of a suitable teacher. There is also a group limit worth knowing: a private teacher must not teach more than six children at the same time, rising to twelve only when all the children have reached a similar standard in the subject. For a closer look at the person who does both jobs, see our guide to working as a chaperone and private teacher in England.
What counts as education time
A couple of small rules decide whether a session counts toward the required total. Both come from regulation 13 and from the daily hours limits in the same regulations.
First, any session shorter than 30 minutes does not count. Second, education only counts during the hours the child is allowed to be at the place of performance. A two-minute burst between scenes is not a lesson, and a session that runs past the child’s permitted hours does not count as education either. Those daily hours limits are explained further in our guide to meal breaks for child performers in England.
What to check on a typical day
If you are a newly approved chaperone, or a parent on set, and you want to know whether the education is on track, ask a few direct questions:
- Who is the licence holder for this child?
- What does the approved education plan say, and where will the lessons take place?
- Who is teaching, and are they within the six-child group limit?
- When is the tuition due, and are the sessions at least 30 minutes long?
Write the answers down with the date. You are not expected to become an education officer, but you can help one duty to run smoothly: the child’s school day keeps functioning while the production gets on with its work.
Where to look for the fuller rules
The GOV.UK overview of performance licences and supervision for children is a good starting point for parents. The Department for Education has also published departmental advice on the licensing system, which covers education in context. One note on that document: it was published in February 2015 and has not been updated since, so treat it as current government guidance rather than brand-new material, and always check with the home local authority for the licence that actually applies.
This article is general guidance about the rules in England, not legal advice about one particular child or production. The final word on any individual licence comes from the child’s home local authority and the conditions written into that licence.
Takeaway
A licensed child in England keeps their education. As a rough guide, they need tutoring that adds up to at least three hours on each of their usual school days, with a more flexible weekly option of at least six hours and no more than five in a day. The licence holder is the person who must make sure that teaching actually happens.