Scope: This guide is for new approved chaperones and production colleagues working with a child under an individual performance or activity licence granted by an English local authority. Different arrangements can apply to school performances, Body of Persons Approvals and work that does not need an individual licence. Rules also differ across the UK.
A production day can become confusing when two people are described as responsible for the same child. The licence holder is responsible for the licensed arrangements. The chaperone has care and control of the child. Those jobs work together, but they are not interchangeable.
Knowing the difference helps a new chaperone ask the right person for a decision. It also stops a production from quietly passing its own legal duties to the adult standing closest to the child.
What is the licence holder?
Under the Children (Performances and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014, the licence holder is the person to whom the licensing authority grants the licence. The licensing authority is the council that receives the application and issues the licence.
Regulation 4 says the applicant must be the person responsible for organising the activity or producing the performance. Department for Education advice describes this person as the responsible person. It says they become the licence holder when the licence is issued and are accountable for meeting its conditions.
The licence holder may be an organisation rather than the person standing on set or backstage. The Department for Education says there still needs to be someone with authority to make or change arrangements during the work. Before the child arrives, a chaperone should know who that decision maker is and how to reach them.
What is the approved chaperone responsible for?
Regulation 15 says an approved chaperone has care and control of the child and safeguards, supports and promotes their wellbeing. This covers the licensed activity, performance or rehearsal. It can also cover a relevant stay away from home during the licence period.
The regulation contains an exception where the child is being cared for by a parent or the teacher who would ordinarily provide the child’s education. If the production is relying on a different licensing or supervision route, check it with the licence holder and relevant council rather than trying to fit it into this guide.
Care and control is an active role. The chaperone needs to know where the child is, what they are being asked to do and whether the arrangements still support their welfare. If a call changes, a room becomes unsuitable or the child needs help, the chaperone raises the issue. The licence holder or their authorised on site representative must be able to act on it.
Which duties stay with the licence holder?
The Regulations place several duties directly on the licence holder. For example, the licence holder must ensure that approved education arrangements are carried out under regulation 13. They must also ensure suitable arrangements are made for the child’s journey home or to another destination after the final performance, rehearsal or activity that day.
The licence itself contains details of the approved work, times, locations and any conditions added by the council. A chaperone needs the parts that affect their role, but reading the document does not make them the licence holder.
This distinction matters when the schedule moves. A chaperone can identify that a proposed change does not match the licence or is not working for the child. The production should not expect the chaperone to rewrite the licensed arrangements or approve a change that belongs with the licence holder or council.
Who deals with records and illness?
A chaperone may be asked to complete daily records. That is a sensible way to capture what happened while the child was in their care. The legal duty to retain the prescribed records for six months after the last covered performance or activity sits with the licence holder under regulation 11. Agree where completed records go and keep children’s information within the approved system.
If a child is injured or becomes ill while in the chaperone’s care, regulation 15 says the licence holder must ensure that the named parent, licensing authority and host authority are notified immediately. Local or production procedures may tell the chaperone to make one or more of those calls. Follow that procedure, but keep the legal allocation clear.
This is a useful example of shared work without blurred responsibility. The chaperone responds to the child’s immediate needs and follows the agreed reporting route. The licence holder makes sure the required notifications happen.
A simple example
Imagine a child is due to finish after one scene, but the scene is delayed. Production asks the child to wait for a later call.
The chaperone checks the child’s condition, the licence and the current schedule. They explain any welfare concern or conflict with the approved arrangements. The authorised production decision maker then decides how the production will respond, consulting the relevant local authority where needed. The child should not be left in limbo while each adult assumes the other has dealt with it.
Six checks before the first call
- Confirm that an individual licence is the route being used.
- Identify the licence holder and the authorised on site decision maker.
- Read the licence conditions that affect your care of the child.
- Agree who records the day and where those records will be stored.
- Know the routes for welfare concerns, illness, injury and emergencies.
- Check who can contact the licensing authority if a legal or licence point is unclear.
Birmingham City Council’s current local guidance describes the chaperone as a key person for guidance, protection, clarification and support. That is Birmingham guidance, not a separate rule for every English council. Your approving authority, the child’s licensing authority and the licence itself may add local requirements.
Keep the handover of responsibility clear
You do not need to carry the whole production on your shoulders. You do need to understand your own role and know who can make decisions when the plan changes.
If the licensing route, licence conditions or named responsibilities are unclear, pause and ask the licence holder or relevant local authority. Chaperone Collective’s resources and signposting guidance can help you find useful questions and official routes. They do not replace the licence, council guidance, safeguarding procedures or legal advice.