Scope: This guide is for licensed chaperones, production managers, assistant directors and location teams working with children under an individual child performance licence in England. Licensing rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland follow separate legislation and guidance, as do Body of Persons Approvals (BOPAs). This article provides general practical guidance, not legal advice.
Outdoor shoots bring creative energy to film, television and commercials, but British weather brings cold snaps, sudden downpours and midday summer heat. When children perform outside, can production adjust schedules when the rain clears? Who decides if conditions are safe? And what does the law require before a young performer even steps outside?
The short answer is straightforward. In England, the licensing authority must approve the location and be satisfied that proper arrangements exist to protect the child from inclement weather. The approved chaperone holds statutory care and control on the day. While the law allows a chaperone to shorten one meal break to thirty minutes for an outdoor shoot, it never permits compromising a child’s health or warmth.
The legal starting point
Under regulation 17 of The Children (Performances and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014, the licensing local authority must approve any place where a child performs, rehearses or takes part in an activity. Regulation 17(2)(c) explicitly states that the authority must not approve the place unless it is satisfied that the child will be adequately protected against inclement weather.
Furthermore, under regulation 15, the licensing authority approves a chaperone to exercise proper care and control of the child to safeguard their health, comfort and kind treatment. If outdoor conditions threaten a child’s welfare, the chaperone has the statutory duty to intervene.
The thirty-minute meal break rule
Production schedules on outdoor locations often depend on daylight, tides or weather windows. Regulation 29(3) provides a specific discretion for outdoor work: the chaperone in charge may allow one of the meal breaks required under regulation 23 to be reduced, provided that:
- The break duration is not less than thirty minutes.
- The maximum daily hours of performance or rehearsal under regulation 22 are not exceeded.
- The child’s welfare is not prejudiced.
This flexibility exists to help productions catch clear skies or daylight. However, it is entirely at the chaperone’s discretion. A chaperone cannot be pressured by an assistant director or director to reduce a meal break if the young performer is tired, cold, or needs the full forty-five minutes to eat and rest quietly.
Essential facilities on outdoor locations
An outdoor shoot does not exempt production from providing proper indoor or covered facilities. Regulation 17(2) requires suitable arrangements for meals, dressing rooms, rest and recreation, as well as suitable and sufficient toilets and washing facilities. Portaloos in a windswept field without warm hand-washing water or private dressing areas do not meet statutory expectations.
Production must arrange a heated, dry, private holding area close to the outdoor set. On location, this is often a dedicated motorhome, trailer or warm production marquee. As detailed in our guide on dressing rooms and privacy for child performers, young performers aged five and over must have separate, private changing spaces divided by sex, which cannot be shared with adult crew or adult cast.
Protecting against cold, rain and mud
Costume departments often choose light clothing for creative reasons, but young children lose body heat much faster than adults. Between takes and rehearsals, production must supply adequate cold-weather kit. This includes heavy oversized coats, warm blankets, hot water bottles and dry footwear.
If a child’s costume becomes wet during a take in the rain, the chaperone must ensure the child is immediately taken to a warm, sheltered area to dry off and change. Filming must pause until dry costumes and suitable warmth are restored. Continuing to shoot with a shivering child breaches the primary duty to secure the child’s health.
Sun safety and summer heat
Inclement weather includes extreme heat and direct sun just as much as winter frost. Working under direct sunlight increases the risk of dehydration, sunburn and heat exhaustion. Young performers need shade between takes, broad-spectrum sunscreen applied with parental consent, and frequent access to fresh drinking water.
Chaperones must monitor children closely for early signs of heat distress, such as lethargy, flushed cheeks or headaches. When temperatures climb, regular water breaks should be built into the schedule rather than waiting for a formal fifteen-minute break.
A simple example
A drama production is filming an exterior park scene in November with an eight-year-old actor. The daily call sheet schedules filming outside from 10:00 until 13:00. At 11:30, a sharp sleet shower starts and the child’s woollen coat becomes soaked.
The first assistant director wants to push through the scene to finish the sequence before lunch. The chaperone intervenes, removes the child from the set, and takes them to the heated production green room. The child is dried, changed into warm clothes, and given a hot drink. Filming resumes outside only after the shower passes and replacement dry wardrobe is ready.
A short pre-location check for chaperones
Before heading to an exterior location, confirm these practical details with the location manager and second assistant director:
- Where is the heated, dry base for holding, dressing and schoolwork located relative to the set?
- Are clean toilets with running warm water available nearby?
- Does costume have duplicate dry clothing, weather-proof robes and warm footwear on standby?
- What is the wet-weather cover plan if outdoor filming becomes unviable?
For further statutory details on working hours, continuous performance limits and rest periods, consult the Department for Education child performance guidance alongside your local authority’s licensing conditions.