Planning for child performers should begin before the final schedule is written. Licensing, supervision, facilities and handovers all need named owners, and the details should make sense to parents as well as production staff.
The following checklist is a planning aid, not legal advice. It reflects GOV.UK and Department for Education information for England. Always confirm the current requirements and any licence conditions with the relevant local authority.
1. Confirm the activity and the child’s details
Record the type of performance or activity, dates, locations and the role the child will have. Confirm the child’s age and school leaving status, as these may affect the arrangements.
Avoid collecting personal information simply because it might be useful later. Decide what the production needs, who needs access and how it will be stored securely.
2. Check licensing early
In England, the person responsible for running the event applies to the child’s local council for a child performance licence when one is required. If there is any doubt, ask the council rather than relying on an assumption or a previous production.
Keep a record of the enquiry, the application and any conditions that affect the day. Make sure the people responsible for the schedule and the child’s supervision can access the information they need.
3. Put supervision arrangements in writing
Confirm whether the child will be with a parent, school teacher, home tutor or an approved chaperone. If a chaperone is required, check approval with the relevant council and agree who is responsible for each child at each stage of the day.
Record how a replacement or change will be managed. Responsibility should never become unclear because the schedule moved.
4. Build a workable schedule
Include arrival, preparation, rehearsal or performance, education where applicable, breaks, meals and collection. Check the plan against the child’s licence conditions and the current rules for the circumstances.
Give the chaperone a usable schedule, not only a department-level call sheet. Include contact names and a way to raise an urgent welfare or timing concern.
5. Check the spaces children will use
Walk through the areas for arrival, waiting, changing, rest, meals, education and collection. Consider privacy, access, temperature, noise and how children will move safely between spaces.
Identify toilets and drinking water. Confirm who controls access to child-only areas and how visitors or crew members are managed around them.
6. Agree health and additional-needs arrangements
Ask parents or carers for the information needed to support the child safely. This may cover allergies, medication, access needs, communication preferences or an agreed emergency plan.
Name the person who receives this information and restrict access appropriately. Confirm how medication will be handled rather than improvising on the day.
7. Plan arrivals, movement and collection
Give parents clear instructions for where and when to arrive. Record the handover to the responsible adult and agree who is authorised to collect the child.
If transport is part of the production plan, document who is responsible during each journey and transfer. Changes should go through an agreed contact rather than informal messages passed between departments.
8. Brief the child and the adults around them
Explain the day in language the child can understand. Show them who their chaperone is, where they can rest and what to do if they need help.
Crew members working with the child should know the supervision arrangements and who can approve a change. They do not need access to private details that are irrelevant to their role.
9. Prepare for changes and emergencies
Record emergency contacts, venue procedures and the route for reporting a welfare concern. Decide how the production will respond if the schedule overruns, a location changes, a child becomes unwell or the authorised collector is delayed.
A plan is useful only if the people on the day know where to find it.
10. Close the day properly
Record the child’s release to the authorised adult. Note any incident, concern or agreed follow-up through the production’s formal process, keeping personal information secure.
After the production, review what worked and what needs changing. Keep required records for the appropriate period, but do not retain private information without a lawful and defined reason.
A calm day is usually the result of decisions made early. Confirm the legal position with the local authority, give supervision the same attention as the rest of the schedule and make responsibility clear from arrival to collection.