Scope: This guide is about approved chaperones caring for children during licensed performances and activities in England. Different rules apply elsewhere in the UK, and arrangements can differ when a performance does not need an individual child licence.
You arrive at a venue and hear, “The children are in the green room. Someone from wardrobe will keep an eye on them.” That may sound organised, but it leaves an important question unanswered: who has care and control of each child at that moment?
For a new chaperone, the phrase can feel broad. It is broad. The law sets the responsibility, but it does not give a script for every corridor, costume change or move to set. You need to understand the legal starting point, then check how the production and the child’s licence turn it into a safe working arrangement.
The legal starting point
Regulation 15 of the Children (Performances and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014 says an approved chaperone is there to have care and control of the child and to safeguard, support and promote the child’s wellbeing. This applies while the child is taking part in the licensed activity, performance or rehearsal. It also covers a relevant stay away from home during the licence period.
The same regulation says the licensing authority must be satisfied that the chaperone is suitable and competent. It must also be satisfied that duties towards other children will not prevent the chaperone from giving proper care to the child in question.
There is an exception when the child is being cared for by a parent or by the teacher who would ordinarily provide the child’s education. Do not assume that a parent’s presence somewhere in the building settles the point. The working arrangement needs to make clear who is directly supervising the child at each stage.
What the Department for Education says
The Department for Education’s published advice for England says a licensed child should be supervised at all times while taking part in the covered performance or activity, or while staying in associated accommodation. It describes the exceptions as direct supervision by a parent or a teacher from the child’s school or home tutor.
This is departmental advice, not legislation. The document says it has no statutory force and is not an authoritative interpretation of the law. It was published in 2015 and said it would be reviewed before March 2020, but the official publication page does not show a later public update. Read it alongside the Regulations, the child’s licence and current instructions from the relevant local authority.
What care and control looks like in practice
Active supervision means more than being in the same building. You need a workable view of where the child is, what they are doing and which adult is responsible for them. You also need a way to respond if the plan changes or the child needs support.
Surrey County Council’s local guidance, reviewed on 31 August 2026, says children should remain in the responsible adult’s sight even while performing. It also says a chaperone cannot carry out another role at the same time.
That is useful operational guidance from one council. It is not a separate England-wide rule with the same wording. Your approving authority may give its own training, handbook or conditions. The child’s licence may also contain specific requirements.
Five checks before the child starts work
- Name the responsible adult. Confirm who has care and control of each child at arrival, in the holding area, during performance, during breaks and at handover. Avoid vague labels such as “the team” or “wardrobe”.
- Read the licence and local conditions. Check the approved chaperone arrangements and any condition that affects supervision. If a document is missing or unclear, ask the licence holder or production lead to resolve it before the child starts.
- Walk the route. Look at the journey between the holding area, stage or set, dressing space, education room where relevant, toilets and exit. A plan that works on paper may fail when doors close, scenery moves or the public enters the venue.
- Check for role conflicts. If you are asked to help with props, manage a queue, run errands or cover another job, consider whether that task would take your attention away from the child. Raise the conflict rather than trying to make two roles fit.
- Agree how to get help. Know how to reach the licence holder or production lead and how a welfare concern will be acted on without delay. This is a practical control, not a substitute for the production’s safeguarding and emergency procedures.
When the planned sightline disappears
Imagine that you can see a child clearly from the wings during rehearsal. Before the performance, a piece of scenery is moved and blocks that view. The original position no longer supports active supervision.
The sensible response is to say so and agree a workable change. That might mean moving to another safe position or changing how the child moves between the stage and the holding area. The exact solution depends on the venue, the production, the licence and local instructions. The important part is not to pretend the original plan still works.
Keep responsibility clear when plans change
Production days move quickly. A child may be called early, sent to a different department or asked to wait somewhere new. Each change should prompt a simple check: who has care and control now, and can that adult still supervise properly?
The Department for Education’s advice says the licence holder is accountable for making sure the licence conditions are met. The chaperone still needs to carry out their own approved role. Keeping those responsibilities clear helps everyone respond to the child’s needs without relying on assumption.
Care and control is not a job title to put on a call sheet and forget. It is the practical responsibility to know who is caring for the child, whether the arrangement is working and when to ask for it to change. If the licence, the production plan and local guidance do not line up, pause and ask the licence holder or relevant local authority for clarification.