When a child is performing, the licence is part of the welfare plan around them. It records the activity the authority has considered and can include conditions affecting supervision, education and the shape of the working day.
This guide applies to Wales. It offers practical information for chaperones and tutors, not legal advice, and it does not replace an individual licence, local-authority guidance or a production’s safeguarding procedures.
When might a child need a licence in Wales?
Welsh Government guidance covers children taking part in public performances and in paid sporting or modelling activities. The exact position depends on the child, the activity and the circumstances, including whether an exemption applies.
It is risky to decide from the label attached to the job. “Amateur”, “community”, “student” or “short notice” does not settle the licensing question on its own. The person arranging the performance or activity should check with the child’s local authority whenever the position is unclear.
A chaperone does not have to make that legal decision for the organiser. They should, however, be able to identify the arrangement under which the child is participating and know who to ask if the paperwork and the planned day do not match.
Who applies, and when?
The Children (Performances and Activities) (Wales) Regulations 2015 say the application is made by the person responsible for the production. For paid sport or modelling, it is made by the person organising the sporting event or proposing to engage the child as a model.
The application is submitted to the licensing authority and must include the required information, documentation and signatures. The authority may refuse to grant a licence if it receives the application less than 21 days before the first performance or activity.
This is why licensing belongs near the start of production planning. A chaperone booked at the last minute cannot fix an incomplete application or turn an unconfirmed arrangement into a granted licence.
What must the authority consider?
The Welsh regulations require the licensing authority to impose conditions it considers necessary to ensure that:
- the child is fit to take part;
- proper provision is made for the child’s health and wellbeing; and
- the child’s education will not suffer.
The authority can request more information where the application is not sufficient. Depending on the situation, this may include interviewing the proposed chaperone or private teacher.
For the working team, that means the licence should not be treated as an isolated certificate. Its conditions sit alongside the supervision plan, education arrangements, risk assessment and day-to-day welfare decisions.
The approved chaperone’s role in Wales
Regulation 17 says a licensing authority must approve a person to act as a chaperone to have care and control of the child and to safeguard, support and promote the child’s wellbeing. The role applies while the child is taking part in the activity, performance or rehearsal and, where relevant, while living away from their usual home during the licensed period.
That requirement does not apply while the child is being cared for by their parent or by a teacher who would ordinarily provide the child’s education.
The authority must be satisfied that a proposed chaperone has undertaken child-protection training, is suitable and competent, and will not be prevented from carrying out their duties by responsibilities towards other children.
Understand the maximum, then plan for the real setting
The Welsh regulations set a maximum of 12 children for one chaperone at any one time. If the chaperone is also the private teacher of the child in question, the maximum is three.
These are upper limits, not a promise that every group below them is manageable. The right allocation may be smaller because of age, individual needs, travel, changing arrangements, split locations or the physical layout backstage or on set.
Before accepting an allocation, ask whether you can maintain proper care and control in the actual environment. If the answer depends on every child staying in one room and nothing changing, the plan needs another look.
What should be checked before the child arrives?
A useful briefing should confirm:
- the licence holder and responsible production contact;
- the child’s licensing authority and any host authority;
- whether the licence has been granted and which dates and places it covers;
- conditions relevant to supervision, education, travel or accommodation;
- the children allocated to each chaperone and any agreed support needs;
- the call, rehearsal, performance, tutoring and collection plan;
- the parent-to-chaperone and chaperone-to-parent handover arrangements; and
- the process for reporting illness, injury or a safeguarding concern.
Ask for the information you need, but keep it within the appropriate production and safeguarding channels. Identifying details about children do not belong in open chats or public peer-support spaces.
Read conditions rather than relying on habit
A call sheet tells you what the production hopes will happen. The licence and its conditions tell you what has been authorised for the child.
Before the working day, compare the two. A different venue, an extended call or an altered education plan may need to be checked with the licence holder and, where appropriate, the licensing or host authority.
Welsh regulations provide a chaperone with limited discretion in specific situations, subject to conditions and notification requirements. That should never be read as a general permission to stretch the day. If an exception may be relevant, read the full provision and follow the required reporting route.
Make every handover explicit
Responsibility should be visible from arrival to collection. Confirm when the parent hands the child into care, when the child moves between performance and education, and when they are released to the agreed adult.
If another approved adult takes over, both people should acknowledge the transfer. Clear handovers are a practical control drawn from the chaperone’s underlying duty of care and control; they are not a substitute for following the licence or safeguarding procedure.
If a concern arises
Start with the licence holder or named production contact unless the concern requires an immediate safeguarding or emergency response. Describe what has happened, what condition or welfare arrangement may be affected and what decision is needed.
Where a child suffers an injury or illness while under the chaperone’s care, regulation 17 places an immediate notification duty on the licence holder. Tell the responsible person promptly so that the parent and relevant authorities can be notified as required.
Good licensing information makes the day clearer
The chaperone is not the licensing officer, but they work inside the arrangements the licence creates. Knowing who holds responsibility, reading the relevant conditions and raising uncertainty before it becomes pressure are all part of calm, child-centred practice.
Chaperone Collective provides peer support and signposting for licensed child performance chaperones and tutors. It does not replace local-authority guidance, employer policies, safeguarding procedures, licence conditions or legal advice. You can explore why people join Chaperone Collective or register here.