Scope: This guide is for new and recently approved chaperones, and for production colleagues working with children under an individual performance licence in England. It covers performances and rehearsals within the licensed performance period. Different rules and procedures apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Exempt performances, paid sport and paid modelling need their own checks.
A run of shows can build quickly. Add a rehearsal, a matinee or a filming day, and it is easy to lose sight of how many days the child has already taken part. In England, there is a clear legal ceiling for licensed performances. The important bit is knowing which days belong in the count.
Six consecutive days is the legal ceiling
Regulation 25 of the Children (Performances and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014 says that Part 5 applies to all licensed performances. Regulation 26 then says: “A child must not take part in performances or rehearsals on more than six consecutive days.”
Six days is a maximum, not a recommended working pattern. A child’s licence or the issuing local authority may require a different arrangement for that child. Welfare, education and the rest of the schedule still need attention even when the six-day count has not been reached.
For example, if a child performs or rehearses from Monday through Saturday, they cannot take part in another performance or rehearsal on Sunday. That would be a seventh consecutive day. A day without either activity breaks that run, but it does not remove any separate conditions in the licence.
A short rehearsal can still count as a day
Regulation 26 does not set a minimum number of minutes for a day to count. For planning purposes, treat any date on which the child will perform or rehearse within the licensed performance period as part of the run. Do not count only show days and forget rehearsals.
The Department for Education’s published departmental advice for England explains that rehearsals from the first to the last day of the performance period require a licence and are subject to the same restrictions and conditions as performances. The advice is official, but it has no statutory force and is not an authoritative interpretation of the law.
A simple calendar is often clearer than a crowded call sheet. Mark every date when the child is due to perform or rehearse, then look for an unbroken run. If one day contains both a rehearsal and a performance, it is still one date in this particular count. The time spent doing each activity matters for other limits, but it does not turn one calendar day into two.
Rehearsals before the performance period need a separate check
The DfE advice draws a distinction for rehearsals before the first day of performance. It says the licensing requirements do not apply to those earlier rehearsals. It also says that the licence application must include information about their dates, places, approximate duration and proposed arrangements. The licensing authority should consider the amount of earlier rehearsal when deciding whether the child’s education and wellbeing will suffer.
That makes the first day of the performance period important. Do not guess it from the public opening night. Check the application, the licence and the production schedule. If it is unclear how an earlier rehearsal should be treated, ask the licensing authority before finalising the call.
Who should keep the running count?
The DfE advice calls the person responsible for organising, producing or running the work the “responsible person”. It says that person should apply for the licence, becomes the licence holder when it is issued and is accountable for meeting its conditions.
In practice, the licence holder or named production lead should hold the complete schedule. A chaperone should still make an independent check of the dates for the child in their care. This does not transfer the licence holder’s responsibility. It gives the chaperone a clear basis for raising a possible seventh day before the child is called.
The production briefing is a sensible place to confirm the first licensed day, the previous performance or rehearsal dates and the next planned rest day. Our guide to what an approved chaperone needs from a production briefing covers the wider information to check before work begins.
The day count is only one schedule check
A schedule can stay within six consecutive days and still fall outside another rule or a licence condition. Daily presence, performance and rehearsal time, breaks, education and overnight rest are separate checks. Our guide to meal breaks for child performers in England explains one part of that picture.
A newcomer-friendly check looks like this:
- Confirm that the work is a licensed performance in England.
- Find the first and last day of the licensed performance period.
- Mark every performance and rehearsal date for the child.
- Look for any run that would go beyond six consecutive days.
- Check daily limits, education, rest and the child’s licence separately.
- Raise any uncertainty with the licence holder and the issuing local authority before the child is called.
Do not solve a seventh-day problem by relabelling a rehearsal, shortening the call or moving it off the main schedule. The legal wording is about taking part in a performance or rehearsal. If the plan is unclear, pause and get the licensing authority’s view on the actual dates and arrangements.