Performance licences

To register as a chaperone with the London Borough of Ealing you will need to have an enhanced disclosure and barring service (DBS) disclosure (previously the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance). If you choose to have the DBS processed by Ealing Council, there will be a charge which is currently £56 (August 2019) which may be subject to change.

Chaperone licence application form

Ealing Council protocol for processing and issuing a chaperone licence

Ealing Council chaperone code of conduct

Responsibilities of a chaperone

• A chaperone's first priority is always to the child
• A chaperone is the key person to whom the child looks to for guidance, protection, clarification and support
• One of a chaperone's greatest strengths is their ability to negotiate with the production company 'on site' and be able to say no when what is being requested of the child is contrary or detrimental to either the child's health, well being and/or education. For example, requesting a child to stay at a place of performance over and above the hours/times laid down in either the child's licence or the regulations, lack of education time
• At no time should a child perform if unwell
• Chaperones should keep a note of important contacts, for example, their licensing authority, the child's licensing authority, the local authority in whose area the child is performing, the child's agent and the child's parent/legal guardian
• The maximum number of children chaperones are allowed to have in their care at any one time is 12. But, in a lot of instances this will be too many (diverse mixture of ages requiring more concentrated supervision and so forth). We recommend eight children to be the maximum in many cases
• The child should not perform if a licence has not been granted, unless they fall within the exemption period
• Chaperone's should not presume that a child is licensed. Always ask to see a child's licence upon arrival at a place of performance
• If the production company cannot prove that a child is licensed, chaperones should contact Ealing Council, otherwise a contravention may have occurred
• Production companies are required to log certain activities during a performance ie arrival and departure times at the place of the performance etc.