Children in entertainment

Apply for a child performance licence, performance licence-exemptions and apply for a chaperone licence

Apply for a chaperone licence

All children taking part in a licenced performance must be supervised by their parent or guardian, or by a registered chaperone at all times.

A chaperone should take care of a child in the same way as a parent or guardian would.

There are 2 types of chaperone licence:

  • voluntary sector licence - unpaid chaperoning work
  • professional sector licence - paid chaperoning work

Please allow 8 weeks notice for your application to be processed.

How to apply

Step 1 - Apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Certificate

You must have a DBS certificate before you apply for a chaperone licence.

We can only accept a DBS if it is an Enhanced, Child Workforce with a Children’s Barred List check and was issued by:

  • us in the last 12 months
  • us and is registered on the update service
  • an external company and is registered on the update service

To save time in future and avoid multiple applications, you can Register for the Update service

If you do not have one, are not registered to the update service, or your DBS was issued over 12 months ago, you’ll need to apply for a new one.

If you are working in the voluntary sector, you must apply through the group you are chaperoning for.

If you are working professionally, you must apply through our Child Employment Team.

Apply for a DBS check

Step 2 - Professional chaperone training

You must complete chaperone training to become a professional chaperone. If you are applying for a voluntary chaperone licence, please skip to step 3.

You can book a chaperone training session with either Camden Learning or the NSPCC.

If you are training through Camden Learning, our Child Employment team will receive a notification when you have completed the training.

If you are training through NSPCC, email your training certificate to child.employment@essex.gov.uk.

Step 3 - Complete the company declaration form

Complete the company declaration form (Word, 26.4 KB).

Step 4 - Apply for a chaperone licence

To apply, please complete our online form. You will need to upload a copy of your DBS certificate and a copy of the declaration form.

You application will take about 8 weeks to be processed.

Fees

Professional chaperone licence

If you need to apply for a DBS certificate, the fee is £59.

The fee for the chaperone training is £30, plus VAT.

Voluntary chaperone licence

There is no fee if you already have a valid DBS certificate.

If you need to apply for a DBS certificate, the group organising the chaperone licence will pay £15.

Guidance and checklist

Read the following guidance for details of the process and what you need to submit with your application: