Chaperone licence

A child who performs must be supervised at all times either by their parent/legal guardian or an approved chaperone. Grandparents, uncles, child minders, etc are not legal guardians (unless they have been appointed as such by the courts). Parents may only supervise their own child(ren), to supervise other children they must be registered as a chaperone.

Chaperones should register with the local authority they pay their council tax. If you are not sure check which council.

The names and addresses of chaperones working on any production must be included in all its children’s performance licenses.

We will not register a chaperone until satisfactory DBS form is received (Disclosure Baring Service Form, formerly known as CRB).

Social care checks may be carried out on applicants, as applicable: any information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence and will not necessarily mean that your application will be rejected, we will look at each application on an individual basis, this may involve a meeting with you.

Within this process we also need to know if any other adult living in your household has any criminal convictions.

All chaperones are to complete a safeguarding course within 3 months of being granted the chaperone licence with Manchester City Council - we will contact you to arrange this.

More information about safeguarding/child protection courses can be accessed via the Manchester Safeguarding Partnership's website. 

If you are a volunteer chaperone we recommend that you subscribe to the DBS update service when you make your application, as it will keep your DBS valid (meaning that you don’t need to complete a DBS application each year.) This service is free for volunteers – see DBS update service for more information. 

Chaperone licences are valid for 3 years, but we have the right to revoke a chaperone licence should there be any cause for concern regarding the welfare and safeguarding of a child, or if the license holder does not complete the mandatory safeguarding training within the specified time.

There is no charge for a chaperone licence but if a DBS is required the charge for this is:

• the DBS element for a chaperone who is paid is £60; or
• the DBS element is £10 for a chaperone on a voluntary basis and the DBS update service is free once you subscribe.

Warning: it is your responsibility to ensure that you have read and fully understood the statutory requirements for the licence for which you are applying. Failure to comply with the regulations may lead to the licence being revoked and/or prosecution. 

All the information you need to support your application can be found on the NNCEE website or print our handbooks.