The Children Performances (Regulations 1998) as amended
Any child undertaking part in any of the following performances will need a licence for the following activities:
Further details can be found on Licence Regulations
The licence is issued by the Local Authority the child lives in. If the child lives outside Great Britain, it is the LA where the licence applicant lives or has business premises. If the child is at a boarding school, it is the LA where the school is.
A local authority shall not grant a licence for a child to do anything unless they are satisfied that he is fit to do it, that proper provision has been made to secure his health and kind treatment and that having regard to such provision (if any) has been or will be made therefore, his education will not suffer, but if they are so satisfied, in the case of an application duly made for a licence the LA have the power to refuse to grant the licence.
Licences - A child must be licenced if they perform for more than four days in any six-month period. Children employed in sporting activities and modelling work for which they receive payment must also be licensed. Modelling work applies to such activities as: still photography sessions/fashion shows/catwalk work.
Daily Restrictions - A child must not perform for the maximum permitted days in a week, for a more than eight consecutive weeks, without an interval of two weeks. Only one performance/rehearsal on any day a child attends school for a full day. There must be an interval of one and a half hours between two performances in the same day. This interval may be reduced to 45 minutes on two days in a week, providing the child is not at the place of performance for more than six hours.
Absence from School - Permission for a child to be absent from school can only be given for a licensed performance. Head teachers cannot give permission for a child to be absent from school to attend auditions or rehearsals, except for rehearsals which take place during the duration of licence.
A child must not be at the place of performance for more than six days in any one week.
Earliest and latest times: 13 and over 10.00 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.*
Under 13: 10.00 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.*
*Or half an hour after their last appearance, whichever is earlier
If a child has to be on stage after 10.00p.m. or 10.30 p.m. the latest time may be extended to 11.00p.m. on no more than three evenings in any one week, and no more than eight evenings in four consecutive weeks.
Where the licensing authority is satisfied that it is absolutely essential a child may take part in a performance after midnight and before the permitted starting time. The hours after midnight are counted as part of the previous day's performing time.
There must be an interval of at least 16 hours before further work.
If night work takes place on two consecutive nights there must be a seven day interval before any further night work.
An application can be requested from the address below:
The Licensing OfficerTel: 0161 770 6627
Email: child.licensing@oldham.gov.uk
Please note that all applications must be sent to the address above no less than 21 working days before the first performance.
The National Child Employment Network has a national website which you may wish to visit for further information.