The Stage

Stagecoach attacks child licensing law

Published Thursday 21 June 2007 at 11:00 by Alistair Smith

Stagecoach Theatre Arts, the world’s largest stage school chain, is campaigning for the government to fix “seriously flawed” child licensing legislation, which it claims prevents youngsters from breaking into the industry and puts them at risk.

While such complaints have been levelled before by theatre producers and chaperones, Stagecoach’s intervention marks the first time an organisation of its size, and one working in the training sector, has spoken out regarding the problems of licensing.

All children appearing in professional productions must be licensed. However, Stagecoach, whose schools and acting agencies deal with more than 36,000 young performers, complains councils vary enormously in their interpretation of the national rules and the speed with which they process applications.

“It’s very much a postcode lottery depending on which authority the young person resides in,” explained Stagecoach co-founder Stephanie Manuel.

“Many children are missing opportunities because of poor administration and because local authorities are failing in their duties.

“But my main concern is child welfare and whether there is adequate child protection in place.”

Manuel claims that as well as making it impossible for producers to employ children from certain areas, some councils are failing to carry out sufficient spot checks on venues and employers to ensure child safety.

She fears that needless and time-consuming bureaucracy built into the current system means that those employed by local councils to carry out child licensing are often unable to fulfil their responsibilities.

Stagecoach, together with a group of other industry bodies, has already put its concerns to the Department for Education and Skills, but has been told that the issues raised are not high on its priority list.

However, Manuel believes that a new, simplified licensing system whereby employers are licensed and checked regularly, rather than each individual child, would prove to be more efficient and provide greater protection for the children.

Under the proposed system, councils would still be informed when young performers are working, but would not have the authority to prevent them from doing so if a licence had already been granted to the employer.

To achieve this, current legislation - a combination of the Children and Young Person’s Act 1963 and the Children Act 2004 - would need changing, or new national guidelines would have to be issued by the DfES.

However, a DfES spokesperson said that it was not considering altering the legislation or introducing national guidelines for local authorities to follow, adding: “We recognise the great benefits that young people can derive from taking part in suitable performance opportunities.

“The aim of regulation in this area is not to inhibit these opportunities, but to ensure that children can obtain these benefits without prejudice to their health, education, safety, or access to rest and leisure.

“Local authorities are responsible for administering the legislation in their areas and are best placed to make their judgements in accordance with local circumstances, such as the advice of head teachers, but based on national standards.

“This responsibility includes ensuring that the rules are fairly and transparently interpreted and administered.”

For more information on the Stagecoach Child Licence Campaign www.stagecoach.co.uk/childlicence