Newbie Licence Confusion

[Hopeful1]

Im sorry if this has been asked before, several times as I am sure it must of been. though I did have a little trawl around first and did find related topics, though nothing that quite had the information I was looking for. I also have done a bit if digging on the interenet which if i am honest made the area appear greyer to me and somehow ended up more confused, with mre questions and concerns.....if thats at all possible

Basically can anyone lay out in plain terms for me the situation with licenses, particularly in regards to school aged teenagers please? I cant figure out whether I need to arrange one or not and quite how. I have got no information from the local council and the general line on the internet seems to change from place to place. Do school aged teenagers need a licence regardless of their age if they are under sixteen or still in school? Is it the dependent on the amount of hours they may be performing, if they are paid, the type of production or when it may be filming? Does it make any difference whether it is withing school hours / term time or not? Also is it the child or the job which is licenced, meaning is is possible to licence a before landing the job to save time later on? Is there an expiration date?

Once again apologies if this has already been answered, please dont shout at me, I have tried to find the information I hadnt even heard of this licence before so am a bit worried about it.

[missmoneypenny]

Children need to be licensed until the last friday in June when they are in year 11. So for example, my daughter went out of licene 8 days ago!! There are some differences between different LEA's so to you would need to call your Local Education Authority and ask them for info - you need to speak to the Child License Co-Ordinator. (Have you gooled your local council and child performance licenses?)

Generally you do not need to apply for a licence until you have been confirmed for a job - I think some counties have an open licence still, but our LEA says that is illegal in their eyes (I did try Different ages are allowed to work different hours, which they will also tell you. To apply for a licence you need a valid GP's letter (These last for 6 months) A copy of birth certificate, 2 passport size photos, A letter from school authorising the absence and a part 2 form completed by you - the client completes a part 1. All sounds so complicated, but it gets easier!! I keep all these docs on my laptop ready to go - saves panic and time.

Good luck!!

Hope it helps a bit!

[Hopeful1]

See this is funny as I have taken my offspring to castings before and been offered roles though never ever, ever asked about a licence? Does this include weekend and out of term shoots as we may have a shoot for a short coming up in the not to distant future and I am concerned it wont be sorted in time if the process starts now and we may have to cancel if offered the role. Should employers know about this and make us or the actors aware? Is it relevant if the shoot only lasts a couple of hours may that be why we didnt know? Could the employers have the licence and thats maybe why we had no knowledge or is it down to the performers guardian and are they expensive? What does the doctors letter say and also what happens if there is no licence? I did google though there was no advice online for my local authority, just advised we get in touch with them, which I am planning to do first thing tommorow though would like to have some knowledge of what I am talking about before I do as our local authority is infamously useless.

[Hopeful1]

I have found some information on an essex council site saying it only applies if the child is performing for more than 3 days in a six month period and that it is the producers responsibility to apply for the licence. In everyones experience does that sound like standard practice accross the board or like it ccould just be a regional variation?

[AbiTheActress]

dont quote me on this ha! but im pretty sure to need a licence the child either needs to be missing school, to be being paid for the job, or if the job lasts over 3 days.. i think! But I haven't been licensed for 2 years so im not too sure!

[islandofsodor]

I don;t know what happened to my previous reply - it disapeared into cyberspace.

Basiclly a child needs a licence is they are going to miss any school or are being paid.

If they are not being paid, are not going to miss school AND they are not performing more than 4 days in 6 months then councils can agree to grant an exemption from licensing. For example dance schools and am drams often apply for exemptions or their productions.

I have found that production companies knowledge of the rules vary greatly. It is their responsibility to apply for a licence, but your responsibility as a parent to make sure that the proper safeguards are in place.

[missmoneypenny]

Have sent you a message Hopeful1 with a link to some info

[Hopeful1]

So let me get my head around this a bit, from what you have all said, as I understand it even if the child is not going to be missing school or has not or will not be working more than 3 days in a six month period, they may still need a licence if they are going to be receiving any kind of payment?

Thanks a bunch MissMoneyPenny, Im just getting to it now

[missmoneypenny]

We have had to be licensed when we haven't missed school, only done one day and not been paid!! Seem that LEA's are tightening up on it

[Hopeful1]

Is is possible for the production team to have arranged it without your knowledge? Shouldn't the producers be aware if you need one? What happens if you didnt have one in place at time of filming when you should of done?

[islandofsodor]

No, the production team can't have arranged it without your knowledge as the legal parent/guardian has to sign part 2 of the form and provide documentation (passport/birth crertificate).

They can arrange an exemption without your knowledge

[Hopeful1]

Does this apply to shorts or films made for registered charities where the shoot may be less than a day and a minimum token payment received do we think?

[missmoneypenny]

I have had to mention to short film makers before that there will need to be a licence! It seems astonishing that the film schools don't spend a bit of time teaching future film makers this when it is a legal requirement.

[pg]

It is very likely that producers of short films (especially student films) have no knowledge - or interest - in licensing issues. It is difficult and complicated because different LEAs interpret the legalities differently. Even the people in the same organisation have told me different things when I've asked them!

I agree that film schools should take far more responsibility for ensuring that their students abide by regulations. It would do everyone good if they did, because they'd have to look into time on set and all sorts of other things that many of them currently take no notice of at all!

Quite a lot of people think that it is to do with whether or not school is missed or payment is received, but this is not the case.

The only way to be certain about a particular job is to contact your LEA and get them to tell you what they think. The production company could find that filming is stopped and young people are unable to take part if they don't have the correct licences in place (shouldn't think it happens very often, because most councils won't be aware of what is being filmed and when - but in theory it could happen, or the company could be reported).

The purpose of licensing is to protect young people from exploitation and overwork. It's a bit of a minefield and not often very logical. The whole system could do with a complete overhaul and it will be interesting to see what happens when the school leaving age is raised. I can't see this overhaul being any sort of political priority though.

[Genevieve]

when my dd went for a student film - it was couple of hours over a couple of days after school and no mention of licensing ! - and it was unpaid and I was present - but pg's post more informative.