Apply to be a chaperone for children in entertainment
How much are the fees?
- Volunteer chaperone licence (applications and renewals) are £15
- Professional chaperone licence (applications and renewals) are £70
If you have any questions about the different licence types or anything else regarding chaperone licences then please email cs.ewscee@derbyshire.gov.uk or tel: 01629 537859.
Why we are charging for chaperone licences
We had been issuing chaperone licences for free since their introduction. Each chaperone licence application / renewal directly costs us money for the disclosure and barring service (DBS) check and ID badge (including recorded delivery). There is also the indirect costs of staff and rooms to hold the training sessions.
Other local authorities in our region (and across England) already charge individuals to process licences and we now need to charge these fees to help cover the costs of this process. We've kept the cost as low as possible with a volunteer licence cost of £5 per year, this includes the provision of an initial training session and a photo identification badge.
About chaperone licences
Chaperones are normally licensed by the local authority in which they live, therefore we can only issue chaperone licences for our (excluding Derby City Council) residents.
The role of chaperone is to exercise a duty of care to the child or children in their care which any parent might be reasonably expected to give that child.
Chaperone licences are valid for a maximum of 3 years from the date of the DBS check.
Apply for a licence
To obtain a new chaperone licence from us, we require you to:
- attend a Chaperone Training Session held at County Hall, Matlock, on a monthly basis
- have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check performed by us
- provide 3 identity documents to us at the Chaperone Training Session in order for us to proceed with a DBS check
- provide a photo of you which is used on your Chaperone Licence & ID badge
- provide 2 suitable references
- undertake online safeguarding training provided by us or give evidence that you've already completed suitable safeguarding training elsewhere
From the date of application, it will take approximately 6 to 8 weeks before a chaperone licence can be issued. This timescale is based on being able to attend the first training session offered to you, and that we receive your DBS check result quickly.
Renew your licence
To renew your Derbyshire chaperone licence, we require you to:
- have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check performed by us
- provide 3 identity documents to us in order for us to proceed with a DBS check
- provide a photo of you which is used on your Chaperone Licence & ID badge
- undertake online safeguarding training provided by us or give evidence that you've already completed suitable safeguarding training elsewhere
If your chaperone licence is about to expire, you can apply to renew it if there is 6 months left on your current licence.
If your chaperone licence has expired then you will need to apply for a new one.
We can only accept renewals if you currently hold a chaperone licence issued by us. If you've moved to Derbyshire and hold a chaperone licence from another authority, then you must apply for a new chaperone licence.
You're not required to attend the chaperone training session nor provide references.
We'll carry out a new DBS check and we will arrange for an ID checking appointment so we can verify your identity to proceed with the DBS check.
From the date of requesting your renewal, it will take approximately 6 to 8 weeks before a chaperone licence can be issued. This timescale is based on being able to attend an ID checking appointment quickly, and that we receive your DBS check result quickly.
Training session (not applicable for renewals)
All our training sessions are held at County Hall, Matlock from 6pm to 8.30pm. We're unable to provide training at other venues.
The training presentation takes about 1.5 hours, but we allow extra time so we can process your ID at the same time. When you attend the training session, you'll need to bring 3 ID documents so we can verify your identity and proceed with a DBS check.
If you don't bring the correct ID, your chaperone licence will be delayed, as we must see your ID in person.
The next training sessions are:
- Tuesday 16 September 2025
- Thursday 9 October 2025
- Tuesday 28 October 2025
- Wednesday 19 November 2025
- Thursday 4 December 2025
We may have to cancel training sessions due to bad weather conditions (for example, snow) at short notice. If this happens and you've been invited to the training session, we'll let you know as quickly as possible.
If you cannot attend a training session unless you have reserved a place on your application, due to room limitations.
References (not applicable for renewals)
We're unable to accept references from family members.
We're only able to accept written references.
On your application, you must provide contact details for 2 people to provide a suitable reference. We'll then request a reference from them by asking certain questions to check your suitability to work with children.
Disclosure and barring service (DBS) check
We're currently unable to complete a DBS check through the DBS Update Service. We need to perform our own DBS check.
You'll receive an email from our DBS team to set up your DBS check.
We'll then verify your ID in-person at either a chaperone training session or ID checking appointment, in order for your DBS check to proceed.
Once we've verified your ID, we have no control over when we'll receive a result from the DBS check. There are several different factors affecting how long it can take.
If a trace is found then you'll be invited to an interview to discuss any convictions you have, to see if we deem you're still suitable to work with children or not.
Photo
We need a colour photo of you for your licence, which is emailed to you, and your ID badge, which is posted out to your home address. This can be a selfie taken against a blank background. We must be able to see your full face and head (wearing glasses is acceptable).
Safeguarding training
If you have completed safeguarding training through work or elsewhere then you can send us evidence of completed safeguarding training (either your training certificate or a screenshot of your learning record) and we will review it to see if we can accept that instead of completing the online course we have requested. If the evidence does not state an expiry date then it must have been issued within the past 12 months for us to accept it.
If you have not already completed safeguarding training recently then you can complete safeguarding training provided by Derby and Derbyshire safeguarding children partnership (DDSCP). It's an online course that can be taken at any time. The course takes about 1 hour to complete. If you require help creating an account then please see the below safeguarding course registration help sheet attachment. You can save a copy of the certificate.
Introduction to safeguarding level 1
Contact us
email: cs.ewscee@derbyshire.gov.uk or tel: 01629 537859.