We have had an excellent service fdrom the Trafford CYPS in respect of ur licensing applications for the Beauty and the Beast Show in that we received the licence forms in good time ith the minimum of fuss from Trafford. This meant that we could get on with other production matters without having to resort to ime spent sorting out the forms. At UMT we recognise that Trafford have to comply with the legislation in respectof the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 and all of its amendments so it is governmen we are now targetting in respect of the ridiculous nature of the legislation. An example is that we could have 200 children woring backstage withpout licences but only need one for the individual working on stage. Amateur theatre cannot afford the time and possible future expense of this massively bureaucratic process which has been enforced on Trafford. Having said that it appears tat UMT are still the ONLY organisation in Trafford required to apply forhese licences!!

On this occasion, Trafford well done! But makesure you keep up this standard of good work.

Previous Concerns....

The Urmston Musical Theatre Junior Section has been in existence for approximately 21 years. Its demise is being sealed by Trafford Children and Young People's Service (CYPS) who seem intent on making it nigh on impossible to occupy up to 50 children in a disciplined and responsible hobby for several months of each year by petty regulation and overzealous administrative processes. In particular, it is their application of legislation and regulation which is over 45 years old and intended to address children working in a professional environment. Indeed, the legislation, namely the Children and Young Person Act 1963, specifically refers to children involved in Ballet and Opera, probably because the idea of them appearing on television or stage was not considered likely.

Trafford CYPS are the same department who featured in a recent newspaper article where they disallowed children from attending school trips because their parents were able to afford them. They applied a policy which meant that only children of parents on benefits could attend certain school trips (Daily Mail article). It is common knowledge that they failed to understand the policy and apply it appropriately.

We are a community Musical Theatre. We are effectively an adult society who perform a main show in October and a Pantomime in February. We realised some years ago that a junior section would keep a substantial number of local children occupied, off the streets and engaged in a disciplined pastime. We have operated a junior section for some time now with varying success. Certainly in the earlier years we made a significant loss or, at best, broke even and pressure was brought to bear on those supporters of the junior section to dissolve them and concentrate entirely on the adult shows.

After considerable effort, we managed to turn the losses into a small profit and now to a medium profit (around £500 to £1000). The junior section are now self funding and also able to make purchases and invest in the society. They are an asset. All profits are put back in to allow the production of the next show.

The Urmston Musical Theatre recognise that Section 37 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 means that because we charge a fee for persons to come and watch our shows we need to apply for licences for the children who appear in the shows. However, we could be granted a "Body of Person" status which would negate the need for continual licence applications. During February 2010 the Urmston Musical Theatre performed Puss in Boots at the Poolside Theatre, Urmston Leisure Centre. The show was a traditional pantomime with all the usual routines and suspects that you would find in any panto around the country. In this show we had 4 female dancers aged 14 years and 15 years and also one child aged 10 playing the young puss. In addition there was one 15 year old male.

One may consider that 6 children in a group where they are known to everyone and they know everyone, giving them a purpose, discipline and responsibility would be applauded by Trafford CYPS. Instead, an official from the organisation attended on the Wednesday night of the show threatening to close it down. The heinous crime committed by UMT was that Trafford CYPS had not issued licences for the 6 young persons despite having had the full applications for over three weeks. Five of the applications had been hand delivered and the sixth was sent by recorded delivery.

It is interesting to note the language used by Trafford CYPS official upon their attendance. Their threat to close the show down does not seem to be a valid threat as the legislation does not seem to support the ability of this official to actually carry out the action. We await advice in respect of this.

I pose the following questions: Why do the Trafford CYPS seem intent on preventing children undertaking a rewarding and fulfilling hobby? Why do they have the authority to usurp the right of a parent or guardian in respect of whether a child undertakes their hobby? Did they deliberately with-hold the licences in order to visit the show and threaten the Urmston Musical Theatre? Their request to work with us is in stark contrast to the threat of closing the show down and their inability to staple six photographs to six pieces of paper in three weeks and put them in the post!

If you are a parent you may not have actually realised that you are not allowed to give permission for your child to appear on an amateur stage such as the one at the Urmston Musical Theatre. Instead your rights are forfeited to the faceless CYPS. Not only do they require and demand that you obtain a licence from them to perform but they also require personal and private medical information about your child. They also believe that the parent, when providing this information, should be prepared to pay for the privilege. This was a reference to a possibility that in the future they will require signed doctor’s certificates for every child with the expense falling upon either the Urmston Musical Theatre or on the parent. There are other drama societies, dance troupes, choral societies etc in the Trafford area who have yet to have the pleasure of a visit by the “Fun Police”.

Unfortunately, if there are 50 children requiring a doctor’s certificate at £30 a time in a show that would ordinarily make a modest £500 profit to be used for future shows then the net loss of £1000 would signify the end of the junior section. They do not realise that their application of these professional regulations to the amateur theatre is resulting in segregation as only “rich” kids will be able to be involved.

Of course, you can be rest assured that you will not be required to obtain a licence for your children to hang around street corners.

The sheer stupidity of the legislation being applied to amateur theatres is that we encourage children to be involved in the back stage and front of house of the theatre. Not one of those children require a licence. The ridiculous scenario could be that we have 150 children present in the theatre involved in their hobby but the CYPS need you to licence your child because they happen to walk on a stage and you face the consequence of a criminal conviction if you don’t. It is bureaucracy gone mad.

The eight page package to apply for the licence contains questions such as: What night work will the child be involved in? How many days off school will the child have? What arrangements are in place to have a school matron to be present on site to allow for schooling? How long does it take to travel to rehearsals? What illnesses does your child have? What sums of money will the child be paid? What lodgings will they live at whilst performing? This is to perform at a local amateur theatre as part of their hobby!! The CYPS defend themselves by stating that there can never be too much protection for children. Of course there can, if it means that the very hobby they want to undertake is denied them because it is too bureaucratic or too expensive to administer.

The CYPS state that the licence offers the children protection. Despite asking repeatedly, I fail to see what a piece of paper with a photograph stapled to it actually protects over and above the protection provided by the rules and regulations that we impose upon performers within the society.

The CYPS want the Urmston Musical Theatre to employ chaperones to keep an eye on the children whilst back stage at a further cost to UMT. In essence they want us to employ strangers to have sole control over the children whose only qualification is that they have a CRB check and have answered successfully a number of questions on benign and unconnected subjects. They want children to be segregated, locked away in cubby holes until it is their turn to walk on stage and make them regard every adult as being a potential offender. Don’t believe me, I have seen it for myself at another society performing at the Garrick Theatre in Altrincham where a child and his parent was not allowed out of a room the size of a cupboard except to appear on stage.

Can they serious believe that the children would be safer in the hands of a paid stranger rather than in the vicinity of other cast members whose occupations include teachers, school assistants and school staff, police officers, doctors, nurses, cub scouts and girl guide leaders and committee members? All of which have at least a full CRB check and know the children and are known by the children. At Puss in Boots there were at least 12 people backstage or in the cast with current full CRB checks with a similar number front of house. The purpose of a chaperone is to accompany a child to a strange venue where they will not know who the staff are or will not be familiar with the people or surroundings. Again, it is aimed at the professional venue.

The CYPS refuse to provide anybody with a copy of their policy in respect of this matter. It is conceivable that they refer callers to other websites because they do not actually have a policy. Arguably a breach of the council’s own requirements but it explains why you never seem to get consistent information from them. They make it up as they go along. Indeed the Trafford CYPS website does not contain any information in respect of Children’s Performance Policy (At 27/02/2010).

Trafford CYPS have also neglected to provide the society with information about becoming a status known as a “body of persons”. This status would allow us to not have to apply for licences for each show. It would allow us to form a policy which would be accepted by the CYPS to allow us to continue as we are and maintain the protection over the children. They have been promising to respond for over six months now without doing so. Each communication with them, including the Wednesday of the Pantomime, is met with a comment similar to we are getting legal advice about it. Indeed, the CYPS have apparently needed to consult a Ministerial MP to get advice. They have made promises to the Director in charge of Education and our local MP, that they will consult with us and provide information, all of which have failed to materialise. I can say it took me exactly 1 day to get legal advice about becoming a “body of Persons”.

We now know that the CYPS monitor this website and, in particular, they check the photographs on it because there are children in some of them. It is outside the remit of their responsibility to investigate this or any other website and the content contained within. It is also very sinister and very offensive to consider that they believe the UMT to be a society who may take and publish inappropriate photographs of children. All photographs are taken with the knowledge and express permission of parents and any person wishing to have any photograph removed only needs to contact the webmaster. Most of the photographs taken previously have been provided at a nominal cost to parents as a keepsake. It is very sad that they fail to recognise the significance of their belief that everybody is under suspicion even when taking pictures of children enjoying their hobby.

The sadness of the actions of the CYPS is that their interference is causing us to review whether we continue with our junior section. Former champions of the section who attended in their own time to put up lighting, scenery and stage are now reluctant because of the CYPS actions. We have nothing to hide and we have nothing to fear. However, we should not be investigated by or be placed under suspicion for wishing to simply have a junior section.

We call on Trafford Council to instruct the CYPS department to get out of amateur theatre. There is enough work for them to administer children attending television, professional film and theatre and modelling assignments without imposing made up ad-hoc policy on us. We ask that we are provided with a “Body of Person” status which allows us to continue without the requirement for licences on each occasion.

The heading of this article asks the question: Child protection or meddling bureaucrats? If you would like to comment then you may do so by emailing us at traffordcyps@umt.org.uk. Please include a name and a reference as to whether you would allow us to publicise the comments on our website. If there is a response from the CYPS I will also publish that.