Youth Policies

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Important information for parents

At The Courtyard Theatre, we take the safeguarding of young people very seriously. Our productions involving children in the cast are carefully managed to ensure that child performance regulations are adhered to.

This means making sure that rehearsals are not too long, or too frequent. It also means that we are careful to obtain Enhanced DBS checks for adult members of the backstage crew and to cover all our performances with the required number of local authority registered chaperones.

YOUTH THEATRE POLICIES

The policies we have in place are:

  1. Child Protection Policy and Procedures
  2. Guidelines for working with children and young people under 18
  3. Code of Conduct for Youth Theatre cast members
  4. The Chipstead Players’ Photographic Policy
Find out more about our Youth Theatre here

If your child is cast in a production, you will be asked to read a document setting out what we expect from parents – this is reproduced below. Your child will be asked to agree to the ‘Code of Conduct’ and will be expected to sign a form to say that they will comply with this.

PARENTAL AGREEMENT

The Production Assistant will send this to you:

  • Cast are expected to attend all rehearsals they are called for, unless you have advised that they are unavailable. If a problem occurs, please let me or the Director know as soon as possible.
  • All performers are required to be members of The Chipstead Players in order to be covered by our insurance.  Please ensure that your child is a paid-up member and inform me if you need assistance with joining.
  • We expect that all parents will help during the show run and at some rehearsals. (This is a two-week run and) during the run we will obviously require lots of help, especially in the area of chaperoning. There is a tick box on the agreement form so you can indicate the level of assistance you can offer.
  • Whilst we want all children to have a positive experience, we do also expect them to work hard and have good standards of behaviour, both in their relationships with the Director and backstage crew and with each other.  There is a Youth Theatre Agreement attached to this letter which we expect all children to sign and adhere to.
  • A total of £30 is payable for each cast member to cover show fees, refreshments, chaperoning costs and end-of-run gifts. Please let me have this as soon as possible, preferably in cash.
  • We have Photographic and Child Protection Policies, which are designed to protect all young people taking part in activities at the Courtyard Theatre; a list of good practice guidelines is also sent to all adults who are involved in working with children. All these documents can be read on the Youth Theatre Notice Board which is in the corridor below the auditorium seating, or on our website.
  • As well as photos for the monitor in the bar, we will take photos during rehearsals including a portfolio at the Dress Rehearsal.  Please sign the attached agreement to give your permission.
  • Please collect your child from The Stable Bar after rehearsals.  For safety reasons children will not be allowed out of the building by themselves.  Older cast members (14+) may be allowed to leave unaccompanied with written parental Please be on time to be fair to all our production volunteers. During the show we have to follow strict chaperoning rules for year 11 and below and children must be signed in and out.  More details will be sent regarding this nearer the show.
  • All personal possessions are brought to the theatre at the owners’ risk. We strongly recommend that children do not bring smartphones or any other expensive electronic gadgets. (At the start of each rehearsal or performance, we will be putting all such items into a collection point.) They are welcome to use the theatre telephone (01737 555680) if they need to contact you for any reason.