All children performing classes during school hours must have the approval of the Headteacher of their school in order to participate at the Festival.

The Children and Young Persons Act 1963 states in section 37 that a child shall not take part in public performances except under the authority of a licence granted by the local authority in whose area the child resides.  This applies to performances by children of 16 years or under at the Festival.

The local authority has confirmed that a child performing licence is not needed for children who attend independent schools or academies, but will be required if the performance requires absence from a local authority-maintained school. Please view the Child Licensing Information page for more details.

All class times will be posted on this website by 1st March 2024 in order for parents to judge whether their child will need to be absent from school.

Parents must ask their child’s head teacher to confirm by email that their child’s education will not suffer if they are absent from school to perform at the Festival.  Please ask the school to email a copy of their reply to info@cfpa.org.uk. You must also bring a copy of the email to the Festival to show at the Front Desk.