500 signatures reached
To: Child Employment & Entertainment Team Children's Services Department Hampshire County Council
Let Dexter Cook!
We are calling on Hampshire County Council’s Child Employment & Entertainment Team Children’s Services Department to urgently review and reverse their decision preventing Dexter from continuing his hobby, which they have incorrectly classified as “employment.”
Dexter is not working.
He is not being exploited.
He is not earning a wage.
He is simply a child engaging in a hobby he loves.
He is not being exploited.
He is not earning a wage.
He is simply a child engaging in a hobby he loves.
Yet under the current interpretation of regulations, Dexter is being denied the freedom to learn, grow, and express himself, because of rigid bureaucracy that fails to recognise the difference between a job and a passion.
Why is this important?
This hobby is Dexter’s life. It is his love, his escape, his confidence, and his voice. Taking it away doesn’t protect him, it silences him.
It is important to clarify that Dexter is supervised at all times by his father, a professional chef who places the highest priority on safety and safeguarding.
Dexter himself has completed Level 2 Food Hygiene training, demonstrating a clear understanding of food safety and hygiene standards. The kitchen environment in which his hobby takes place holds a 5-star rating from the Environmental Health Office.
Dexter has also completed a Junior Chef course at college and continues to learn through structured guidance, regular lessons from his father, and mentoring from other high-profile professional chefs. This is a safe, educational, and fully supervised environment not employment.
Children benefit enormously from hobbies. They:
- Build confidence and self-esteem
- Learn discipline, creativity, and teamwork
- Develop skills that support mental health and wellbeing
- Gain a sense of identity and purpose
By classifying a hobby as employment, the council is:
- Restricting a child’s personal development
- Discouraging creativity and ambition
- Punishing families for supporting positive activities
- Setting a worrying precedent that could affect many other children
If a child cannot pursue a hobby without it being labelled “work,” then where do we draw the line?
Is a child actor rehearsing for fun “employed”?
Is a child musician practising in public “working”?
Is a child content creator automatically a labourer?
The Bigger Picture
Is a child actor rehearsing for fun “employed”?
Is a child musician practising in public “working”?
Is a child content creator automatically a labourer?
The Bigger Picture
This decision does not protect all children; it limits some of them.
Safeguarding laws exist to prevent exploitation, not to suppress harmless, voluntary activities that bring joy and growth. Applying employment restrictions to hobbies strips these laws of their original purpose and replaces common sense with unnecessary control.
Children should not need permission slips to be inspired.
What We Are Asking For
We respectfully demand that Hampshire County Council:
- Immediately reconsider Dexter’s case, recognising his activity as a hobby, not employment
- Acknowledge Dexter is not a novice. He is a highly trained and capable young chef who has demonstrated exceptional commitment outside of school hours, skill, and responsibility.
- Clarify and modernise guidance to clearly distinguish hobbies from paid or exploitative work
- Work collaboratively with families, rather than against them
- Put children’s wellbeing, development, and happiness first
Dexter deserves the same freedom every child deserves:
The freedom to explore interests.
The freedom to learn through doing.
The freedom to enjoy being young.
The freedom to explore interests.
The freedom to learn through doing.
The freedom to enjoy being young.
This petition is not just about Dexter.
It is about every child whose passion risks being shut down by misapplied rules.
It is about every child whose passion risks being shut down by misapplied rules.
We urge Hampshire County Council to listen, not just to policy, but to parents, communities, and children themselves.
The UK hospitality industry is crying out for young chefs with passion, determination, and real world skills. Many of the country’s most talented and respected chefs discovered their love of cooking at a young age and were encouraged, not restricted, to learn while their curiosity and enthusiasm were at their peak.
Children learn best when they are eager, motivated, and open, when they are, quite simply, like sponges. If we prevent young people from cooking, learning, and developing their skills at the very stage when they want to learn the most, then surely, we are not protecting them, we are setting them up to fail.
Nurturing talent early is how industries survive, skills are preserved, and future professionals are created. Discouraging it risks losing the next generation of passionate chefs before they ever get the chance to thrive.
Sign this petition to stand up for children’s rights, creativity, and common sense.
How it will be delivered
This petition will be formally delivered to Hampshire County Council by submitting it directly to the Children’s Services Department and the Child Employment & Entertainment Team. A copy will also be sent to the relevant council officers and elected councillors, with the number of signatures clearly recorded.
