| Important
Information about the New Teaching Qualifications
UK
and Europe only
Theatre and Dance Sport
The
new teaching qualifications are:
• Foundation in Dance Instruction(FDI)
• Certificate in Dance Education(CDE)
These
qualifications were introduced in January 2004.
From September 2004 in the UK and Europe they
have replaced the Student Teacher, Associate and
Associate Diploma examinations. The new qualifications
are modular and details of the modules are available
in the syllabus for each qualification, available
free from the Sales
Department. The syllabi explain clearly what
is required for candidates pursuing this course
of study and should answer many of your questions,
either as a tutor or candidate.
•
Why have these been introduced?
•
Time frames
•
Outline of Procedures
• Approved Dance Centres
• Course Registration
• Assessment
• Accredited Prior Learning
(APL)
• Departmental responsibilities
in relation to the new qualifications
Why
have these been introduced?
The ISTD, together with other dance awarding bodies,
realised a few years ago that our teachers would
need government recognition of their
qualifications in order to survive in the long
term. Parents are becoming increasingly aware
of the need for recognised qualifications for
those professionals undertaking a duty of care
towards their children.
Many
dance teachers have complained to us in the past
that the dance teaching profession is not given
the recognition it deserves and that too many
unqualified teachers are working with children
and adults in this area.
It
was with these issues in mind that we embarked
on the new qualifications, which are structured
to meet QCA criteria.
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Time
frames
By
the end of August 2006, all teachers wishing to
enter candidates for ISTD examinations in Theatre
or Dance Sport must hold their Certificate in
Dance Education. Existing teachers may be exempt
from some units and should see the section on
Accredited Prior Learning opposite.
You
may continue to teach after the closing date,
if you do not wish to enter candidates, but should
be aware that:
a)
government regulations may be put in place at
some time in the future to ensure that all teachers
have a government recognised qualification.
b)
market demands mainly in the shape of parental
expectations are changing and therefore you may
lose your customer base to government recognised
teachers.
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Outline
of Procedures
Approved
Dance Centres
Candidates embarking on the FDI or CDE must do
so through an Approved Dance Centre. If you want
to train teachers in these new qualifications,
you should ensure that you have become an Approved
Dance Centre, so please ask the Education
and Training Department for an approval pack,
if you have not already done so. The approval
process will involve a visit by someone from the
ISTD to inspect your premises and ensure that
those training the teachers meet the criteria
to be an ISTD approved ‘tutor’.
To
become an approved tutor, you need to attend training;
information is available from the Education
and Training Department.
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Course
Registration
Candidates need to complete a Course Registration
Form, available from the Examinations Department,
and tutors should obtain the portfolios for their
candidates from the ISTD Sales Department, at
a cost of £20 each. The candidate portfolio
contains all the forms that candidates need to
complete during their course of study and explains
which forms need to be inserted along the way,
eg report sheets.
There
is a separate portfolio for each of the qualifications,
FDI and CDE.
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Assessment
Units relating to teaching skills are assessed
either by the tutor (FDI) or by a combination
of tutor and ISTD ‘assessor’ (CDE).
Written examinations or assignments are marked
by an ISTD ‘marker’. Practical dance
units are examined by an ISTD ‘examiner’.
Full details of assessment are available in the
syllabi.
Once
candidates are ready for unitsto be assessed,
examined or marked, all arrangements are made
by the Teaching Modules Administrator in the Examinations
Department.
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Accredited
Prior Learning (APL)
Existing teachers should ensure that they have
completed their application for Accredited Prior
Learning (APL) as they may be exempt from some
units. By the end of August 2006, all teachers
wishing to enter candidates for examinations in
the UK, both Theatre and Dance Sport, need to
have gained their Certificate in Dance Education,
either by:
•
being APL-ed for some units and completing others
• completing all units
Applicants
for APL should be aware that no-one can be given
a qualification in its entirety without one or
more units being successfully completed. This
is to ensure that we abide by QCA criteria for
APL processes.
If
you have already received an APL outcome, you
can be assured that we have kept the requirements
to the basic minimum; and every effort will be
made to give you support and guidance.
Please
note that APL is a complex process and, if you
have a query about your outcome, we cannot handle
this over the telephone. So please, in these circumstances,
put your query in writing to the Education
and Training Department.
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Departmental
responsibilities in relation to the new qualifications
Education
and Training Department
• Approved Dance Centres
• Tutor training
• Accredited Prior Learning
• Development of associated materials
• Queries about professional development
Examinations
Department
• Course Registration
• Examination/Assessment/Marking administration
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