A New Diploma

Described as the most significant change in education for 14-19 year olds in England - what relevance does it have to our teachers and their pupils?

Have you heard about the new Diploma?

The Diplomas are exciting and innovative new qualifications for 14–19 year olds being introduced in the state secondary school curriculum in England from September 2008. For our members in England this article aims to tell you all you need to know and confirms what the ISTD has done to ensure our teachers are best positioned to be involved in teaching in this area.

The Diploma has been designed to provide a fully rounded qualification which is a real alternative to the more traditional learning pathways for those young people who are not suited to, or are have perhaps been restricted by, the traditional GCSE and A level academic route.

What is it?

The Diploma combines theoretical and practical learning with 'functional skills' in English, Mathematics and ICT. It also provides the opportunity for learners to incorporate other courses of study such as vocational qualifications, GCSEs and A levels in one whole qualification.

Combined with additional or specialist learning, this allows students to study a topic in greater depth or to study something new, or complementary. This will help to ensure a sound understanding of an area of employment. GCSEs and A levels offer one route to training, higher or further education, and Diplomas will offer another dynamic option.

Students choose which of the 14 lines of learning they would like to take the Diploma in. The first five of these start in September 2008 and are:

• Creative and Media (Dance is within this section)
• Construction and Built Environment
• Engineering
• Health and Social Care

Information TechnologyDiplomas are available at 3 levels:

• Level 1 equivalent in size to 4-5 GCSEs grades D-G
• Level 2 equivalent in size to 5-6 GCSEs at grades A*-C
• Level 3 equivalent in size to 3 A Levels

Within each level, Diplomas include units and qualifications that can be split into 3 specific sections:

Principal learning will develop knowledge, understanding and skills relevant to a broad economic sector, made up of units that have been newly developed and accredited for each Diploma.

Generic learning ensures that students cover generic skills which includes personal, learning and thinking skills, and functional skills in Maths, English and ICT. It also includes projects which focus in more depth on specific aspects of their specialist area.

Additional and/or specialist learning will allow learners to tailor their program according to their interests and aspirations and is the part where students can develop their interest in dance and include their ISTD dance examinations.

As part of the additional and specialist learning, Diplomas can contain existing qualifications or units, including GCSEs or A Levels or other types of qualification already accredited in the National Qualifications Framework approved for delivery to learners under 19.

In ISTD terms it means that all our accredited qualifications with the exception of the CDE, i.e. our Graded and Vocational Graded, and FDI examinations across all genres can be included.

How does Dance fit into the Creative and Media Diploma?

The Diploma is taken within 21 sector-related disciplines and the number of disciplines taken varies with the level of the Diploma. These range from 2D Visual Art, through Fashion, to Interactive Media, and include Music, Drama and Dance.

Why did the ISTD become involved?

The ISTD is constantly striving to ensure that we both safeguard the needs of our members and where possible identify opportunities they may wish to explore in terms of their teaching.

In the case of the Diploma we quickly took the view that as the state and private education sectors begin to move closer together in England it was important to position the ISTD and our members in a place to take advantage of the changes in the education system as they occur.

We recognised the opportunities for students to become more involved in our forms of dance for the first time in their formal education. There is a major opportunity for our teachers to gain new students as well as keep those who might normally be under pressure to give up their dance examinations in order to concentrate on their school work.

We know that many students will want to specialise in the performing arts and for the first time, this Diploma allows them to take our ISTD qualifications alongside GCSE and A Level Dance, for example, and include them as part of their recognised additional and specialised learning.

It is hoped parents will understand the value of their children continuing their ISTD dance study, now that it sits alongside traditional academic subjects, rather than perhaps discouraging them in their early teens.

The ISTD and its teachers has a huge competitive advantage in this area, in that we offer the widest range of accredited dance examinations, so students for the first time can take examinations in Disco and Modern Ballroom as well as Classical Ballet and include them in their Diploma. The schools delivering the Diploma will be looking for ways in which their students can learn dance – and the ISTD teachers are ideally placed to help.

What ISTD Examinations are included?

Graded Examinations (Grades 1-6), Vocational Graded Examinations (Intermediate Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced 1 and Advanced 2) in:

• Cecchetti Classical Ballet • Classical Greek Dance
• Imperial Classical Ballet • Modern Theatre
• National Dance • South Asian Bharatanatyam
• South Asian Kathak • Tap Dance
• Country & Western • Disco/Freestyle**
• Latin American Dance* • Modern Ballroom**
• Sequence Dance*

**Grades only
*Intermediate only

Four new qualifications, only for use in the Level 2 and 3 Diplomas (in all the genres listed above)
• Certificate in Observation and Understanding of Learning Techniques
• Certificate in Promotion of Health and Safety in Dance
• Certificate in Lifespan Development and Learning in Dance
• Certificate in Foundation Dance Practice

These are made up from units of the Foundation in Dance Instruction, and can only be taken in ISTD Approved Dance Centres by Diploma candidates.

Who else is offering the Diploma?

Only those awarding bodies already approved by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) in England could apply to have their accredited qualifications included in the Diploma.

All the big GSCE and A level boards are approved to offer the Diploma as well as 31 awarding bodies approved for the additional and specialist learning. Of these, eight are involved with the performing arts and only the ISTD, the RAD and Trinity College are offering dance qualifications – so in terms of specialised dance, we are at the forefront of the field.

The Diploma is only being introduced into the curriculum in England, as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own school curriculum. So it is being regulated by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). The ISTD has been involved throughout the development of the Diploma as much as possible to put forward the views of the performing arts and of course dance in particular.

What have the ISTD done to ensure the examinations we offer can be part of the Diploma?

To be included in the Diploma, we have had to apply for new approval to become an awarding body to offer these qualifications as a Component Awarding Body. Component Awarding Bodies are recognised to offer and award units and qualifications that contribute to the Diploma.

The development of the Diploma has been very rapid and the ISTD had just a month to submit itself for approval by the middle of January 2007. We then applied for approval for the inclusion of our Graded and Vocational Graded Examinations and for the four new qualifications from the Foundation in Dance Instruction, which were all approved by the beginning of August 2007.

Why do we think this is good news?

• The ISTD offers the widest range of dance genres within Diploma and many of the students will want to take a dance option

• Parents and students will realise that as ISTD exams are recognised within the Diploma, they are worth working towards even from a younger age

• Students can start on the Diploma from 14 onwards, typically the age when they drop out of dance examinations because of school pressure – now they can continue until they leave school

• Aspiring dance teachers can start their learning before they leave school, giving them a head start before going on to an Approved Dance Centre full time

• The ISTD has the advantage to the consortia that they can take a ‘one stop’ approach to a range of additional learning in dance, a big benefit to the exams administrators

How is it going to be delivered and where will the exams take place?

Schools and colleges have had to form consortia in their local area, as it is unlikely that any can offer all 14 Diploma subject areas alone. These consortia may include private colleges and learning providers. Each consortium has to describe how and where the various units will be delivered and ensure that suitable resources are in place. So it depends on whether they have suitable dance studios in their schools for teaching and examinations, or whether students will go to the dance teacher. Students are likely to move around from site to site in order to gain all the learning they need in their chosen Diploma.

In the case of dance within the Creative and Media Diploma, there are unlikely to be many dance specialists within state schools and colleges, hopefully leading to them using private learning providers, which for ISTD examinations will be our teachers, including Approved Dance Centres. They cannot enter for ISTD examinations except in the normal way, through an ISTD member.

Why is it relevant to ISTD dance teachers?

We believe it can help increase your business if you link with consortia to teach the students. ISTD teachers could be invited into schools to deliver on school premises, at another venue or even their own school.

We hope it will provide other opportunities for you. Perhaps with a little encouragement, younger students might be happy to join after school classes between the ages of 11 and 14. We would all hope it increases the appreciation and knowledge of dance.

How is it relevant to 14-19 year olds with existing ISTD examinations?

Any ISTD candidate who has passed an accredited examination since 1st January 2005 which is included in the Diploma, can claim this already towards their additional and specialist learning. This will be done through their consortia, who will want to see their certificates. The ISTD will be informed and the examination credited to them through a new QCA database system which is being used for the whole Diploma.

Who will undertake the examining?

ISTD examiners will examine in the same way as for normal examinations, wherever the consortia has the facilities. So it will either be in the school or college if you are teaching there, or in your dance studio if the students come to you. Everything about the examination is the same, and the students will get the same report sheet and certificate.

Who are the consortia?

There are 63 consortia already approved for the Creative and Media Diploma, and more will be approved each year. Click here to download a PDF file with full details including contact names and email address of the consortia.

As the Diploma is so big and so new, many head teachers and school teachers in general may not have yet considered the details of teaching dance as additional or specialised learning, so it is important to contact them quickly to establish a link and talk about how you can help them and that you are the solution to their problems!

Consortia had to be approved by the Department for Children, Schools and Families against rigorous criteria, and so some did not reach their standard in the first year. Clearly many more will be applying in the future and the government will want full national coverage in time, but this is the reason why there may not yet be a consortia local to you.

What do I do next?

• Check there is a consortia in your area first by looking in DANCE EXTRA or visit www.dance-teachers.org

• Email or write to the contact person at the Consortia with full details about yourself and your school, including what level and genres you teach

• Register yourself on our new website so that the consortia can find an ISTD teacher to help them, even if there isn’t any consortia in your area yet

• Ensure you have an enhanced Criminal Record Bureau Disclosure so that you are cleared as safe to work with children. Contact Due Diligence Checking on 0845 6443298 if you need one as part of the ISTD scheme

How is the ISTD helping ISTD teachers?

• There is the new website www.dance-teachers.org. More details can be found on the opposite page

• The ISTD will be undertaking both direct marketing and advertising campaigns targeting the consortia, state schools, and Local Education Authorities to tell them about our qualifications and how they fit into the Diploma

• We will be engaging with the consortia directly at exhibitions and conferences

Are they are any potential drawbacks to the Diploma?

At this moment in time there are still a number of issues to be addressed as the Diploma has been launched very rapidly. Extra funding has been agreed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to cover additional costs including teaching, curriculum planning, resources and equipment and fees. It will enable schools to purchase provision which they cannot themselves directly provide from other schools, colleges or private providers in the area. This will help ensure that schools are prepared for the roll out from 2008. How individual consortia will pay for tuituion and at what rate, is something which has not yet been clarified.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families is starting an advertising campaign about the Diploma for students and parents and also an extensive training program for the consortia. So it may take a few months for awareness to be raised.

What if I am an ISTD teacher outside of England?

The ISTD is conscious that with many of our members outside England the Diploma will seem irrelevant at first glance. However, we will be actively looking to improve the promotion of all ISTD examinations and qualifications where we have members.

In the meantime please do register on www.dance-teachers.org as you will see this is a truly global service for all our members.

Where to find out more information about the Diploma

We will keep you informed but for further information you may find the following websites useful:

• The Department for Education and Science, now the Department for Children, Schools and Families www.dfes.gov.uk also their resource site which is www.teachernet.gov.uk

• Qualifications and Curriculum Authority www.qca.org.uk

• Skillset, the Diploma Development partnership which developed the Creative and Media Diploma with the help of Creative and Cultural Skills and representatives of industry. www.skillset.org