Review of Dance Qualifications
This article is divided into several sections below.
Message from the Chief Executive
Certificate in Dance Education Achievement Date
ISTD Extraordinary General Meeting Ballot
Reinstatement of the Associate & Student Teacher examinations for the Dance Sport Faculties within the European Union
Parliamentary Dance Committee
10 Minute Members Rule Bill
Dance UK and the Dance Manifesto
Message from the Chief Executive, Jon Singleton
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The ISTD has a long and distinguished history and one it should be truly proud of. During that time there will have been certain periods where change was necessary to progress the organisation forward. It is clear to me that we are now entering such a time again. I hope you will find this section helpful in drawing together the latest developments within the Society and those taking place elsewhere within the dance education sector. |
You will recall in our open letter to the membership published in the autumn issue of DANCE, Peter Kyle, the ISTD Chairman, and I indicated our desire to engage, consult and communicate with you at every level so that decisions made in the future are in the best interests of the Society as a whole and take full account of the wishes of all its stakeholders.
I believe this is already happening in light of the feedback I have personally received. More importantly, even at a time when some issues are contentious, it would appear that the opportunity to openly discuss matters is being appreciated. So we need more of that if we wish to ensure the communication is travelling in both directions. We can of course do that in print and online but speaking with the membership face to face is still the best form of interaction.
I have been delighted with the welcome I have received when attending various events in the UK since coming into post. More importantly I have felt members have been able to voice their concerns freely. We will be increasing our interaction with members throughout the world when opportunities arise in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand over the coming weeks and I hope there will be opportunities to meet members within the European Union later this year. Members throughout the UK will already be used to seeing me and members of the senior management team and their staff at various events.
Of course with a membership spread throughout the world it will invariably take some time for the Society to form closer ties if we are to be a truly global organisation. That means not only improving our communication and service to you all, but recognising that the Society has grown and that representation is needed if we are to truly understand the issues facing our members throughout the world and therefore become the inclusive organisation we need to be.
Certificate in Dance Education Achievement Date
At the end of January all ISTD members received a letter from myself regarding the requirement for members in the European Union (including UK) to have gained their Certificate in Dance Education by September 2007.
The letter noted that the ISTD Council recognised the difficulties some members have faced in trying to meet this deadline and where the ISTD may have contributed to these difficulties. The key points raised in the letter are repeated here for the purposes of reiterating the revision to the Council policy and for readers to consider in light of all the updates provided within this article;
Key Points:
• Council remain committed to the professional teaching qualifications and intend, in time, for these qualifications to be the standard for all our teachers throughout the world
• At the time of setting the original deadline date Council was led to believe that, as our graded and vocational examinations were gaining regulatory body accreditation, it would only be a matter of time before the UK government recognised the need to acknowledge the teachers delivering them
• The deadline imposed was intended, therefore, to ensure our teachers gained the accredited CDE in anticipation of a potential tightening of government regulations, particularly in light of child protection policies
• Whilst the ISTD believes that dance teaching will eventually be regulated by the UK government, this has not yet materialised and it would not be prudent at this time to attempt to predict when it could come into force. Nevertheless, based on the information and advice that is available at present, we can estimate what we believe to be the earliest point at which regulation could be introduced
• Council has therefore taken the decision to extend the August 2007 CDE achievement date for European Union (including UK) members until a target date of 31st December 2010
• This target date provides flexibility to react to changes within the sector and recognises the danger of imposing deadlines at a time when the sector, and those who advise and regulate it, has yet to agree an overarching policy with key dates
• Those of you who have already successfully achieved your CDE are best placed to benefit if regulation is introduced more swiftly than we currently anticipate and for this reason we strongly recommend all members within the European Union (including UK) achieve their CDE as quickly as possibleThe ISTD will continue to monitor developments within the sector and ensure the interests of our members are fully appreciated, not only by us as an organisation, but also by the regulatory authorities and key policy influencers
ISTD Extraordinary General Meeting
The ISTD held an EGM on Sunday 11th March 2007 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London. At this meeting the following member’s resolution was raised.
That members who are fully registered for in excess of five years and against whom there have been no complaints held by the Council to be justified are exempt from holding a Certificate in Dance Education.
The resolution was debated by those members present and at the request of the Chairman of the Society a poll was taken. Votes were cast by members in attendance and by proxy.
On Wednesday 14th March 2007 at 3.00pm at ISTD HQ the votes were counted under the scrutiny of the company auditors, haysmacintyre. With the votes recorded, the result was announced on the company website the following day and is reproduced below;
RESULT OF POLL
For the resolution: 200
Against the resolution: 113
The resolution was therefore passed
In light of the result the ISTD Council, in consultation with its advisors, will consider fully the implications of the resolution being passed, including what consequential changes are required to be made to the governing documents of the ISTD. Until this time, while the Chief Executive at ISTD HQ will endeavour to deal with your enquiries on this matter, please note that until the assessment has been completed, no specific advice will be possible.
The next meeting of the ISTD Council is on Thursday 14th June 2007. Further information on this matter will be made available to ISTD members as soon as this assessment has been completed.
Reinstatement of the Associate & Student Teacher examinations for the Dance Sport Faculties within the European Union
At the request of the Dance Sport Faculties Board the ISTD Council have sanctioned the reinstatement of the Associate and Student Teacher examinations within the European Union from 2nd April 2007.
This decision has no bearing on the decision on the target date for achieving CDE status of 31st December 2010.
Parliamentary Dance Committee
The first ever All Party Parliamentary Dance Group (APPDG) was established in 2006, chaired by Sir Gerald Kaufman MP, a member of the ISTD Grand Council. The group had it’s inaugural meeting in Autumn 2006. The purpose of the Group is to 'promote dance as an art form and as an important element of healthy living and the fight against obesity, and to promote its education and social benefits'.
With twenty MPs listed as members, and a further forty MPs and Peers who have expressed an interest in the Group's activities, the All Party Parliamentary Dance Group should help focus government attention on dance from within Westminster itself.
10 Minute Members Rule Bill
The efforts to raise the profile of dance in the UK Government took a major step forward on Wednesday 28th February 2007 when MP Meg Hillier, (Labour, Hackney South and Shoreditch in East London) presented a 10 Minute Rule Bill on Dance Teachers’ Qualifications and Regulation on the floor of the House of Commons, straight after Prime Minister’s Questions.
Meg Hillier, MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch
Meg Hillier is our local MP at ISTD HQ and a member of the new All Party Parliamentary Dance Group mentioned previously. The opportunity for a 10 Minute Rule Bill came about at short notice. In response, a small working group including the ISTD, CDET, Dance UK, The Foundation for Community Dance, NDTA and Youth Dance England came together to create a briefing paper outlining the key issues facing dance teachers today. This lead to a meeting with Meg Hillier prior to her presenting the Bill in the House.
The full version of the speech can be found on the Hansard website at: http://tinyurl.com/yrdb5b
Dance UK AND THE DANCE MANIFESTO
The profile of dance within government and Parliament is rising as the UK
dance sector work much more closely together than perhaps they have done in the past. To find out more about how you can contribute to the debate we would strongly recommend visiting the website of Dance UK. Not only is there more information about many of the issues discussed here and how you can get involved but you will also find lots of information we are sure will be of interest to ISTD members.
One particular area of interest is the Dance Manifesto. This was produced by the National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) and Dance UK, after a six month consultation process with the sector, and outlines the key aspirations of the dance industry to the UK Government.
Dance Manifesto entire delegation (L-R) Victoria Todd, Alistair Spalding, Jonzi D, Darcey Bussell, Arlene Phillips and Caroline Miller
To find out more, and pledge your support to the manifesto, go to www.danceuk.org
Another way you can contribute to the future of dance is to become involved with research within the dance science arena. In order to help members become involved in this way we plan to develop an area of the ISTD website where it will be possible for relevant questionnaires to be downloaded.
