Over 700 such candidates entered our examinations in the last year, at all levels and with many different types of disabilities. Feedback from them shows that they were happy with their experience, the challenge it presented to them and gained satisfaction in their achievements.
JANNE KARKKAINEN, DIRECTOR OF EXAMINATIONS
Regulated Examinations
We achieved Government recognition in November 2000 and was further recognised to operate in the Qualifications and Credit Framework in 2010 (now the Regulated Qualifications Framework) by the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) in England. The Society is also recognised by Qualifications Wales, the Regulator in Wales, and the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), the Regulator for Northern Ireland, which recognises the Society and its qualifications in those countries.
Making sure that examinations run smoothly
Our Customer Services and Quality Assurance Department makes sure that our activities and examinations processes meet the criteria of the Regulators. They also monitor the work of teachers and examiners so that our learners and teachers can be assured of excellent service.
The Department checks and records every examination result worldwide, and issues them to teachers. It also now issues all examination certificates both for the UK and International examinations as part of a new extra secure system to prevent possible fraud.
Candidates with Disabilities
The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing is fully committed to promoting an environment where all individuals are encouraged to achieve their full potential and develop their skills in dance and in examinations and we encourage teachers to maintain an open approach towards the different talents and abilities offered by all their students.
The Equality Act 2010 requires all Awarding Organisations to make Reasonable Adjustments where a candidate, who is disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, would be at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to someone who is not disabled.
Reasonable Adjustments
A number of factors need to be taken into account when deciding whether an adjustment is ‘reasonable’;
- the needs of the disabled candidate
- the effectiveness of the adjustment
- the cost of the adjustment
- the likely impact of the adjustment on the candidate and other candidates.
The Imperial Society Teachers of Dancing reviews all applications for Reasonable Adjustments on a case-by-case basis and for each examination separately. Please contact our CSQA Department at the earliest opportunity and they will put you in touch with a specialist on our team who will be able to discuss your student’s particular needs and guide you through how we can best support their examination journey. It is important that you do this as early as possible in the student’s training for a specific examination so we can work together to ensure that any reasonable adjustments are properly approved in time to form part of the training leading up to the examination.
Applications for Reasonable Adjustments and the General Data Protection Regulations – September 2018.
In order to approve any Reasonable Adjustments, we will need to collect some information that is regarded as sensitive data under current GDPR Regulations.
This means that the teacher will need to seek the candidate’s signed consent (if they are over 16) to share their data with the ISTD to hold for as long as necessary including time for any potential appeal, and to convey it securely to the examiner. If the student is under 16 years old, the parent’s/carer’s signed consent will be necessary.
We will securely destroy the information when it is no longer required but may hold anonymised data to be aggregated for reports and analysis.