The Department for Education has opened a Call for Evidence on Curriculum and Assessment in the education system in England. The Call for Evidence is a powerful moment for the dance sector to have its say on what works, what doesn’t and what can be improved - it closes on 22 November.
As the Subject Association for Dance in Schools and the National Support Organisation for dance, One Dance UK has formulated a thorough and robust evidence-based response that encompasses our key belief that high-quality dance education should be offered to all young people as part of a well balanced curriculum.
Some of the key issues we've raised throughout our response include:
- We acknowledge the dramatic decline in access to dance education over recent decades. We call for this Curriculum and Assessment Review to provide an opportunity reset the landscape for dance education and start to reverse the decline.
- A stable, consistent and high-quality dance curriculum must be available as an entitlement for all children and young people. We recognise that the current landscape is a 'postcode lottery' which must be addressed urgently.
- A quality dance curriculum, available at all levels of education, must allow pupils to make progress and create pathways into Higher Education and beyond. It is vital to support a healthy talent pipeline into the sector.
- Dance holds a special and unique position in the curriculum as both a physical activity and a creative art form. It provides vital life and employability skills as well as joy and fulfilment.
- We call for health and wellbeing to be a key focus area for the Independent Panel and for it be considered across all curriculum areas. Dance plays a strong role in supporting positive physical and mental wellbeing.
- We request that the Panel undertakes a deep-dive into the dance curriculum in the next phase of this review, supported by One Dance UK.
We encourage individuals and organisations across the dance ecology to submit their own responses to the Call for Evidence. While the submission form is very lengthy, it is important to note that not all sections need to be completed and it is completely acceptable to respond to key questions/sections only. Section 6, which focuses on a Broad and Balanced Curriculum, is likely to be of particular interest.
If you would like to view our full response, or discuss this, please email info@onedanceuk.org