When you want your child to learn dance or they have a passion to take it up, you want to be certain that the teaching they receive is of the highest quality. One of the ways to ensure this is to look at the qualifications of the teacher. Here in the UK, the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) is one of the top dance teacher programs and have just been judged as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
Who are the RAD?
The Royal Academy of Dance has been in existence for over 90 years and has the aim of inspiring, cultivating and supporting dance teachers here in the UK and around the world. Their Faculty of Education was set up 20 years ago to recognise the increasing commitment to higher and professional dance education.
Since it was founded in 1999, the faculty has trained over 4,500 dance teachers in both higher and professional programs. It offers a wide range of graduate and post-graduate programs that cover both dance and dance education. These are available in person but also through distance learning.
Why Ofsted was impressed
The job of Ofsted is to look at the quality of teacher education which then corresponds directly to the quality of teaching children and adults receive from these teachers. Ofsted carries out their assessment over four areas and the RAD was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all of them. They even highlighted a few things that were particularly impressive:
- The passion and vision of the education being provided
- The commitment to improvement and how the RAD program had developed over time as techniques and approaches have evolved
- The quality of training that ensures students are provided with knowledge and understanding to keep developing their own teaching skills
- That the RAD use external experts as well as staff to make certain students have the right skills to handle everyday teaching demands
In addition, they pointed out that the teaching received at the RAD ensures that the resulting dance classes are suitable for the needs of all pupils. This includes those with special education needs or disabilities as well as students for whom English isn’t their first language.
What this means for students
So, what does this all mean for students and for parents looking to choose a dance teacher? It means that any teacher displaying the RAD Registered Teacher logo on their website or paperwork has been trained to this high standard.
RAD teachers follow a carefully chosen syllabus that is aimed at being fun and safe, allowing students to make progress through various stages. There are also exams and assessments at intervals that look at areas such as creativity and musicality. These are great to motivate and reward students, regardless of age or ability.
Finally, RAD teaching is about more than just learning to dance. It is about building confidence and self-esteem, boosting self-motivation and learning crucial communication skills. It also has physical benefits, improving posture and strength. And all students have a better appreciation of music has taken the courses.