17th September 2014
Have your say and respond to Ofqual’s consultation reviewing GCSE and A/AS Level Dance by September 22.
The Department of Education and Ofqual are in the final stages of their consultations about the new GCSE and A/AS Level Dance qualifications for teaching from September 2016. The review includes proposed changes to both the content and assessments.
Youth Dance England along with our partners, Dance UK and the National Dance Teachers Association (NDTA) is supportive of most of the proposed changes. However, there is one major issue:
Ofqual has proposed that the new GCSE examination, which was previously 80% practical exam and 20% final written exam is to change to 60% practical and 40% final written paper.
This proposed change in weighting shifts the balance of the qualification too far away from practical skills, undermining the essential nature of dance as a physical art form. It is likely to force teachers to spend a disproportionate amount of time in preparation for the written exam at the expense of developing the core practical skills on which the subject is based.
In response to this, YDE and the NDTA have suggested a compromise of 70%: 30% practical to written assessment. This is more appropriate for this practice-based subject.
To help you respond to the proposed reviews, we have attached a brief that has been put together by a number of organisations who are part of the Programme Board: Children and Young People’s Dance and represent the views of many in the wider dance education. Click here to download the briefing.
Respond to the proposed review by clicking here.
