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Widening Participation within the Dance and Drama Awards

The Dance and Drama Awards provide high quality training for the most talented students wishing to undertake careers as performers and stage managers. They are allocated to the students who demonstrate the most potential to succeed in the profession. Data from the evaluation of the Awards suggests that the Awards have been particularly successful at enabling students from lower income backgrounds to study at a prestigious dance or drama provider, and that the numbers of students from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities and the numbers of disabled students receiving Awards have increased since 2003.

However numbers of BME and disabled students receiving Awards still remain relatively low overall and Dance and Drama students are still more likely to come from more socio-economically advantaged homes, compared with the national data for entrants to HE or on other programmes funded by the LSC. To try to address these concerns, the LSC, and the DfES before it, have supported a number of initiatives aimed at widening participation within the Dance and Drama Awards including:

Funding 'flexible provision' contracts with specialist providers;
Providing access funding to DaDA schools to support small widening participation projects;
Supporting an Access Marketing Officer post;
Providing tailored Disability Equality Training for all Awards providers
Publishing a disability guidance document for schools
Funding 2 disability access reviews of DaDA schools.

We now plan to build on this work to set a longer term policy direction to increase the numbers of currently under-represented students in the mainstream DaDA schools. To do this we will:

Merge the access funding and flexible provision funding to produce one larger budget for 'widening participation' activity, from 2007/08 onwards;
Set a clear objective for this work to widen the take-up of Dance and Drama Awards by currently under-represented groups
Invite tenders from organisations to develop and deliver a widening participation marketing strategy for the Awards.
Build on the work and recommendations within the latest disability access Review of DaDA Providers.

To find out more about any of these initiatives please download the publications below or contact dada@lsc.gov.uk

Publications

Microsoft Word file Disability and the Dance and Drama Awards by ADA Inc

PDF file The new Marketing Strategy Tender

PDF file The DaDA schools Widening Participation tender

PDF file The Disability Access Review Report of the Dance and Drama providers

Guidance on Disability Access

The recent research into disability and the Dance and Drama Awards (DaDA) showed that only 1.5% of students at schools involved regarded themselves as disabled people. All were dyslexic.

The LSC wishes to increase both the percentage of disabled people studying within the schools and the breadth of impairments represented. This will not be quick to achieve as research identified a number of both internal and external barriers. The research also showed that, in order to move forward, participating schools need easy access to a range of information, contacts and advice.

The Guidance on Disability Access therefore aims to give DaDA providers such information. It has been specifically created for the providers of the Awards and is not intended as a general guide to access for disabled students to dance and drama, although there will be some information which is useful to other providers of dance and drama training.

The Guidance on Disability Access is available to download by chapter in both PDF and word formats here and on our publications page. The information contained in the chapters is detailed below.

Introduction:
Explains why this guide has been created, giving some of the background to the rise of the inclusion agenda and explores the different ways of looking at disability - the medical and the social model. It shows DaDA providers some of the different routes that can be used to make and control change in this area including Disability Equality Training, Access Audits and action plans.

PDF file Guidance on Disability Access - Introduction

The Basics
Gives information on the Disability Discrimination Act, statistics and definitions around disability. It ends with suggestions for disability etiquette and language.

PDF file Guidance on Disability Access - The Basics

Access to your Training
Looks at creating access to selection and audition procedures and teaching, including information on how to work with facilitators and managing health and safety concerns. It also includes suggestions about how best to support disabled students towards a career and how to make your own performance accessible for students, staff and other audience members.

Reaching Disabled People
Provides guidance on how to reach out to people to ensure that they know about your school, and on how to make standard print materials and websites more accessible. It also includes information on producing materials in alternative formats.

PDF file Guidance on Disability Access - Reaching Disabled People

Physical Access
Looks at physical access provisions and access audits. It lists contacts and resources that might be useful for DaDA providers looking to undertake physical renovation.

PDF file Guidance on Disability Access - Physical Access

Employment
Provides guidance on how to ensure that the employment practices comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act legislation.

PDF file Guidance on Disability Access - Employment

Support, resources and contacts
Comprehensive listings of books, videos and courses that might be of use to people working in dance, drama and stage management/technical theatre which addresses issues of access inclusion and disability. There are also contact details for companies who employ disabled performers, Disability Arts organisations, other training providers who work specifically with disabled people and disability organisations.

Addendum: Please note updated contact details for the Green Candle Dance Company with apologies for the error in the original publication.

PDF file Guidance on Disability Access - Support, resources and contacts

Appendices
One: a glossary of frequently used terms.
Two: a checklist to help DaDA providers develop their own Disability Action Plan.
Three: specific information and guidance on working with people with visual impairments, hearing impairments and mental health needs.

PDF file Guidance on Disability Access - Appendices