PGCE: Dance Teaching (with Qualified Teacher Status)
If you want to teach dance in UK secondary education, then our full-time Postgraduate Certificate in Education: Dance Teaching programme is for you. It provides the opportunity to acquire the expertise to become a dance specialist teacher for the 11-19 curriculum, and UK government recognition as a teacher.
Delivery
The programme leads to two awards: Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) awarded by the RAD as an Initial Teacher Training Accredited Provider and the Postgraduate Certificate in Education: Dance Teaching, validated by the University of Bath.
Since this programme was launched in 2003, we have had consistently high employment rates and some of our former trainees are now working in our partnership schools and colleges in London and the surrounding counties and have gone on to take our own MA in Education (Dance Teaching).
The programme comprises of a minimum of 12 weeks on site at the RAD in London and 24 weeks in professional placements within schools or colleges.
Modules located at RAD headquarters are delivered through taught sessions including practical sessions, lectures and seminars as well as group and individual tutorials. Whilst on placement in schools and colleges our students work with School-based Tutors, who are dance specialists able to provide support for planning, teaching and self-reflection.
The Department for Education provides guidance on what is expected of teachers, especially in relation to candidates with disabilities.
Programme content
There are three interrelated areas of study across the year:
- Dance Studies
- Professional Studies
- School Experience and Teaching
Partnership schools
Our Partnership Schools and Colleges are based in London and the home counties. These provide diverse cultural environments for school experience and teaching placements. The status of many Partnership Schools and Colleges is recognised through Arts Mark, Beacon Status, Specialist Status and Performing Arts Mark.
Entry requirements
Applicants must hold:
- an undergraduate degree (with a minimum classification of 2.1) in dance or a related subject with a substantial dance component.
- a standard equivalent to a grade 4 in the GCSE examinations in English and Mathematics
- obtain satisfactory enhanced DBS, post application.
Students who do not have English as a first language
If your first language is not English and you are applying for a programme where an English Language Proficiency test is required, you must achieve one of the following qualifications:
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS): band 7.0 overall, with a minimum of 6.5 in each of the subtests. The IELTS test must have been taken no earlier than two years before the date of the start of the programme
- Some other school leaving or matriculation certificates contain a compulsory examination in English and these may be taken as equivalent.
- If you have another recently achieved English language qualification, please check with our Registry department faculty@rad.org.uk to see if it is acceptable.
Award
The programme leads to two awards: Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and the Postgraduate Certificate in Education: Dance Teaching (PGCE: DT). Graduates from this programme may be eligible for registration as a dance teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance.
Further study and career development
Following a period of teaching experience, graduates may apply for the Master of Arts in Education (Dance Teaching).
How to apply
Programme Content
Dance Studies
During the programme you will extend your knowledge of dance as a subject in secondary education and study a selection of dance specifications, courses and curricula.
Professional Studies
In preparation for teaching, you will be introduced to education theories and pedagogies and study the professional standards and requirements for all teachers working in the UK state sector. In order to gain Qualified Teacher Status, you will be required to demonstrate achievement of all the Teachers’ Standards legislated by the UK government.
School Experience and Teaching
The third strand of the programme takes place in our Partnership Schools and Colleges in the form of two different School Experience and Teaching placements.
Three modules take place at RAD headquarters and focus on developing dance subject knowledge and pedagogical understanding. You will have the opportunity to work with the Faculty of Education’s highly-qualified teaching staff, study alongside other students and benefit from the RAD’s specialist dance facilities.
The other module takes place in our Partnership Schools and Colleges at two different School Experience and Teaching placements. You will take on different roles and responsibilities, undertaking carefully supervised teaching and becoming integrated into the life of the department and the school or college.