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Dance and DramaAwards

March 2007Of interest to Dance and Drama Awards Providers

A report on the DisabilityAccess Review

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Contents paragraph number

Executive Summary 1

Background 1

Findings 5

Recommendations 8

Introduction 9

Context 13

The D&DA Awards 13

Disability 16

CEDAR final report 30

Disability Access review of providers 33

Process 33

Summary of findings from providers 37

Ethos 43

Marketing 62

Recruitment 77

Courses 97

Assessment 111

Student support 120

Staff support, training and development 135

Physical access 145

Quality and monitoring 153

Issues and recommendations 159

Coming forward 160

In or out? 164

Leading the field 169

Employability 173

Support for schools 175

Assessment and monitoring of inclusivity 182

Supporting disabled students 184

Widening participation 186

Progression for providers 188

Appendix 1

Headlines from the CEDAR final D&DA evaluationreport, highlighting some of the positive features ofthe initial flexible provision projects.

Background

1Since the development of the Dance and DramaAwards in 1999, there has been a need to ensure thescheme is ‘responsive to other key social objectivesrelated to widening participation and raisingaspiration’1.

2In relation to disability, research in 2002/3 found thatinclusive practices varied widely from provider toprovider. This report is the culmination of thedisability access review of providers, which took placefrom April – July 2006, looking at where practice hasdeveloped since that point.

3This report has been produced by ADA inc for the LSC.It is supported by a second report formed ofconfidential reports on each school, describing theircurrent position on inclusive practice.

4Providers were assessed on the following areas: Ethos,Marketing, Recruitment, Course Content, andteaching, Assessment, Student Support, TeacherSupport, Staff Training and Development, Quality andmonitoring, Making changes and Physical Access. Intotal, 20 providers were assessed.

Findings

5Overall, both the attitude towards the concept of theinclusion of disabled people and the practice withinthe schools has significantly improved although thereare still a small number of providers who are lessenthusiastic about inclusion.

6In some areas, improvements have been lesspronounced, for example, in marketing; and there is awide disparity in relation to monitoring andquantifying inclusion with many schools having notdeveloped action plans or other written approaches.Poor physical access remains a barrier at manyschools, although some schools have worked hard toimprove this.

7The reported range of disabled people present withinthe schools is widening, although a high percentage ofthis is through improving monitoring systems ratherthan attracting new disabled people to the scheme.On the whole, those with less visible impairmentsappear to be able to be easily incorporated into theteaching practices within the schools. Those withmore visible impairments, more significant learningneeds and greater physical access requirements arestill excluded.

Executive Summary

Dance and Drama Awards

1 CEDAR final evaluation report to LSC, August 2006

Recommendations

8The following summarises the main issues found andthe twelve recommendations made within the report:

• The schools are part of a process that begins muchearlier with pre-vocational training and experiences,therefore the LSC needs to encourage D&DA schoolsto work with other providers to ensure a raft ofprovision for talented disabled individuals;

• The LSC is clear that its priority has to bedeveloping the providers and their practice, which isunderstandable given their budgetary constraints.D&DA is a small bespoke scheme and while the LSCis seeking to widen participation tounderrepresented groups it can not solve all theproblems of access in the performing arts training.This means there are still a wide range of talenteddisabled people who could come forward but whowould not be able to access training within theschools and so there is a question of ownershiparound the responsibility for high quality training fordisabled people in the performing arts that needs tobe asked;

• It is reassuring that schools are developing andowning their own disability-specific programmes,although some may need support to fully see thepotential and opportunities that their projects couldhave. To avoid LSC funding access and diversityprojects that are not fully formed or developed, orthat do not build on best practice, successful projectsfrom 07/08 should have access to experiencedpeople, sourced through relevant companies andbodies, to provide support and development;

• The Disability Discrimination Act has a new elementadded from December 2006, the Public Duty to domore than simply not discriminate. The LSC willneed to show that it is proactively promoting theequality of disabled people. The LSC should use theirD&DA widening participation strategy to supportdelivery of their Disability Equality Scheme andpublicises the considerable steps it has taken to widenaccess;

• The Public Duty aspect of the DDA rightly placesconsiderable emphasis on consultation with disabledpeople. With this in mind, the funding proposals thatfocus on disability from schools should be assessed bya pool including a larger number of disabled peoplethan is currently the case;

• To date, within D&DA, there has been noprogrammes looking specifically at the access issuesraised by musical theatre and classical dance. TheLSC should prioritise widening participationprogrammes that look at areas which have not yetbeen explored through the flexible provision optionsto date;

• The principle from the initial access review ofdeveloping a ‘supportive, not punitive, approach todeveloping the accessibility of the schools’ has paiddividends and is still recommended, although someschools are not yet making best use of the resourcesavailable to them. The LSC should remind all schoolsof the resources already available to them, and re-supply materials where this is available. The LSC mightalso consider making further disability equalitytraining a required step for the schools whose practiceis less developed in this regard;

• There are a number of schools that have developedareas of expertise that should be shared. Equally,most schools would benefit from the opportunity todiscuss specific situations with their peers andreflect on different approaches. The LSC shouldcontinue to create opportunities for all schools toshare practice and expertise, peer to peer, aroundinclusive practice;

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• LSC is to introduce Equality and Diversity ImpactMeasures (EDIMs) in 2007/08 for all providers.Disability access is not, and should not become, a‘numbers game’, therefore it is recommended thatLSC ensure that the EDIMs measure quality and notonly quantity;

• Disabled students currently at the schools are avaluable resource. The marketing strategy shouldinclude the ability to capture a small number oftestimonials from disabled students, which can thenbe used to publicise the scheme’s commitment toaccess and inclusion;

• To ensure equity within the D&DA, the LSC shouldensure a balance of spend from the wideningparticipation funds across initiatives targetingdisabled students, students from a black or minorityethnic background and students from low socio-economic backgrounds.

From the access review it is possible to draw upminimum criteria for each category, and to describeschools, in relation to their inclusive practice, asexemplary, experienced or emerging. Individualproviders can then be encouraged to aim, within athree-year period, to move into the category above.Those working at an exemplary level could be used toshare their practice in this regard with other schools.It is suggested that the LSC consider the creation ofsuch a set of standards to ensure that all providers arepro-actively working to ensure equality of opportunityfor all those who are appropriately talented regardlessof ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability.


9This report has been produced by ADA inc for the LSC.ADA inc is a consultancy service run by Jo Verrent, adisabled trainer and consultant working in the artsand cultural sector. ADA inc undertook the initialresearch into Disability and the D&DA, including theoriginal review of disability access in the Dance andDrama Awards.

10This report, documenting the research process and asummary of results, is for open circulation aroundthose involved in the D&DA and associated sectors. Itis supported by a second report comprisingconfidential reports on each school, describing theircurrent position on inclusive practice, as found at thesite visits and documented within their relevantinformation. These are not for open circulation, buthave been shared with each individual school forfactual checking. These are held by the LSC inconfidence.

11This report includes five sections. Section one is theexecutive summary, highlighting the key findings andrecommendations. Section two is the introduction,explaining the report and where specific informationcan be found. In section three, the context for thereport is briefly laid out and information on theprocess used to assess schools can be found in sectionfour. This section also contains a summary of findingsfrom the schools, and itemised findings for each ofthe areas assessed (ethos, marketing, recruitmentpractice, course content and teaching, assessment,student support, teacher support, staff training anddevelopment, quality and monitoring, makingchanges, physical access). The final section, sectionfive, highlights the issues raised and therecommendations arising from this research.

12All attempts have been made to keep this reportshort and succinct. Further information can be gainedfrom the original Disability and the D&DA researchreport and the Guidance on Disability Accessproduced by ADA inc for D&DA, and from CEDAR’sreports, papers and appendices, available from LSC.

Introduction

5

The Dance and Drama Awards

13The LSC Dance and Drama Awards are ‘offered toexceptionally talented performers and stage managersas a capped scholarship scheme (the D&DA scheme),which provides access to the highest quality post-16vocational training. In addition to the payment offees, the Awards also provide income assessed supporttowards living costs, tuition fees and child-care costs.In essence, the scheme uses public money to purchasetraining places in the independent vocational trainingmarket in the performing arts of dance, musicaltheatre, drama and stage management’2.

14The scheme was introduced in 1999 ‘to support thecontinued growth and development of the dance anddrama sectors by ensuring that the most talentedstudents have access to high quality training whichwill prepare them for productive careers in theperforming arts’.

15Government support for the awards, initially managedby the DfES, and now by the LSC also serves to ensurethe scheme is ‘responsive to other key socialobjectives related to widening participation andraising aspiration’3.

Disability

16Centre for Education Development Appraisal andResearch (CEDAR) at the University of Warwick havebeen engaged in an extended evaluation of theawards since January 2000. In the research leading tothe initial three year evaluation report it was foundthat the self reporting statistics on disability werevery low (1.5%), and that dyslexia was the only statedimpairment in the questionnaire survey reports forthe second year students from the 2000 cohort(sample taken in 2002).

17ADA inc was at that point commissioned to undertakean initial research project to identify options ‘forsecuring effective and appropriate opportunities forstudents with disabilities to take part in the existingD&DA scheme arrangements and to inform the DfESabout how such options might be implemented’. Thiswas undertaken between November 2002 and April2003.

18This initial research involved discussions with disabledperformers about their training experiences andpreferences, with disability-specific companies andmainstream arts companies and bodies about optionsfor employment in the industry for disabledperformers and stage managers and visits anddiscussions with providers about their levels ofengagement with disabled students and the potentialfor increasing the numbers of disabled students withinthe D&DA awards.

Context


2 CEDAR final evaluation report to LSC, August 20063 CEDAR final evaluation report to LSC, August 2006

19This report concluded by stating the need to supportseven priorities:

• The development of a supportive, not punitive,approach to developing the accessibility of theschools;

• Support for the development of partnershipsbetween the schools and disability-specificcompanies/organisations;

• Extended opportunities to develop technical danceskills in talented disabled dancers prior toauditioning for schools;

• Alternative training provision for learning disabledartists and separatist training options for somedisabled people with other impairments;

• To stimulate interest and confidence in disabledpeople to encourage them to audition;

• The need to inspire disabled people to see theperforming arts as a potential career, and non-disabled people to see the potential of disabledperformers.

20Following this initial report, the DfES funded thecreation of two bespoke elements – a guidancepublication on access and dance and drama trainingand a disability equality training day for D&DAproviders, which was delivered at each school via ateam of disabled trainers all of whom have directperformance experience4.

21An opportunity was also created for disability-specificcompanies to tender to deliver training opportunitiesfor those students unable to yet study at the schools(primarily due to the inaccessibility of the schools andtheir teaching methodologies). Four projects weregranted funding, one of which – plans for an auditionpreparation week for disabled people – was unable togo ahead due to staff changes within the organisationcommissioned to lead the programme.

22The remaining three projects form the current flexibleprovision options: Graeae’s Missing Piece programme(a one year full time drama training course forphysically and sensory impaired people), Mind theGap’s Staging Change (a one year part time dramacourse for learning disabled people) and CandoCo’sFoundation course (a one year full time dance coursefor all disabled people). For further information onthese, please contact the companies directly – Graeae(www.graeae.org), Mind the Gap (www.mind-the-gap.org.uk), CandoCo (www.candoco.co.uk).

23Staging Change and the Foundation course enter theirthird and final year5 in their current format inSeptember 2006; Missing Piece is not running in2006-7, instead a different programme of outreachand training is being developed by Graeae, calledScene Change. Of the flexible provision options, theCEDAR final evaluation report commented: “This workis of international significance and represents thecommitment of the scheme to creating a moreequitable and representative cohort of performersthrough its investment in the training market.”

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4 Liz Carr (actor/comic), Alisa Fairley (actor), Rob Lee (actor), Jo Verrent (actor/stage manager).5 The schemes were developed as pilots to trial new approaches to addressing inequality within the scheme. From 07/08, LSC will be funded

programmes on inclusion and widening participation developed by the schools in partnership with specialist companies.

24A number of schools are involved in the delivery ofthe above projects – for example, Staging Changeincludes residencies at, and with staff, from OxfordSchool of Drama, Mountview, Guildford and ALRA.

25In addition the Access Funds, available to all schools,have been more tightly targeted to support school-based initiatives reaching under presented groups(including disabled people). In 2005-6, these included:

• ALRA: Deaf Performers Acting Skills Course: To runperformance skills for deaf actors and acting skillsworkshops for young people from diversebackgrounds;

• Stella Mann: One week summer course (up to 50students): Offering full training and accommodationbursaries to hearing impaired students (minimum10) with a freelance deaf specialist.

26The majority of access fund projects target boys,people from low-income families and those who areBME rather than disabled people. Reaching andworking with disabled people is still seen by manyproviders as being more problematic.

27The LSC also funded a marketing post to help reachall the under represented groups, based at CDET andNCDT. This, with considerable work from theproviders, led CEDAR to remark that there has been“improved marketing and communication to potentialstudents and targeted approaches to under representedgroups, which is beginning to have an effect on theprofile of the cohort in training.” Improvements inmarketing to disabled audiences were not objectivelytested.

28CEDAR conclude that: ‘The numbers of students withlong term illness or disability remains low overall.’Statistics from providers show that overall, 7.8% ofthe dance students claimed a long-term illness ordisability… 6.5% of the other [NCDT] studentsclaimed to have some form of long term illness ordisability6. Compared to the original percentage ofdisabled students within the D&DA awards – 1.5% -this is a significant increase. Compared to thepercentage of disabled people within the populationas a whole – 15-20% - is it less so.

29Accounting for disability statistically is problematic.There are questions of definition, of identification, ofdisclosure. The majority of disabled people havehidden impairments and so it cannot be done bysimply looking at disabled people and counting them.Some impairments, in particular those around mentalhealth and learning needs, still carry stigma in theminds of many people. Also, there is still a culture ofrepression around disability. Disabled people are oftenencouraged to ‘hide’ their impairment in order to fit inor ‘pass’ as non-disabled. Peer pressure, pressure fromparents and carers and also, in some quarters, fromthe medical profession itself is evident. With this inmind it is important not to make statisticalmeasurements the only way of assessing the numbersof disabled people within D&DA.


6 However, a significantly greater proportion of the stage management students (10.5%) reported this compared with 5.3% of acting/musicaltheatre students.

CEDAR final report

30A number of the recommendations made by CEDARrelate directly or indirectly to disability and D&DA. Forexample, CEDAR call for ‘a review of the sector whichanalyses the current provision of providers and coursesand future industry needs in terms of ensuring equityand excellence of provision for all those who areappropriately talented.’ This clearly would haveimportant ramifications for disabled performers –where are they currently being trained? Is there aproven market demand?

31CEDAR also concludes that there is a need forintervention at the pre-vocational stage in order toensure that a more representative pool ofexceptionally talented performers access the highestlevels of training. This was one of the key findings ofthe initial disability report by ADA inc. CEDAR calls fora comprehensive and coherent ‘talent ladder’ whichclearly maps out the diverse and differentiated stepsto advanced training in the performing arts whichwould identify potential and support the pre-vocational training needed to access the Awards. DfESare developing the identification of a Talent Ladder aspart of their Gifted and Talented Team. Arepresentative of this team sits on the D&DA steeringgroup.

32CEDAR commented that the providers are generallysupportive and pro-active in engaging with issues ofunder-representation and widening participation butthat they also remain ‘realistic’ about the extent towhich their actions can be effective unless they areactively supported in both the pre-vocational sectorand in the labour market for the performing arts.Employability is still an issue. CEDAR draws parallelswith the equity survey that compares the length oftime worked in the industry of various members,which shows disabled members work less than thosewho are non-disabled. It is important to rememberthat, to date, performing arts training has been hardto access for many disabled performers and so thestatistics might instead be read to suggest thedifferences in employability between trained anduntrained performers rather than between disabledand non-disabled ones.

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Process

33The disability access review took place from April –July 2006. Providers could not be visited earlier in theyear as it was necessary for the provider review to becompleted first. Efforts were taken to ensure the visitswere as ‘light touch’ as possible, with materials beinggained from the provider review, prospectuses andwebsites where possible, rather than from theproviders themselves. At the visits, providers wereencouraged to use the opportunity to ask questionsand find out information they needed to furtherimprove their practice.

34Providers were assessed on the following areas:

• Ethos- promoting inclusivity (does the school seeitself as inclusive? is this carried into other areassuch as recruitment? Have they links with disability-specific organisations?)

• Marketing - welcoming and accessible (websites,prospectuses, other events, other publicationsand/or resources)

• Recruitment Practice - practice and procedure(getting information, outreach/specialist provideroptions, asking about/discussing access needs,meeting needs at interview/audition etc)

• Course Content, and teaching - flexible andinclusive (teaching styles, forms, texts andtechniques etc)

• Assessment - examinations and assessments (isthere a system to look at possible adjustments fordisabled students?, is it reviewed regularly?, arestatistics kept on examination/assessment marks ofdisabled students for comparison with non disabledstudent, adjustments to assessments, otherpossibilities)

• Student Support - supporting students (aredisabled students encouraged and supported?, dothey get to give feedback? how are students madeaware of diversity issues?)

• Teacher Support - supporting teachers (areteachers supported and encouraged? Do they haveaccess to advice, information, human and financialresources?)

• Staff Training and Development (are staffsupported and trained effectively?, is this all staff?,is their performance around disability/accessmonitored?)

• Quality and monitoring taking stock (how doesthe school assess its accessibility?)

• Making changes (how does the school continuallymonitor plans and improvements?)

• Physical Access what is the present levels ofphysical access and what is being considered? (Isthere level/ramped access, toilet facilities, parking,lighting and signage? Any plans for new builds?What are they systems for building management?Any alternative options? How well publicised isaccess?

35In total, 20 providers were assessed. As it was notknown if Drama Studios London were to enter thescheme or not, they were not assessed but wereoffered a consultative visit. The visits were undertakenby two consultants from ADA inc – Jo Verrent andSarah Pickthall.

36Individual reports were compiled for each provider.These form confidential appendices to this report andare not for general distribution. Each report has beenseen by its provider and they have had a chance tocomment on the report and correct any factualinaccuracies.

Disability Access review of providers


Summary of findings from providers

37The attitude towards the concept of the inclusion ofdisabled people has significantly improved in themajority of providers since the initial access review in2003. Senior staff appear aware of their legalobligations and many are enthusiastic about theoptions opening up for them in this field. The practiceon the ground has also improved, with most teachingstaff able to evidence making adaptations andadjustments at an individual level to support students.There are a small number of providers who are lessenthusiastic about inclusion and who find it harder tosee the relevance of the issue to their practice or theimportance of their involvement as a part of a chainof provision.

38Surprisingly the improvements in marketing are poor,as contrasted with CEDAR’s more positive findings inrelation to marketing as a whole. Few providers ensurethat their websites and printed materials conform toclear print guidelines, include welcoming andinformative sections on access and inclusion andinformation about alternative format options formaterials. There are some notable exceptions, and asmall number of schools are making considerableprogress in this respect, from which the other schoolscould learn.

39There is a wide disparity in relation to systematicapproaches to inclusion. Some schools have clearaction plans, annual target setting or have introducedquality assurance processes relating to inclusion.Others have no strategy in place to move forward,and are responding reactively. It is worthremembering that the Disability Discrimination Act isanticipatory – providers of services are expected toanticipate the inclusion of disabled people and notonly respond to individual requests. A small number ofstaff at schools are still using outmoded terminologythat could cause offence and gives a dated andunwelcoming impression.

40Poor physical access remains a barrier at manyschools, although this is no longer being used as anexcuse to avoid improvements in other areas. Someschools have worked hard to improve access, for thebenefit of all students and staff, understanding thatphysical access includes lighting, heating, seating andambience and not just ramps. Access as a whole ismore dependant on attitude and approach thanphysical access, which is only ever a small part of thecomplete picture.

41The reported range of disabled people present withinthe schools is widening, although a high percentage ofthis is through improving monitoring systems ratherthan attracting new disabled people to the scheme.The most commonly reported impairments are stilldyslexia and other related learning needs7. Mentalhealth is also often reported – in particular, anorexia,bulimia, depression and self harming. There are also anumber of students within the schools with hearingimpairments, visual impairments, hidden impairments(including asthma, epilepsy, cancer, allergies and soon). A small number of people with physicalimpairments are also present.

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7 This does not include people with learning disabilities such as Downs syndrome, William’s syndrome and so on.

42On the whole, those with less visible impairmentsappear to be able to be easily incorporated intothe teaching practices within the schools. Thosewith more visible impairments, more significantlearning needs and greater physical accessrequirements are still excluded. The reasons forthis are complex and as much to do with access toprevocational opportunities, employability, thenature of the industry as a whole and the way theart forms are assessed as they are to do with theschools, their selection criteria andteaching/assessment methodologies.

Ethos - promoting inclusivity

43The first area assessed was ethos – do the providerssee themselves as inclusive? Are they open toincreasing the numbers and range of disabled peoplethey are working with?

44The disability assessment team were looking for arange of indicators:

• mentions of inclusion and accessible practice withinpublicity and marketing materials;

• links with disability-specific organisations and theflexible provision programmes being run throughD&DA;

• positive policies and statements around access andinclusion, and evidence of putting such policies intopractice;

• inclusion and access evident within long termplanning processes.

45Many of the providers were beginning to embrace thechallenge of becoming more inclusive. All providershad formal equal opportunities policies that rangedfrom a single page to more developed documents ofup to 7 pages. Over half the schools also had aseparate document, variously called a disabilitystatement, disability etiquette information, disabilitymanagement statement and so forth. Thesedocuments stated in more detail the specificintensions of the institutions and support they couldprovide.

46Some policy statements spoke positively of thebenefits of engaging in diversity work, rather than justthe challenges:

‘ALRA is committed to creating a safe, supportive andstimulating learning and working environment based onmutual respect and trust. ALRA celebrates and valuesdiversity within its community of staff and students,promotes equality of opportunity and strives tochallenge and eliminate unlawful discrimination.’

47It is essential, if the numbers of disabled students areto rise within the D&DA, that providers present aninclusive image. Disabled students considering acareer in the performing arts may not be coming froma point of confidence and self belief, they need to beable to recognise the existence of a supportive ethoswithin the publicity materials produced by providersin order to develop the confidence to apply. Thewording used by providers is crucial to developing thisimage.


48It is understood that many disabled people do notidentify with the term ‘disabled’, some providers havechosen to list a number of impairments in order toillustrate their inclusive stance, and be morewelcoming:

‘The Hammond School welcomes students with a rangeof disabilities such as asthma, diabetes, specific learningdisabilities and hearing/sight loss, speech impedimentsetc providing that the student has the ability tosuccessfully complete the demands of the course. Wewill do all we can to support and make provisions forsuch students.’

‘The school welcomes applications from students withphysical disabilities, learning difficulties and sensoryimpairments. Various forms of disability and healthconditions can be accommodated within the currententry requirements... Elmhurst is committed to theprinciple of equal access by all its students to theservice it provides and facilities it offers.’

49Other providers do not list impairments, but insteadproactively state the importance of including disabledstudents for the students and the institution as awhole:

Mountview acknowledges that the talents, skills andother resources of people with disabilities are asunique and valuable as those of other people…Mountview recognises that there is demonstrabledemand from employers, prospective students,audiences and others to make all features of itsprovision available to people with disabilities.’

Northern Ballet School has a ‘particular emphasis onattracting applicants with disabilities which are notincompatible with their safe and effective training’.

50A small number of the providers were engaged indirect initiatives to develop inclusive practices withintheir institutions. The three flexible provision schemesare providing some schools with this option8, althoughas two of the three courses are drama based, and thethird is rooted in contemporary dance it is notsurprising that drama schools are delivering on this toa greater extent than the dance schools.

51The Arts Educational School (London), in particular,has to be commended for engaging with all threeflexible provision schemes and also meeting with anumber of other disability-specific companies andtraining providers such as Extant Theatre Company9

and the Orpheus Centre10.

52Involvement with the flexible provision schemes canenable providers to gain practical skills in inclusiveteaching and increase both the appetite for the workand the skills to deliver it. For example, when workingwith Mind the Gap, Mountview insisted that all headsof department became involved and taught a session.This enabled senior staff to overcome their initial‘fear’ and experience the process firsthand. As a result,all staff are increasingly committed to the work andto the notion of inclusive practice. A similar situationhas developed at ALRA through their relationship withGraeae’s Missing Piece training course.

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8 Mind the Gap have been working with GSA, Mountview, Oxford and Arts Educational School (London); Cando Co have been working with ArtsEducational School (London); Graeae have been working with Arts Ed and ALRA.

9 Extant Theatre Company is the UK’s first company run by blind and visually impaired performers working to create an aesthetic inclusive of theirspecific abilities and requirements. www.extant.org.uk

10 The Orpheus Centre is a residential training centre for disabled people offering a year long immersion in the performing arts alongside thedevelopment of independent living skills. www.orpheus.org.uk

53Some providers are developing their own partnershipprogrammes to demonstrate their inclusiveapproaches and aid their learning, for example:

• Stella Mann are planning a deaf summer school inthe summer of 2006;

• Oxford has involved a local experienced dance andinclusion practitioner Celia McFarlane and disableddancers she has contact with to assess their accessin relation to their dance provision;

• GSA is planning a disability symposia in September2006 and hopes to make contact with organisationssuch as StopGap Dance Company and the DorothyMiles Cultural Centre;

• Urdang has been working with The CripplegateFoundation, Green Candle Dance Company and theeducation department at Sadlers Wells;

• Bird had further contact with their disabilityequality training trainer (Rob Lee) and also involveda blind professional, Michael Spooner.

54ALRA has been developing a Saturday programme fordeaf performers in partnership with Paula Garfield, theartistic director of Deafinately Theatre. ALRA’s Head ofActing articulated a desire to take this work forwardwith the school through an integrated course over alonger period of time, subject to resources. This showsa marked departure from a few years previously whenthe school felt they were unable to meet the needs ofstudents who were deaf or very hard of hearing.

55The above positivity is countered by some providersusing less encouraging language and phrasing withinpolicies, statements and publicity. Statements such as

‘…in respect of disabled persons, XXXX will endeavourto provide for equality of opportunity wherever aperson’s disability is not an absolute disqualification.’

‘The College accepts disabled students but this dependson their level of disability. Each case is consideredindividually and the candidates’ capabilities, needs andaccess requirements have to be carefully considered.’

‘…certain kinds of psychological imbalance or fragilityof mental health may make a student unsuitable fortraining.’

56The above do not contain anything that is overtlyuntrue, but the wording implies negativity. A studentwho does not have the required talent or skill, or issimply not ready, will not make it through theapplication and audition process, there is little need tode-motivate disabled students from applying at thisearly stage.

57One can contrast the impression created by wordingand its indication of the ethos that underlines it, byexamining the statements for English National Ballet:

Previously, English National Ballet stated it would be:

‘unlikely to receive an application for training from aphysically disabled person, however in the event that anapplication is received, the staff will make every effortto ensure that the applicant is directed towards arecognised organisation that will assist them in theirchosen interests.’


A recent change of Principal has led to policies andkey statements being revisited. The school now states:

‘The school strives to be as inclusive as possible andwelcomes students with different abilities andadditional needs offering extra support wherenecessary.’

58Some providers do not recognise their owncommitment to inclusion, still assuming that‘disability access’ means only access for wheelchairusers and those with physical impairments. Forexample, senior staff at Cambridge felt that theirpractice could not be seen as inclusive due to theirlack of fully accessible facilities, something that theyare seeking to address. Their policy states that they:

‘endeavour to make premises accessible for allmembers of the community. This will only be fullyachieved after current building plans are realised.’

59However, the school has developed extremely goodlinks with voluntary organisations and supportnetworks in Cambridge working with young peoplewith drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorder andmental health issues. The school has a healthyfunding relationship with a charity supportingdisabled children in the arts that it draws upon tofund equipment, adapted footwear and extraosteopathy for those students who are less financiallyable to cover these costs. These evidence that theprovider has a supportive and inclusive ethos,irrespective of the limitations of its current physicalaccess.

60It is still difficult to assess the impact of any of theabove on the numbers of disabled people presentwithin the schools due to the variations in statisticskept by each school. Some schools only keep statisticsbased on monitoring forms presented at audition(when only a small number of students are likely toself declare). Others update these throughout theyear, sometimes on self declaration by a student, andsometimes through observation by a staff member.Few schools separate out the statistics for studentswith D&DA awards. Disabled people were said toaccount for between 0% and 20% of the totalnumber of students within individual schools. Asmentioned previously, the issues around collectingstatistical data on disability are complex.

61A number of schools have made efforts to reach andwelcome disabled students, but are still unable tomake contact with a wide range of individuals. Thereare still considerable barriers at a pre vocational levelthat prevent disabled people aspiring to a career inthe performing arts and gaining the required skill levelto audition for D&DA.

Marketing

62One of the easiest ways to show a commitment toinclusion is to ensure that marketing materials areclearly written and welcoming, that they conform toclear print and access standards and that they areavailable in alternative formats. It is thereforedisappointing that few schools have addressed all ofthe above consistently.

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63In particular, access to websites was poor, with onlyone provider’s site – Oxford School of Drama -conforming to the international web access criteriaW3C and/or the UK’s Bobby criteria11. Three websiteswere described as currently under development andplanned to include improvements to access. One site(Stella Mann) had a plain text site alternative.

64The following, taken from the access review of oneprovider, is typical:

There is no mention of equal opportunities or detail ofphysical access and provision for disabled students. Thewebsite has no accessibility measure and there isnowhere saying that information on the school isavailable in other formats. At site visit it was made clearthat the board of governors were aware of their dutiesbut could not prioritise development of their website atpresent.

65Print materials produced by the providers faredslightly better. A small number of providerprospectuses stated that they were available indifferent formats, for example, Urdang. In two otherinstances, this information was included on a slip sentout with the prospectus. This latter option is clearlybetter than nothing, although it sends a lesscommitted signal than including the informationwithin the publication itself.

66A small number of schools are not conforming toclear print guidelines. They have text appearing overimages, poor colour contrast between text andbackground colours, and poor navigation through theirmaterials (lack of indices, page numbers and so on).

67GSA have produced their entire prospectus on dvd,thereby by-passing the need for an audio version,although the current lack of subtitles restricts itsusage by those who may need them.

68It is not difficult to create a more welcomingprospectus. The print prospectus for Oxford School ofDrama has a page specifically for disabled applicantsthat looks at the accessibility of the School and whatsupport is available for disabled students. It makessuggestions such as specialist IT equipment,notetakers or BSL interpreters. It also says that theprospectus and enrolment form are available in largeprint format on audio tape and on the website. Inaddition, students with limited dexterity or visualimpairment are offered help in completing the form.

69Two schools have made, or are making, considerablechanges to their marketing processes followinginternal discussions on accessibility. Hammond arechanging their corporate font to Arial, primarily tomake documents easier to read by a wide audience,and Arts Educational School (London) are to producean audio version of their prospectus.

70There are other ways of signalling a degree ofcommitment to inclusion within both web based andprint based marketing materials. One school (GSA)uses the ‘Positive about Disabled People’ symbol.Organisations conforming to a basic list of goodpractice criteria can use this symbol to indicate apositive welcome.


11 For further information on web access, please see Guidance on Disability Access, D&DA publication P72-74.

71The content of materials is also crucial. One positiveoption that is not being used by any school, is toinclude representation of disabled students withinimages and testimonials, although Cambridge do planto use an image of a student with short stature ontheir website. A student speaking positively about thesupport and encouragement they have been givenwhilst training would be a clear indication of positiveaction. It is understood, however, that many disabledstudents or students with health issues may not wishto label themselves in this way or be singled out fromthe rest of their cohorts (although contributions couldbe anonymous). Mentioning the involvement ofschools in other positive initiatives (for example, as aresult of their education or outreach work) would alsobe useful – few highlight these experiences on theirwebsites or within their print materials.

72Only three schools make mention of their physicalaccess provisions on their websites or publicity. This isa particular shame given the increases made inphysical access over the last few years. How arestudents to know if basic marketing materials do nottell them? If nothing is mentioned about physicalaccess, an assumption is made that the premises willnot be accessible.

73Most schools have some reference to their equalopportunities policies on their websites although it isless common to find these referenced within printmaterials. One exception is the Performers Collegewho include their disability charter and their equalopportunities policy within their prospectus. In somecases, providers stated their materials included equalopportunities materials when, on examination, theydid not. Providers must take account of equality ofopportunity across all aspects of their provision.The LSC expects that policies for equality ofopportunity are in place and published in appropriateformats, available to both staff and learners.Additionally, statements summarising these policiesshould be made available in all promotional marketing materials.

74Language, on the whole, is welcoming. A few schoolsare still using ‘special needs’ – a term which carriesoffence for some disabled people. Unfortunately it isused within mainstream education for younger peopleand so for schools covering a wide age range this maybe unavoidable. Some schools are using moreappropriate terminology and instead referring topeople’s learning needs and access needs instead.

75Overall, the impression of inclusion and access givenby the majority of providers is at odds with the ethosthey are intending to promote. With a few honourableexceptions, there are still considerable improvementsto be made with regard to marketing materials inrelation to:

• Clear print and navigation;• Provision of and access to alternative formats;• Content relating to access and inclusion including

representation (images and case studies);• Language (in fewer cases).

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76It is worth restating that marketing materials are partof the services offered by providers and as such theyare covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, andproviders therefore need to make reasonableadjustments to enable disabled people to accessthem. This part of the Act includes an anticipatoryduty – providers should anticipate the needs ofdisabled people in this regard rather than acting onlywhen asked by a specific person.

Recruitment

77All providers offer auditions, although the individualprocesses vary. Some offer auditions to all applicants,others to selected ones. Although it might seem thatthe former would be more welcoming to potentialdisabled applicants, in practice it depends on thecriteria for selection. Taking part in an audition processwhen you do not meet the criteria for a particularschool is not a useful experience for either the personconcerned or the school itself.

78Some schools are working hard to be flexible andadaptable – with both their auditions processes andthe criteria for selection they use. In particular,Cambridge states within its Equal OpportunitiesImplementation Document that:

in relation to selection and recruitment of students, theentry criteria will be applied to all applicants but will beas flexible as possible in order to accommodate thosewith particular access requirements.

79GSA also offer flexibility. Within their auditionprocedures the school will consider disabledapplicants if they have particular difficulties ordisabilities in the disciplines of voice and/or dance, ifthere is enough evidence that they have ability in theother disciplines.

80Oxford states within its audition information that theschool welcomes applications from disabled students.It has taken advice on how to make its auditionsaccessible and flexible enough for people to be able toshow their ability and skill in different ways, andencourages applicants to speak to the ExecutiveDirector to find out more information on access,support and accessing the Disabled StudentsAllowance.

81Many schools make adjustments for dyslexic studentsat audition by allowing additional time forpreparations for sight reading.

82There are two ways of looking at disability – isdisability the responsibility of the individual disabledperson, or is disability about lack of access, lack ofopportunity and negative assumptions and attitudes?The former illustrates the medical model of disability,the latter the social model12. The DisabilityDiscrimination Act balances the two approaches,stating that it is for providers to improve access andmake adjustments to a point that is defined asreasonable. They do not have to do what is consideredunreasonable or which would leave them unable tomaintain academic/vocational standards.


12 See Guidance on Disability Access, D&DA publication P9 – 10.

83One school states that they will endeavour toaccommodate any student, ‘provided that our trainingcan be of benefit to the individual concerned’.Another states: ’We welcome applications fromdisabled persons or those with learning disabilities andare happy to offer advice to individual students whoneed guidance as to their suitability for a particularcourse.’

84The assumption underlying both these examples isthat it is the student that must be able to fit into thecourse, rather than that the course might be able toadapt to meet the requirements of the student.Although meant to be an honest and welcomingapproach, both might serve to deter disabled studentsfrom coming forward.

85It was accepted by providers that getting disclosure ataudition from students is hard. LSC state that from06/07 it is a requirement that schools collect thisinformation at audition and they must fill forms inannually detailing the information as part of theirprovider requirements. Although most schoolsconform to the Disability Discrimination Actrequirement in asking prospective students aboutaccess needs they might have and provisions thatthey might need at audition, a small number currentlydo not. Monitoring forms used by schools oftencollect information on the ethnicity of students, butnot always on the disability status. As many people donot identify as disabled people, it is becoming morecommon place to use the wording of the UK Censusreturn which asks people if they are ‘disabled or havea long term health condition’. Cross referencing theseforms with student’s medical forms is also advised, as

many students disclose further conditions on these. Itis important to make the process of declaring animpairment or condition as stress free as possible inorder to encourage students to disclose. Many schoolshave supportive staff, who work hard to encouragestudents to come forward. Some schools howeverhave a more rigid approach. One school, for example,states that:

‘failure to disclose medical information and conditionsaffecting physical and mental well being and successfultraining could lead to immediate dismissal’.

86There is considerable debate about the employabilityof disabled students, particularly in the fields ofclassical dance and musical theatre. In some instancesthe criteria of employability is used at auditions forselection. Can disabled students, particularly thosewith visible impairments, yet be said to evidence‘demonstrable potential’ for employment? In manyways this is a ‘chicken and egg’ question. There havebeen instances when casting directors have wished toemploy disabled people in specific roles but beenunable to do so due to the lack of trained performers.David Toole, a dancer with a significant impairment,has been constantly in work for over 10 years, and isdancing now at an age when many dancers haveretired with companies such as DV8 and CandoCo. Isit possible to know the full potential of employmentfor disabled students without first having a body oftrained professionals? Millennium is keen to exploreoptions within Musical Theatre for disabled peoplewith CandoCo.

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87Increasingly, there are examples of students withinthe schools who have visible physical impairments13:SLP, for example, had a student who has fused fingerson one hand who has recently graduated and gainedan agent, Elmhurst has offered a place to a dancerwith one arm significantly longer than the other andso on.

88Certainly for those with different impairments, thequestion is invalid. There are a large number ofperformers in the sector with very significantimpairments who have been able to work consistentlyand gained high public profiles.

89It needs to be remembered, when studying the Equitystatistics and comparing the employability rates ofdisabled members and non-disabled members – thatoften one is comparing the employability rates oftrained performers against those without training asup until this point, many training routes have beeninaccessible for disabled people.

90It is important that discussions about access andadjustments are separated from those around talentand potential. Elmhurst, for example, states:

‘The level of any learning support a prospective studentwill require is specifically excluded from considerationthroughout the auditions process.’

91After a decision is made to make an offer, thendiscussions about access and adjustments should takeplace, ideally with the involvement of the studentthemselves (they may have information on accesssolutions that the school itself has not considered).The disabled student will need a degree of controlover the solutions suggested for inclusion, as theymay have personal preferences around the visibility ofsuch solutions, for example.

92In some instances, a school may wish to take astudent but be unable to meet their requirements.Arts Educational School (London) describes thisprocess within the School of Musical Theatre and theSchool of Acting prospectus:

‘If an applicant with a disability is successful at auditionthe college will do its utmost to meet the student’saccess requirements. Before offering a place the collegewill discuss with the student its ability to fully supporthim/her during training. If after discussion, regretfullythe college feels it cannot provide adequate supportand cannot offer a place, it will explain to the studentwhy and advise them of alternative opportunities.’

93Some schools have made tailored opportunities totest out access provisions, such as a test week in theprevious term to see if particular students can movebetween classes, have the stamina for full classes andso on.


13 These are not always students with D&DA awards.

94It is important that schools do not discriminateagainst students purely on the basis of theirimpairments or access needs, without thinkingthrough the implications. During the access review, forexample, one school stated that they could foresee asituation where a student may not be accepted if itwas evident at audition that they had a severe eatingdisorder. If the student had limited strength orstamina, this could be a reason for not offering thema place, but the presence of an eating disorder in itselfmay not be, especially as the school has experience inthis field and prides itself on offering excellentprofessional support available and has staff withglobal acumen in this respect. If the young person wasconsidered a health and safety risk to themselves orto others, this would be a justifiable reason fordiscrimination, as the Disability Discrimination Actspecifically states that health and safetyconsiderations outweigh those in relation to access.

95Outreach initiatives are important to bring forwardpotentially talented disabled students. These can behighly successful. Hammond, for example, has locateda disabled individual, who had been seen during a dayof boys dance in Manchester, has been invited toattend 3 days a week free of charge next year (on aspecifically created foundation level course).Considerable time has been spent accessinginformation on his learning needs and requirements (for example, information from hiscurrent headmaster on how he learns best). Theschool is currently planning how best to inform andprepare staff, as well as how to support theinvolvement of fellow pupils.

96Mountview currently employs 2.5 days of additionalsupport towards the development of disabilityrepresentation through an outreach developmentworker. The disability post has made a real differenceto how the school approaches disability, inclusion andaccess, despite the limitations of the current buildingresource. Already, the worker responsible for this hasmade a real impact, not solely focussing on brokeringapplications from disabled students but buildingpartnerships with disability organisations andindividuals including Razor Edge Theatre Company,Mind the Gap and Shape. These initiatives not onlyserve to raise the numbers of disabled people present,but also to train staff in working with disabled peopleand also to raise the profile of such work.

Courses

97All providers were able to evidence some examples ofmodifications to courses and programmes of study toenable individuals with specific needs (gained throughinjury or impairment) to progress.

98In some cases, these come from a policy levelcommitment to inclusion, such as at English NationalBallet where within the Equal Opportunities Policy itsays that staff will provide an adapted curriculum andresources that are accessible to all students and that‘staff will evaluate the curriculum regularly to ensurethat a broad and balanced programme is delivered inline with planned aims.’

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99At GSA, the Equal Opportunities Policy says that GSAwill research the different needs of disabled peopleand communities in order to provide appropriatetraining. If the core staff team feel they cannotprovide the expertise necessary they will outsource.For example, a course leader going to meet aprospective deaf student at their current educationalsite to talk to them and their support staff about theiraccess needs in order to replicate this as closely aspossible on the GSA course.

100For other providers there is no stated commitment atpolicy level, although it can be seen in practice. Allteaching staff that were met described taking aproactive approach to ensuring that all students areable to work to their full potential. A policy levelapproach makes it easier to ensure all staff implementthis positive approach, and also to monitor and assessindividual staff’s practice in this area.

101In all schools, through talking to staff involved inteaching, it was possible to evidence the provision ofa differentiated curriculum. There was anacknowledgement that students are at different levels,have different skills and abilities and differentpreferred learning styles, although this is not alwaysseen as being linked to disability access, more to ageneral approach to supporting individuals. Thisapproach appears most successful in schools thathave an ethos linked to individual development andgrowth.

102For example, within Cambridge, the access review visitnoted that ‘There was considerable evidence at the sitevisit to show differentiation in action, flexible deliveryapproaches to student style and responsiveness toimpairment issues as and when they arose. A synergyexists between tutors and support workers toaccommodate and adjust and this often sees studentsmoving across diploma disciplines to meet theirdevelopmental needs and changing circumstances.’

103Stella Mann evidenced differentiation in the supportfor deaf students around singing with the creative useof dictaphones and experimentation around differentvocal lines and intonation to assist the differentlearning styles and impart the best possibleopportunity for the development of tone andmodulation.

104Elmhurst illustrated their willingness to modify classstructure where required (for example, allowing astudent who needs to urinate frequently permissionto leave class and return a number of times eachsession). Their course practice is also modified (forexample, the practice of moving the students to adifferent position on the barre each lesson is modifiedshould the deaf student require to be in a similarposition for each session for access reasons; visualcues do not work for one student with sight issuesand so different cues are given to enable her to enteron time). The staff see this as simply being commonsense and the most important feature as being not todraw undue attention to the student’s needs.


105Bird supported a student with arthritis by enablinghim to rest and critically assess the performances ofothers in class when he is unable physically to takepart and also supported a deaf student through aperiod of difficulty with balance through additionalsupport.

106All schools provided a range of support for dyslexicstudents. Some are able to formally assess all studentsfor learning needs on entering the institution, othersassess students internally and offer support whenrequired. Some schools offer confidential support tostudents so they do not have to disclose to otherstudents. Another school, Hammond, ensures that allpublic notices and information is automaticallyproduced in large print, in a suitable font and onappropriately coloured paper so that all students canread the same material, dyslexic or not.

107All schools offer a degree of individual flexibility,altering lesson plans, usually to take into accountinjury or rehabilitation. This is usually seen as atemporary option until a student is able to undertakeall the course elements once more.

108Some providers were able to extend their courseadjustments into providing opportunities for disabledstudents to ‘practice’ for the realities of theprofession. For example, Performers College previouslytaught a deaf student who, in his final year, wasdeliberately not given additional signals around

instruction so that he would learn to take moreresponsibility and develop coping strategies to bestsupport himself in a professional situation. Thisapproach to ‘practicing’ for the profession could beusefully developed by all disabled students, althoughfor some it might be around supporting them toadvocate for their access needs rather thandeveloping personal coping strategies. No twostudents are the same and each will need anindividually tailored approach.

109A number of schools called for more support fromTrinity in two areas – flexibility with the curriculum(currently all students have to pass all areas of thecurriculum with no optional or alternative modulesavailable) and provision of best practice examples ofsupport for working with disabled students14.

110Only one school reported including disabledperformers as guest speakers or guest lecturers (ArtsEducational School, London); some had provided theopportunity for students to work with disabled peoplethrough involvement in the flexible provisionopportunities or other outreach work. At bothNorthern Ballet School and Bird, all students areinvolved in the direct delivery of community and/oroutreach work as well as training as performers. Thismeans they are all required to work with a range ofschool aged children, some of whom may be disabled,all of whom will learn and different paces and havedifferent skills.

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14 Trinity state that they are keen to encourage and support disabled students to participate in the National Professional Qualifications Scheme andrequest all providers to identify candidates with impairment-related needs when they register for their Diploma so that Trinity can better supportboth the candidate and the provider. Trinity has offered providers specific training or development days in any areas where they wish support orguidance but at this time none of the providers have taken up this offer. Trinity state that they will endeavour to be more pro-active in givingguidance and support on assessing students with impairment-related needs in the future.

This process ensures that the students are aware ofdiversity and the need for differentiation withinsessions. They are then able to take this learning backinto the classroom and connect it within their owntraining. At Hammond there are also outreachprojects with local disabled dancers, which provide theopportunity to work in an integrated environment forsome of their students.

Assessment - examinations andassessments

111All providers make adjustments for assessments andexaminations to support their dyslexic students. Aswith course adjustments, in some instances this isdeveloped from a policy-led approach, and for othersit is part of custom and practice.

112Most providers are also well versed in supportingstudents with injuries when it comes to assessments.For example, at Arts Educational School (London) astudent lost their voice in a production and so thevoice was delivered off stage and in the case of aninjury, a student was allowed to deliver a live seminarinstead of a performance. One particular student inthe Musical Theatre course whose writing is nearineligible is regularly invited to read his work aloud totutors.

113At Millennium, if a student has sustained injury and oris recovering from an accident or surgery, there is asense that those students are assessed against their‘possible attainment’. The schema of individual’spossible attainment is built up with the student andadjusted through the training, so tutors and teachersand all those who support the physiology of studentsare part of this continually.

114At English National Ballet one student who by virtueof sustained injury was allowed to present twovariation dance solos as written, visual dissertations.They also have developed a more flexible andresponsive assessment process though holdingassessments more frequently during each term ratherthan all being carried out over a period of 1 or 2 days.

115Fewer schools are confident in making adjustmentsfor people with other impairments, especiallypermanent physical conditions. This is partly due tothe lack of students who have required this supportand also the lack of access to best practiceinformation in this area. There is evidence of ad hocadaptations with assessments being modified andstudents who are unable to undertake a specificelement being allowed to ‘miss out’ that elementalthough it is then not uniformly agreed how thateffects their final grading.

116Examples of adjustments for students withimpairments effecting their assessments included:

• Arts Educational School (Tring) and Liverpool bothhave students with a physical impairment who arenot being graded on the height of jump within aballet assessment.

• GSA encourages students to explore individuallypreferable methods of assessment including videoand audio reports linked to their optimum learningstyles.


117At Hammond, a particularly flexible approach toassessment was described, considering the potentialof individuals rather than specific movements. Forexample, they look for ‘elevation’ or ‘turningmovements’ rather than plies or turnout. The successof this approach was evidenced by an example fromthe lower school. A girl who has a physical impairmentaffecting her posture and turn out expected to dopoorly due to her impairment but instead scored welldue to her talent and hard work. The school howeveracknowledges that examples of such adaptations areharder to evidence in the upper school, partly due tothe need for a degree of rigidity within the Trinityqualifications15. Equally, English National Ballet’s newmaterials talk of ‘honouring a style faithfully’ ratherthan simply repeating a posture or movement.

118This approach can also be observed at Urdang wherea deaf student with additional visual impairment wassupported and passed all his assessments with highgrades in acting and singing. He has not achievedwhat might normally be assessed as a high standardin dance but he has been measured on the fact thathe can ‘show a clear understanding of how movements‘feel’ and rather than simply looking ok, this gives hisperformances a very watchable quality’.

119A number of schools commented on the assessmentbody, Trinity College, as it was felt that much moreflexibility was needed from them to illustrate howadjustments may be made in practice and a feelingthat they should work to support the D&DA schoolsto adopt best practice in relation to the support andassessment of disabled students16.

Student Support - supporting students

120Support for students may be from a number of partsof the providers services – pastoral, academic, andlearner support. During the access reviews, theconsultants wished to see how these elementsworked together, how the need for confidentiality wasmanaged and what adjustments had been made tosupport and develop disabled students and those withhealth concerns.

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15 Trinity state that the learning outcomes and assessment objectives in the qualifications specification were designed not to exclude students withdisabilities from participating in and achieving the Trinity Professional Qualifications should they reach the required standards. Thesequalifications are currently being reviewed, and extra care will be taken ensure that any revisions made are appropriate both to retaining thestandards required for professional performing careers and supporting access of the qualifications to all who achieve the standard required atentry. The providers have elected representatives who will be actively participating in this revision process.

16 In addition to previous footnotes detailing Trinity College London’s commitment to the inclusion of disabled dance students, there is also asection within their providers Handbook on ’Special Needs Provision’ and in the final version of this Trinity has stated it will aim to make adviceand guidance for the assessment of disabled students more explicit.

121Disclosure was a major issue. The majority of disabledstudents within the schools did not disclose ataudition, but once they are within the school, andoften not until the end of the first or second year. Insome cases, students were unaware of their ownimpairments on arrival at the schools. There is a realneed to provide a number of opportunities andsupported interventions to enable students to selfdisclose. Some schools have enshrined this withinpolicy directives, for example, Elmhurst’s equalopportunities policy states that if a student has notdisclosed a disability prior to starting the course the:‘…opportunities will be provided for him/her to disclosehis/her disability status in a confidential manner so that,where possible, any adjustments can be made in asensitive and discreet manner.’

122For students who do disclose at application, someschools are providing exemplary support. For example,at Oxford, students who are offered a place and whohave disclosed a disability are contacted by theExecutive Director in advance of them starting thecourse in order to discuss any adjustments that needto be made. Recently the college worked closely witha deaf applicant who was offered a D&DA, exploringher access needs, support strategies, DSA andchildcare options.

123Providing options to disclose varied from school toschool. Some offer termly 1-1 tutorials for pupils,some only offer this opportunity annually. Otheroptions included:

• weekly tutorial groups, for about 15 students ineach (Laine);

• a ‘buddy’ system for the first years whereby asecond year student is assigned to them to helpthem acclimatise (GSA);

• A student council that meets twice a term (GSA);• An annual independent appraisal form which is fed

back to the course review board (GSA).

124The induction period, when students first arrive intothe schools and find out more about what is expectedof them and what support is provided, was seen askey for many of the schools. Providing support herefor students can be vital. ALRA bring in a workmanagement consultant to present materials tostudents and answer questions about managing timeand workload.

125The size and finances available to schools can impacton the range of support that is available, but notnecessarily on the quality of support that is offered toeach student. For example, at Elmhurst, the school hasa learning support team, four on site nurses providingsupport around the clock, a physiotherapy team, linksto local medical staff and medical staff linked toBirmingham Royal Ballet and links to consultants andspecialist providing specialised support for conditionssuch as dyslexia and anorexia. At Laine, the provisionis at a smaller scale due to the size of the institutionbut the support provided still works well.

A physically disabled third year student with restricteduse of one of her arms was extremely complementaryof the support she had received at Laine, andconfident that this was extended into the agencyfacet of the organisation where she felt it wasguaranteed that she would be promoted on her talentand achievement rather than the fact of herimpairment.


126Practice around confidentiality varied, again withsome schools having specific policies and othersresponding by custom and practice. Many schoolsinvolved and informed parents without always gainingthe permission of the students. Whilst practical forstudents under 18, there is an issue aroundconfidentiality here for older students, unless thehealth and safety of the individual or others iscompromised. The importance of confidentiallyaround disability cannot be overstated.

127Providing students with written information detailingthe approach to confidentiality taken by a school isrecommended. Cambridge includes a ‘Who should Italk to if…’ section in the student handbook in whichthe appropriate communication channels are clearlymarked.

128Confidentiality dilemmas arose most often aroundmental health related incidents (in particular anorexia,self harming behaviour and depression). A number ofschools have specific policies for working withstudents with eating disorders which could be usefullyextended into supporting students with other mentalhealth concerns. In addition, some schools havespecific policies around asthma.

129Many schools have disabled staff members who canuse their own experience to support and empathisewith students. Some staff are open and disclose theirexperiences when they feel this might be beneficial(in particular around eating disorders and dyslexia).Others are more reticent about doing this. Providingpositive role models for students with concerns is anexcellent way of providing support and where modelsare not found, or open, within the schools, ensuringthere is access to outside representatives could beconsidered.

Arts Educational School (London) has a disabledmember of staff who works as the Head of Voice inthe acting school who happens to have a plethora ofexperience in the Disability Arts Sector. She has takenon an additional role of Disability Officer informingand encouraging best practice at all times.

130All schools were able to evidence instances whenstudents had been supported, either throughimpairment or injury. Most often these related todyslexia and eating disorders. In some instances it waspossible to see that schools were taking a wholeschool approach, rather than just providing support toone disabled student. For example, Hammond haverecently changed all the strip lights on site to thosewith filtered bulbs to aid students with visualimpairments, produce all signs/notices for all studentsin large print on coloured paper to aid the inclusion ofdyslexic students and have banned aerosols inchanging rooms to support asthmatic students.

131Many schools are also working with the studentsconcerned to create the optimum support package.For example, Arts Educational School (London) havebeen supporting the inclusion of a student withAspergers Syndrome through staff led research, skillssharing and liaison with the student himself. Thestudent is now integrating socially in class and staffnow meet his particular learning style through clearinstructions and summaries. He now is able tofunction successfully without relying on a supportworker. At Urdang, supporting a deaf student withadditional visual impairment for 3 years has been alearning curve. The school acknowledge that initiallythey overcompensated to meet his needs, but havebeen able to fine tune this support over time to amutually agreeable outcome.

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132Where students are not on a D&DA award, andtherefore not eligible for Disabled Students Allowance(DSA), some schools have been able to provideadditional funding for equipment or support. Forexample, Cambridge is supporting a student withsmall stature with finance to progress the design ofan augmented shoe for ballet and stage. A smallnumber of schools appear unaware of DSA and thesupport it can provide.

133The range of students with impairments mentioned atsite visits were wide. In addition to those mentionedpreviously, within the schools there were studentswith cancer, phobias, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowelsyndrome, allergies, skin conditions and a range ofhearing impairments and sight impairments, Therewere also a number of students who have gainedconsiderable impairments through accidents andinjuries.

134There were some instances where disabled studentswithin schools felt that there needed to be a deeperunderstanding amongst staff as to how theirimpairments affect all areas of their lives. In particular,the way dyslexia and dyspraxia affects a student’sability to learn and illicit meaning. Some felt thattheir needs in relation to processing information, co-ordination in dance and understanding questions intechnical sessions had been misunderstood and feltthat they had been unnecessarily berated forsomething that related to their disability.

Staff support, training and development

135Most providers have a least one disabled member ofstaff working with them, although no examples ofstaff claiming Access to Work support were detailed.

136There were however a number of examples of howschools are supporting disabled staff membersthrough a range of measures including:

• A member of staff who is losing their hearing isworking and learning sign with a deaf studentenrolled in the school. It is likely that BSL classeswill run at the school in the future to raiseawareness (GSA);

• A member of staff with an impairment that createsfatigue has been well supported and encouraged toadjust to her work within her energy levels (Laine);

• One particular member of staff has had their classesadjusted to the ground floor so avoiding the needfor stairs (Mountview);

• There has been good practice around the support fora disabled member of staff with diabetes with staffaware of how they can appropriately intervene andsupport him in an emergency (Tring);

• Taxis were provided and lifts arranged for a staffmember who was unable to drive by virtue of theirimpairment (Bird);

• Staff at Cambridge described feeling very supportedby the ‘family atmosphere’ and in particular onedisabled member of staff described work at theschool as being the only working environment thathas accepted her for her impairment issues allowingher appropriate flexibility and offering her constantencouragement.


137Practices around disclosure amongst staff vary widely,with many schools not yet duplicating the supportiveand open practices they observe for students. Mostonly use equal opportunities monitoring formscollected at application to report on the number ofdisabled staff members present, rather than askingstaff at intervals if they have any unmet needs orconcerns. To support an ongoing dialogue with staffaround needs and other issues, Liverpool have one-to-one supervision sessions for staff when they areencouraged to talk openly about their workload andany issues they might have. Increased openness aboutstaff impairment, access needs and solutions isrequired so that students can see working withdiversity illustrated in practice.

138Staff at all schools describe a variety of processesthey used for sharing information about students andtheir needs, as well as different strategies forsupporting them. In some schools the staff haveaccess to support materials, including the D&DAguidance publication in their staff room or staff areas.Just over half the schools were unaware of the D&DAguidance publication. No school mentioned thecascade cd-rom that was provided for furtheringDisability Equality understanding through out theschools.

139Staff training opportunities varied with some schoolsable to make specific days each year available forcurriculum and professional development, much ofwhich touches on equal opportunities issues. Otherschools were unable to offer staff training due to thecosts involved and the logistics of coordinating parttime tutors.

140Where full staff training was possible, the benefitswere keenly felt. Before opening Elmhurst in its newlocation, the move provided an opportunity for anextensive two month induction process whichincluded disability equality training, child protectionissues, the needs and requirements of differentiatedlearning, race issues, Birmingham specific issues andso on. Staff felt this was extremely useful in providingadditional support and development.

141Most schools offer internal staff development sessionsand often equal opportunities were quoted as beingcore agenda items. Staff handbooks were also sited bya number of schools as highlighting the focus onequality of opportunity to the staff. For example, atArts Educational School (Tring), their Ofsted reportedthat a general staff handbook contains comprehensivepolicies and codes of practice for equality ofopportunity, disability and child protection, along withoperational procedures.

142All schools undertook Disability Equality Training afterthe initial access review. This was viewed as a positiveprocess by most of the schools, although some felt itwas less relevant to their disciplines than others.Some schools have committed to ensuring that allstaff (new and old) will undertake Disability EqualityTraining from either an outside source or internally ona regular basis (Oxford). At this school the DisabilityEquality Plan (DEP) also states that the ExecutiveDirector will also ensure that staff have theopportunity to work in partnership with Disability Artsorganisations and experts in the field to furtherdevelop and extend their learning.

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143At Hammond, specific staff are engaged in deliveringthe community/outreach elements of the schoolsprogramme, and have the opportunity to stretch theirknowledge and extend their practice though inclusivepractice in this work. Some senior staff are alsoextending their learning, and in particular, enjoyingthe elements of study relating to inclusion. Staff atHammond have visited the Orpheus Centre, and seenCandoCo through school orchestrated trips.

144A number of schools reported that staff had accessedspecific training on supporting individuals withdyslexia and eating disorders.

Physical access

145A number of schools now present reasonable, good orexemplary access for physically disabled people. Inparticular, Millennium, Performers College andElmhurst present real opportunities for involvingstudents with significant physical impairments.

146Within other schools, a commitment to increasing thelevel of physical access presented can bedemonstrated. Improvements include:

• Installation of an entry phone, highlighting of theedge of steps, provision of handrails andimprovements to the main door, creation of anaccessible toilet, shower and changing room fromthe ground floor toilet (Italia Conti);

• Adapted toilet on ground floor, induction loopsystem in auditorium (Arts Educational School,London);

• Creation of a ramp to the front entrance, a moregenerously spaced foyer, a number of doors thathave been altered to an appropriate width(Liverpool);

• Redesign of the dressing room provision in thestudio space, installation of an accessible toilet,purchase of a number of portable ramps(Hammond).

• Creation of accessible toilet facilities on the groundfloor, ramped/flat floor access to theatreperformance space (ALRA);

• Creation of accessible toilet facilities, and plans tocreate accessible shower facilities and new lightingtubes with diffusers over summer 06 (Bird);

• Ramp to entrance, increased size of foyer area, aircooling systems and plans for developmentsincluding a lift to upper levels (SLP).

147Some providers have clear action plans in place toimprove physical access, with a realistic approach tosmall and progressive steps (Stella Mann).

148GSA has recently acquired new accommodation thatwill eventually house the whole school with fullaccessibility and accessible accommodation. Urdangaims to complete its move to accessible premises inFinsbury Town Hall by January 2007. Other schoolsare planning to relocate or gain additional spaces inorder to provide better access (Mountview, ArtsEducational School (London), English National Ballet,ALRA).

149As have been mentioned previously, few schoolsadvertise or detail their physical access or lack of it ontheir website or promotional materials. Within thosewho do, sometimes the statements about access donot match the facilities present within the schools.


150Some schools have not yet acted onrecommendations to improve access from auditsdating back to before 2003. Reasons for these includecost implications and the level of disruption likely tobe caused being felt to be prohibitive.

151Two schools evidence adaptions that have been madethat do not conform to recommended specifications.In one case, the provisions have created a health andsafety risk.

152A small number of schools have no current plans toadapt or improve access to their sites. Of particularconcern is the lack of provision in some schools forfire evacuation of disabled people and those withinjuries.

Quality and monitoring

153Whilst most schools were undertaking auditingprocesses, developing policies and improving theirpractice, a smaller number were engaged insystematically auditing, reviewing and monitoringtheir progress and making accountable plans forfuture development.

154Oxford, for example, has made a commitment toanticipate any changes that need to be made at theSchool, not just when a disabled student requires it.Within the DEP (page 4) under AnticipatingAdjustments, it states that ‘the school has undergonean access audit of its site, audition and applicationprocesses and promotional material. It has an actionplan to improve inclusivity at the school which isreviewed annually as part of its Quality Assuranceprocedures.’

155Liverpool includes disability and access within itsannual review cycle and Hammond has a three yeardisability action plan developed initially from a reviewof physical access but now incorporating all areas oftheir operation.

156Equal opportunities policies were in place within allthe schools, but these were on the whole staticdocuments not linked to annual targets. Someschools, for example, Mountview mentioned that theyreview their Equal Opportunities Policy every year,monitoring and evaluating its implementation andStella Mann gather and analyse statistical informationin depth with respect to equal opportunities as part oftheir quality assurance process.

157Some schools were currently creating developmentplans of which inclusion and diversity will be integralelements (for example, Performers College).

158Other positive examples of assessment ordevelopment activity included:

• Forming an equal opportunities committee made upof staff and students, meeting termly (Italia Conti);

• Implementing quality assurance measures in relationto student support from entry through to graduationand beyond (GSA);

• Working with Razor Edge an external disability-specific company to attempt to create a specific HEprogramme for learning disabled adults (Mountview);

• Proactively contacting disability-specific companiesto look for synergy between their activities and theschool’s and pool resources (Arts Educational School(London);

• Annual anonymous student surveys asking if theyhave experienced discrimination or harassment(Urdang).

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159A number of issues have arisen from this research andthere are also some that remain unresolved from theresearch that preceded it. These are explored below,and where appropriate, recommendations have beenmade. The recommendations are for the LSC, as theyare the commissioners of this research.

Coming forward

160The schools can only audition those who apply. All thereasons for the lack of disabled people comingforward for training as stated in the initial report byADA inc into Disability and the D&DA in 2003 are stillvalid17. The numbers of disabled people within theD&DA scheme are not going to be able to reach theiroptimum levels without a range of initiativestargeting some of these issues.

161The schools can and need to improve their outreachand marketing approaches, but this will only everserve to widen the pool of potential applicants by asmall degree. A more strategic, multi-agency approachis required if the status quo is to be shifted and thenumbers of disabled people represented withinperforming arts training – including D&DA is toincrease dramatically. As was stated in the originalreport:

‘This research, and the recommendations and initiativesarising from it, set out a road map that should enablethe D&DA awards to begin to address issues of accessand inclusion, not only within the schools, but within

the industry as a whole. However, it cannot be donealone. The DfES [and now the LSC] needs to ensure thatthis process is fully integrated with other Governmentdepartments and initiatives designed to promote theinclusion of disabled people in society as a whole.’18

162It is therefore recommended that the LSCencourages D&DA schools to work with otherproviders to ensure a raft of provision for talenteddisabled individuals. This echoes therecommendation made by CEDAR in their final reportthat LSC review how to connect the Awards to othergovernment initiatives which support excellence andwidening participation in the performing arts so as tocreate a clearly defined, inclusive and transparent‘talent ladder’ and this will be reflected in the criteriafor the widening participation specification.

Issues and recommendations


17 Disabled people are still not encouraged to see the performing arts as a viable option for employment, this can be compounded by pressure fromcarers and parents, who often have a greater degree of influence over disabled young people than over their non-disabled peers; disabled peoplestill face a lack of opportunity to take part in pre vocational experiences and training options that are open to their non-disabled peers, fromformal options such as local ballet classes and drama courses to options such as school performances, youth theatres and so on; the supportavailable for disabled people within the options does not yet outweigh the barriers to disabled people in attending; there is a concern that tutorswill have a lack of knowledge about working with disabled people/adapting work; attitudinal barriers; financial barriers /difficulties with benefits.

163The inclusion of disabled people in all areas of life is akey governmental priority as can be seen by papersand plans like Valuing People(www.valuingpeople.gov.uk), Improving the LifeChances of Disabled People, produced by the PrimeMinister’s Strategy Unit(www.strategy.gov.uk/work_areas/disability) and theinclusion of the Public Duty within the DisabilityDiscrimination Act(www.drc.org.uk/disabilityequalityduty) and thereforethis is a necessary step in placing the scheme incontext. It is understood that the D&DA scheme doesnot have the finances to, for example, develop a highprofile conference, or a series of smaller but moretargeted events designed to gather key stakeholdersand search for solutions to some of the biggerquestions but it can continue to ensure thediscussions are progressed through steering groupmeetings and presentations at existing conferences,seminars and events as this needs to involve LSC, andDfES personnel, from outside of the D&DA awards toprogress forward adequately. These issues can also beaddressed as part of the developing wideningparticipation programme.

In or out?

164The LSC is clear that its priority has to be developingthe providers and their practice, which isunderstandable given the budgetary restraints of thescheme. Given that there are still a wide range oftalented disabled people who could come forward butwho would not be able to access training within theschools - for example, students with learningdisabilities such as Downs syndrome, students withsignificant physical access issues and so on – thequestion remains ‘whose responsibility is it to trainthem?’.

165It is therefore recommended that the LSCcontinues to use the above process/es to ensurethat the question of ownership around theresponsibility for high quality training for disabledpeople in the performing arts is asked.

166Providers are not yet able to meet the needs of alldisabled people. In drama it is conceivable that asituation could be reached when the vast majority oftalented disabled people could access conventionaltraining at D&DA providers with additional accesssupport where required. For musical theatre, whilstcurriculum requires a high standard of ability in allthree disciplines (dance, drama and singing) thissituation is less easy to imagine within the next fiveyears. For classical dance, similarly it is problematic toimagine yet a truly inclusive future whilst theassessment processes are rooted in technicalaccomplishment. The lack of contemporary dance inD&DA means that the largest growth area fordisabled dancers is unrepresented.

167As well as not being able to meet the needs of alldisabled people, some providers are not always able todevelop fully rounded initiatives to involve andinclude disabled people, due to their level of previousinvolvement in this field. They made need support tofully see the potential and opportunities that theirprojects could have. To avoid LSC funding accessand diversity projects that are not fully formed ordeveloped, or that do not build on best practice, itis recommended that successful projects from07/08 have access to experienced people toprovide support and development.

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18 Closing statement in the executive summary of the original Disability and the D&DA report, ADA inc, 2003

168This could be delivered in a number of ways –providers with bids that the LSC would like to fundfrom widening participation funds that impact ondisability could be gathered together for a‘development day’ where the bids are developed,stretched and their synergy optimised. Or providerscould be supported through the appointment ofproject mentors from the sector to provideinformation, support and contacts. The aim would beto encourage providers to deliver the very bestprojects they could, with the maximum impact forlearning within the schools and the maximum reachinto the specific communities they wished to target.Suitable individuals should be sourced fromdisability/diversity related companies and trainingproviders, organisations supporting the empowermentand equality of underrepresented groups, and throughnominations from relevant members of the steeringgroup.

Leading the field

169D&DA has been seen as leader in the field ofincreasing access to performing arts training throughthe establishment of the flexible provision options,initially set up to include those for whom trainingwithin the current D&DA system was not possible.They have had significant benefits for the companiesinvolved, students and the schools offering D&DAawards (see appendix one). When these were initiallyestablished, they were considerably ahead of whatmight have been considered a ‘reasonable adjustment’under the Disability Discrimination Act. Although thefunding for the D&DA flexible provision programmesin the form they are currently configured ends insummer 2007, other future widening participationprojects are to be funded, concentrating on thoseemerging directly from the D&DA providersthemselves. In relation to disability, this will helpsatisfy the public duty addition to the DDA19 thatdemands more favourable treatment for disabledpeople as opposed to simply the removal ofdiscriminatory barriers to access by publiclyaccountable authorities. The LSC produced itsDisability Equality Scheme on the 4th December2006 in response to the Public Duty and it is assumedthat this will contain its future strategy in relation tothe D&DA awards and disabled people.


19 The new Public Duty element of the Disability Discrimination Act demands that publicly accountable bodies:• promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people;• eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the Disability Discrimination Act;• eliminate harassment of disabled people that is related to their disability;• promote positive attitudes towards disabled people;• encourage participation by disabled people in public life;• take steps to meet disabled people’s needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment.

170It is recommended that the LSC use their D&DAwidening participation strategy to supportdelivery of their Disability Equality Scheme andpublicises the considerable steps it has taken towiden access, its successes in this field anddisseminate its future approach to inclusion inrelation to the D&DA awards and disabled people.

171This could also include drawing attention to andcelebrating the considerable achievements made bythe providers of the flexible provision - Graeae,CandoCo and Mind the Gap - and the benefits thatthese approaches have provided to the students, thecompanies and most importantly the schools thathave been involved.

172The Public Duty aspect of the DDA rightly placesconsiderable emphasis on consultation with disabledpeople. With this in mind, it is recommended thatfuture funding proposals that focus on disabilityfrom schools are assessed by a pool including alarger number of disabled people than is currentlythe case. This can be taken further to ensure allbids are assessed by a wider group more closelyrepresenting all the diversity aspects included.

Employability

173There is a tension between opening up the trainingwithin the schools and the lack of representation ofdisabled people within the profession for some genresof work, in particular musical theatre and classicaldance. These are also areas of the profession that thecurrent flexible provision options do not cover. It isimportant therefore to undertake action researchprogrammes that demonstrate the potential of workin these areas with disabled performers. This could bedelivered through a prioritisation of applications underthe forthcoming widening participation programmethat progress work in these fields.

174It is recommended that the LSC prioritise wideningparticipation programmes that look at areas whichhave not yet been explored through the flexibleprovision options to date, in particular musicaltheatre and classical dance.

Support for schools

175The principle from the initial access review ofdeveloping a ‘supportive, not punitive, approach todeveloping the accessibility of the schools’ has paiddividends and is still recommended in the most part,with the exception of the small number of schoolswho do not yet embrace the concept of inclusion.

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176The providers still need support, but also need to usemore fully the resources they already have available.The guidance publication, created specifically forschools and available in hard copy and on the web, isunderused and answers many of the most frequentlyasked questions arising from the face to facemeetings that occurred as part of the recent review.Some schools believe they never received a copy orinformation about the resource. All schools were alsosent a cd-rom after their Disability Equality Trainingday, to aid the dissemination of the informationprovided on the day. Again, this does not appear to bewidely used.

177A specific Disability Equality Training programme wascreated for the schools and offered free once to eachschool by DfES. At the end of the programme schoolswere told that it would remain available, so that theycould choose to offer this to new staff, or offerrefresher courses to all staff if they wished, althoughthey would have to pay to do so. None haverequested it to date.

178It is recommended that the LSC remind all schoolsof the resources already available to them, and re-supply materials where they are available. The LSCmight also consider making further disabilityequality training a required step for the schoolswhose practice is less developed in this regard.

179The level of practice in some areas is high, but eachschool is developing its own individual process andthere is little sharing between schools. For example, anumber of schools have worked with hearing impairedstudents but there has been no opportunity to discussthe merits of specific techniques and approaches or toshare those with schools that have not yet taken thisstep. A number of schools suggested that Trinitymight be well placed to provide examples of bestpractice, particularly in relation to adaptation forassessment20.

180It is recommended that LSC continue to createopportunities for all schools to share practice andexpertise, peer to peer, around inclusive practice.

This could be done through the existing provider daysand undertaking facilitated sessions on specific areassuch as ‘supporting hearing impaired students’,supporting visually impaired students’ and so on. Thiswould enable schools with exemplary practice to actas beacons of good practice to others.

181Some form of resource is required (possibly a webresource) where providers can log supportiveadaptations/approaches for the benefit of all.Although LSC do not have the funds to create such aresource, it may be that they can work with Trinityand other partners and include best practice from theabove days and also information on provisions thatare acceptable in relation to assessment. In the shortterm, LSC are able to consider publishing anyinformation provided by schools at their sitehttp://www.dfes.gov.uk/financialhelp/dancedrama/index.cfm


20 Trinity has stated that it will work towards producing some best practice examples of working with disabled students for inclusion in its finalversion of its providers Handbook.

Assessment and monitoring ofinclusivity

182LSC is to introduce Equality and Diversity ImpactMeasures (EDIMs) in 2007/08 for all providers. It isessential to ensure that these monitoring processesare designed to measure quality and not just quantity.Due to the range of factors described earlier, a schoolmay have exemplary practices but few disabledstudents in a specific cohort through no fault of theirown. It is assumed that the measures will include theareas covered within the disability access reviews –ethos, marketing, recruitment, courses andassessment, student support, support for staff, stafftraining and development, physical access and qualityand monitoring.

183It is recommended that the LSC ensure that theEDIMs measure quality and not only quantity.

Supporting disabled students

184D&DA does present a way to deliver clearly on someof the priorities established from the initial Disabilityand the D&DA review that have as yet not beendeveloped. The initial priorities included the need ‘tostimulate interest and confidence in disabled people toencourage them to audition’ and ‘the need to inspiredisabled people to see the performing arts as apotential career and non-disabled people to see thepotential of disabled performers’. None of the schoolsare currently using testimonials from their disabledstudents to comment on the support and adaptationsthey have benefited from, which would be aninspiration to others.

185It is recommended that the widening participationstrategy includes the ability to capture a smallnumber of testimonials from disabled students,which can then be used to publicise the scheme’scommitment to access and inclusion.

Widening participation

186The proposed approach to developing wideningparticipation within the scheme will allow for schoolsto bid in for work that increases participation in theDance and Drama Awards Scheme from currentlyunder-represented groups. In particular, this applies todisabled students, students from a black or minorityethnic background and students from low socio-economic backgrounds. In the past, many of theschools have prioritised the latter two categories forinitiatives funded by their own access funds.

187It is recommended that LSC ensures an equitablebalance of spend from the widening participationfunds across initiatives targeting disabledstudents, students from a black or minority ethnicbackground and students from low socio-economic backgrounds.

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Progression for providers

188In relation to their approach and practice in relationto inclusion of disabled people, schools could bedescribed as emerging, established or exemplary. Fromthe access review it is possible to draw up minimumcriteria for each category, aiming for:

Exemplary• Clearly demonstrated ethos embracing inclusivity;• Accessible, informative and welcoming marketing

materials;• Open and flexible recruitment processes;• Evidence of flexible approaches to course structure,

curriculum development and assessment;• Evidence of supported disabled students, support

evidenced in both practice and policy;• Evidence of supported disabled staff, support

evidenced in both practice and policy;• Provision of training opportunities, resources and

involvement in initiatives to develop inclusivepractices;

• A minimum level of physical access for disabledstudents achieved;

• Clear monitoring processes, including annualassessment of progress and target setting withregard to developing inclusive practices.

189Once the criteria are established, it becomes possibleto locate the providers within that framework.Individual providers could then be encouraged to aim,within a three year period, to move into the categoryabove. Those working at an exemplary level could beused to share their practice in this regard with otherschools.

190It is suggested that the LSC consider the creationof such a set of standards to ensure that allproviders are pro-actively working to ensureequality of opportunity for all those who areappropriately talented regardless of ethnicity,gender, sexual orientation or disability.


The following headlines are from the CEDAR finalD&DA evaluation report, highlighting some of thepositive features of the initial flexible provisionprojects:

• Establishment of a number of robust partnershiprelationships between theatre companies andproviders;

• Challenging and changing the normative aestheticjudgements of tutors, students and others torecognise the new aesthetics of inclusiveperformance;

• Contribution to building up a momentum towardsintegrated training by raising awareness of disabilityissues in the sector;

• Unique nature of CandoCo’s Foundation Course hasbrought about new levels of understanding ofteaching and learning strategies that are dancespecific;

• Increasing number of D&DA tutors who now havesome experience of teaching students with adisability;

• Tutors at companies and schools observed differentapproaches to teaching on which to draw for alltheir teaching;

• Potential for experience to be taken back intoschools;

• Provision of quality technique training experiencesof a wider range than those previously available tothe students;

• Introduction of episodes of integrated learningwhich have been enjoyed by both disabled andmainstream students as a basis for furtherengagement

• Evidence of the value of episodes of integration insupporting the learning of disabled students andexpanding mainstream students’ understanding oftheir own training;

• Achievement of accreditation for two of theprogrammes and for the third, identification of stepstowards accreditation.

Appendix 1

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Notes


© LSC 2007

Published by the Learning and Skills Council. Extracts fromthis publication may be reproduced for non-commercialeducational or training purposes on condition that the sourceis acknowledged and the findings are not misrepresented.

D&DA March 2007

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