In line with its aim to raise the standards of dance nationally, Youth Dance England is committed to providing and promoting high quality training opportunities for both young people and for teachers and practitioners who work with children and young people.
Click here for upcoming Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses.
The Centres for Advanced Training (CATs) are places for young people to receive professional training. Find your nearest CAT here.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is essential to developing a high quality, sustainable workforce through training experienced teachers and practitioners as well as those new to the sector.
The Diploma in Dance Teaching and Learning (Children and Young People)
YDE is a leading partner in the development of this pioneering qualification designed for practitioners working with children and young people outside of formal education.
Find out more about DDTAL (CYP)
U.Dance CPD courses
To help teachers and dance leaders develop more high quality dance performance opportunities and create excellent dance work with children and young people, we have developed 5 one-day courses. For more information email
NDTA Primary CPD Courses
The NDTA are running courses for all those who teach dance in Primary schools and at KS3 to support them to deliver the PE/Dance curriculum. YDE is supporting this initiative as it so important to help all those involved with dance education to get ready for the new National Curriculum.
Click here to find out about the NDTA CPD offer.
We have also compiled a section pointing to respected organisations providing a range of other CPD organisations see below.
The Centres for Advanced Training (CATs) are organisations or groups of partner organisations that deliver accessible, non-residential, professional training programmes for young people aged 10 to 18 years who demonstrate exceptional potential in dance. CATs are pioneers in prevocational training and research, promoting best practice and providing exceptional and innovative tuition to young people, regardless of their personal circumstances.
Through its aims of increasing access to high quality dance provision and improving progression routes in dance for all young people in England, YDE and its National Network are working closely to ensure young people are sign-posted to these opportunities where appropriate.
Find out more about CATs and find your nearest CAT at www.nationaldancecats.co.uk
This is the first qualification that:
Is designed specifically for dance artists and practitioners who wish to, or already, work with children and young people beyond statutory education and the private dance sectorDDTAL (CYP) has 90 credits at Level 6 of the national Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF), which is comparable to the assessment standards of the third year of a BA honours degree. It demonstrates that dance artists and practitioners have the knowledge, experience, expertise and skill needed to teach dance to young people effectively and safely.
DDTAL (CYP) is the only industry-led qualification of its kind, and is a major step forward for dance teaching and learning in the UK. This Diploma was launched in May 2010 by Trinity College London and the Dance Training and Accreditation Partnership (DTAP), and is a Trinity College London qualification.
For more information about the DDTAL (CYP) training programmes offered in England, contact your closest training provider: www.trinitycollege.co.uk
for updates on the qualification
Youth Dance England has just published a comprehensive 270-page publication of particular significance to DDTAL candidates and any dance teacher/practitioner wishing to work or already working in the informal sector.
Contributions from twelve leading experts in the field provide:
Buy a copy of Dance Teaching and Learning: Shaping Practice now from the Dance UK website.
Click here to see the contents of the book.
Youth Dance England offers Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities to help teachers and dance leaders develop more high quality dance performance opportunities and create excellent dance work with children and young people.
The five modules within this CPD programme have been written by experts in their field and are designed to underpin the U.Dance programme, which aims to give every child and young person in England the opportunity to take part in a dance performance each year. The five modules are:
Researching, Planning and Delivering a Successful Youth Dance Performance EventTo find out more about the content of the modules offered, click here.
The National Dance Teachers Association are running teacher training days on teaching dance in primary schools.
"Not only was it a great day to inspire teachers and refresh their subject knowledge in dance it was also a great opportunity for teachers to network with other schools and to link them with a national dance network." - Swindon Dance
National Dance Teachers Association (NDTA)
The NDTA is a membership organisation that acts as the national voice for dance education. They run CPD courses for those teaching dance as part of the school curriculum and also have advice on their website about teaching dance in schools.
The NDTA are running courses for all those who teach dance in Primary schools to support them to deliver the new PE curriculum. YDE is supporting this initiative as it so important to help all those involved with dance in Primary Schools continue to deliver great dance in line with the new National Curriculum.
In this section we have listed some of the national organisations that provide CPD opportunities for the dance sector. If you would like to find out about regional CPD opportunities please try the websites of our regional partner organisations for more details.
Association for Physical Education (afPE)
01905 855 584
afPE is the UK representative organisation for people and agencies delivering or supporting the delivery of physical education in schools and in the wider community. They provide conferences, CPD courses, consultancies and support options to support all physical education and school sport staff in their professional development, including courses on teaching dance in schools.
Foundation for Community Dance
0116 253 3453
The Foundation for Community Dance website holds a database of CPD opportunities for those working in the community dance sector. It also has information about community dance courses in Higher Education.
Keynote Educational
01625 532974
Keynote provide CPD opportunities for school teachers teaching dance as part of the curriculum, including courses to guide teachers on how to deliver GCSE, AS/A Level and BTEC dance.
Royal Academy of Dance (RAD)
020 7326 8000
The RAD provides higher education courses in dance education, dance teaching and ballet teaching. Degrees, diplomas and certificates are accredited by the University of Surrey.
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
020 8691 9477
Trinity Laban's professional development programme for dance artists, teachers and community practitioners provides relevant and flexible training both regionally and nationally.
