Delivering dance through the PE and
Sports Premium funding
Updated December 2015
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Dance
Annual funding has been allocated by government to all
maintained and state-funded Primary schools. A typical primary
school will receive about £9,000 annually in the academic years
2015/16 and through to 2020.
Dance is part of the PE curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2. Schools are using this new
funding to increase the amount and quality of dance that is offered to their pupils. Dance
is very popular amongst children and young people. It combines physical literacy with
imagination and creativity and is a very useful element in devising cross curricula work.
Through dance children develop:
How the PE and sport premium should be used:
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Schools must use the funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the
quality of PE and sport they offer.
Head teachers have been given freedom to decide how best to spend this money according
to the specific needs of their school and pupils - some have employed coaches to work
alongside and up-skill generalist teachers whilst others have chosen to provide additional
training for their staff or increase the range of extra-curricular sports on offer.
Dance can improve self-esteem and confidence; widen aspiration and help tackle obesity
and other health problems.
How are you using the funding?
For example, funding can be used to:
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hire specialist PE teachers
hire qualified sports coaches to work with teachers
provide existing staff with teaching resources to help them teach PE and sport
support and involve the least active children by running or extending school sports
clubs, holiday clubs and Change4Life clubs
run sport competitions or increase pupils’ participation in the School Games
run sports activities with other schools
This is what some schools are doing:
Clusters of schools are creating posts
Gosforth First Schools, Newcastle Upon Tyne
The Head Teacher at Archibald First School has set up a Trust with all nine First Schools.
Each school pays a portion of their primary PE sports funding to employ a full-time PE
dance specialist teacher, Karin Smurthwaite. Karin has written a PE dance curriculum
map for all the schools to follow. She is devising a whole year plan to deliver dance and other
PE activities with 85 school staff. Karin works closely with a PE specialist from Gosforth
Academy who has a ‘PE Transition role’. Festivals and competitions are organised and
hosted at the Academy throughout the year. The plan is to instigate a Gosforth schools
dance festival in Newcastle at the City Hall.
Schools are held accountable for how they spend their funding through Ofsted wholeschool inspections and a requirement to report their spending plan online to parents.
Research into the impact of the Premium so far has produced very positive findings – with
significant improvements reported in the breadth of offers, quality of teaching and pupil
participation among other areas. As well as ensuring that all schools, not just some, are
using the premium effectively to improve PE and sport, we want to make sure that the
impact, on both schools and pupils themselves, is sustainable in the long term.
Schools are buying in dance specialists
Funding should not be used to:
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Fundamental movement skills and balance, agility and coordination
Verbal and non-verbal communication of ideas and emotions
Team working
Problem solving
Observing, evaluating skills
Debbie Mitchell,The Music Dancing Feet Partnership
employ coaches or specialist teachers to cover planning preparation and assessment
(PPA) arrangements - these should come out of your core staffing budgets
teach the minimum requirements of the national curriculum - including those
specified for swimming (or, in the case of academies and free schools, to teach your
existing PE curriculum).
(Information collated from the Department for Education website)
Dance specialist Debbie Mitchell, from The Music Dancing Feet Partnership, was finding
it harder to recruit new pupils into her private dance school as parents were keeping their
children at school for longer in after schools clubs and activities.Then she was approached
by a local primary school to deliver dance as part of their curriculum.As demand grew, and
as a primary school governor aware of the primary PE sports funding, it was evident that a
small business could not deliver a quality service without additional staff. Debbie decided
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to invest in a national franchise, Premier Sport and Performing Arts, and now has the license
to deliver PE and dance in curriculum time, and holiday clubs to schools across the central
Lincoln area.The work can also involve working alongside school teachers as part of their CPD.
Secondary schools are providing specialist services for primary
schools
Contact:
Debbie Mitchell,The Music Dancing Feet Partnership
[email protected]
01953 499 040
South Wirral High School
The school offers personalised dance and PE programmes for a cluster of eight primary
schools. Each school buys in either a full day or half day weekly provision for the whole
year. The programmes are delivered by two PE and sport specialists who have access to
resources of the dance and PE departments in the High School. The programmes also
include a host of extracurricular and intra school events.
Beedon CoE Primary School,
The Willows Primary School,
Hampstead Norreys CoE Primary School, Berkshire
Contact:
South Wirral High School
[email protected]
01513 273 213
nocturn dance are working in partnership with the Get Involved programme at Corn
Exchange and New Greenham Arts, Newbury offering a range of options to raise standards
in West Berkshire primary schools.The rural schools are using the funding to have nocturne
dance deliver, across all Key Stages, quality weekly dance provision that is linked to themed
topics.While the relationship with the Corn Exchange, a flagship arts venue, provides a vital
link for schools to other arts initiatives and opportunities in the area.
Dance organisations are providing services for schools
Cornwall Dance Partnership
Contact:
John Darvell, nocturn dance
[email protected]
07968 980 293
The Cornwall Dance Partnership, led by Dance Republic 2, is a network of local dance
artists and cultural organisations, including Falmouth University, creating an online
menu of CPD opportunities for primary schools, sharing spaces, providing performance
opportunities and collaborating with partners such as The National Trust to create dance
programmes inspired by the outdoors and landscapes. By capitalising on Cornwall’s
beautiful outdoor spaces and beaches, schools can develop dance skills combined with
outdoor creative learning. Cornwall Dance Partnership also works together to bring
specialist dance artists into Cornwall from other parts of the UK to work with schools.
Cornwall Dance Partnership works across the county to create high quality dance
opportunities. It has worked with 1,500 children and 150 teachers in its first year.
Tom Hobden,Tom Hobden Dance
Tom Hobden Dance has used the sports premium as an opportunity to build long-term
and worthwhile relationships with schools. Instead of approaching schools with one-off
workshops or packages, it is suggested to the school that dance artist Tom Hobden works as
dancer and choreographer in residence over a sustained period of time, from three months
up to a year. He approaches schools with blocks of hours which can be used however the
schools decide. For example, hours can be set aside for team teaching, understanding dance in
a primary context, observed lessons, creative lesson planning, feedback on teaching, creation
of performance projects and developing links to feeder schools.Tom acts as a resource for the
children and the whole school, including teachers and support staff.Through this approach,
dance is embedded within the culture of the school and hopefully the wider community.To
build understandin gand relationships with staff, Tom has led performance projects with
teachers dancing with their students.The development of this innovative approach has been
delivered in conjunction with DanceEast’s schools programme.
Contact:
Sarah Waller
Dance Republic 2
[email protected]
07547 139 609
Greenwich Dance & Trinity Laban Partnership
Dance Directions
The Greenwich Dance & Trinity Laban Partnership is offering a programme to primary
schools called Dance Directions, supporting schools to deliver dance in the curriculum,
improving the quality of PE, raising achievement and encouraging more pupils to take
part in physical activity. Taught by specialist dance teachers from Greenwich Dance
and Trinity Laban, Dance Directions will help to fulfil the requirements for the PE and
Sports Premium funding. Dance Directions will support schools’ aim for all pupils to be
physically literate, with knowledge, skills and motivation necessary for a healthy lifestyle
and lifelong participation in physical activity.
Dance Directions offer:
1. Professional Development for primary school teachers to increase confidence,
knowledge and skills in teaching dance as part of PE.
2. Curriculum dance projects helping to raise the profile of dance across the school
as a tool for whole school improvement. By working alongside classroom teachers,
specialist dance teachers can improve the quality of schools PE curriculum offer.
3. Bespoke programme of professional development and curriculum projects to suit
school’s individual needs.
For details including costs contact:
greenwichdance.org.uk or call 020 8293 9741
trinitylaban.ac.uk or call 020 8305 9748
Contact:
Tom Hobden,Tom Hobden Dance
07960 595 501
www.tomhobdendance.co.uk
www.danceeast.co.uk/get-dancing/schools-programme
Teachers are attending courses
Primary Dance Continuing Professional Development, One Dance UK
Schools are sending their teachers on the One Dance UK’s professional development courses for
primary PE school co-ordinators, class teachers, teaching assistants, dance coaches and dance
artists delivering the new PE National Curriculum,led by One Dance UK and specialist dance
trainers in key locations across the country.The courses aim to improve subject knowledge and
confidence to build a high quality and sustainable programme of dance in the teachers’schools.
One Dance UK will also create tailor made training packages for schools.To access ongoing
support, become a member of One Dance UK and receive professional advice, dance teachers’
publications, and discounted fees for courses and conferences.
Contact:
One Dance UK
[email protected]
0207 713 0730
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The Greenwich Dance and Trinity Laban Partnership is a leading model of collaboration
between a key British arts organisation and an internationally respected Higher
Education Institution.
Jump, Start, Move
Jump, Start, Move has worked with a number of primary schools delivering various
packages of dance CPD across London and South Yorkshire.
Each package of support is bespoke and is developed based on individual schools’ needs.
Support will quite often include a highly experienced dance artist being placed in a school
to work alongside all teachers to train them in the dance curriculum including planning,
delivery, assessment and tracking progress. The dance artist works with the teacher
to develop dance plans that maximise the opportunities for personalised learning and
differentiation.
Cross-curricula links are made using programmes of study and schools are left with
schemes of work that have been developed by the dance artist and teacher. Support can
also be offered for using dance in out of hours provision. Jump Start Move can also deliver
one off programmes or a series of insets.
Contact:
Amy McGann
[email protected]
07763 727 783
www.jumpstartmove.co.uk
Schools are organising dance performances and festivals
One Dance UK’s U.Dance national dance performance framework
Schools are increasingly seeing the value of performing with other schools to share practice,
raise ambitions and celebrate achievement. Schools register their performances to gain
rewards such as certificates, resources to help run performances, access to CPD courses,
recognition as a U.Dance Champion for organising multiple performances, discounted
theatre tickets and the ability to enter their students for awards. These benefits are
received by registering a performance under the U.Dance brand.
For more information on how to find dance organisations and practitioners
[email protected], One Dance UK
For more information on training courses, resources and services
[email protected], One Dance UK
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