Neverdancedjustamum

Ofted just updated their School Inspection Handbook last month. Not sure it will go into the kind of questions they might ask but I did wonder how they pick which staff and students they will speak to. I remember for an inspection I observed in the past (not Ofsted but also one that involves educational settings), the education provider can pick the students they would put in front of the inspection panel. I remember distinctly that the provider specifically picked certain students (you can imagine the type) and it wasn’t a random process at all. The students were also briefed on what they might get asked.

Ah but policies and regulations and their implementation should be reviewed and updated regularly (if not annually, for some), not just when there’s an inspection looming. I think this is why a lot of institutions and companies get into trouble. And record keeping practices, amongst other things, when it comes to inspections.

Schools should have a data retention / record retention policy. This will vary from school to school especially since U.K. GDPR and the Data Protection Act requires institutions to keep data for only as long as they need it and with good reason to do so, other these need to be either destroyed or securely archived if needed to be kept for longer. Data retention policies are usually publicly available on institutions’ websites. It would also depend on the nature of the information you’d need. The example given on the gov.uk website is that pupil names in the safeguarding system would typically be kept on record for much longer than in the catering system.

Exactly this about policies. All schools are required to have certain policies and often they are required to have these publicly available by law or by regulatory bodies for various reasons including to continue to receive funding or be able to operate. I’m not sure how these specific inspections work as I don’t have experience in that sector but have been part of and privy to a few other inspections often with good notice to institutions and often initially starting with a desk-based exercise of documents available. It shouldn’t be a surprise that schools would have all these policies and regulations in place. What I would look at is: how updated are they and are they still fit for purpose? More importantly, are they actually being implemented? I can already see that one of those policies linked is almost a decade old and only updated once two years after since then. Covid has delayed a lot of OFSTED inspections so that might be excused.

As a parent who’s embarking on a massive open day mission - nothing to do with vocational schools - and someone who’s been working in education for what seems like decades, open days/mornings are good for looking around campus. So speak to current students and staff and absorb the general information given to you. Admire the campus. However, the atmosphere during open days is very curated (I won’t go as far as to say artificial). What I used to do, additionally, is to bring my DC to a normal day on campus where possible. This probably won’t be possible for vocational schools but just to say take open days with a pinch of salt. As someone who’s been thrown into the ballet world by a DD who loves dancing (much to our surprise as our family has zero history of dancing or interest in dancing), I can now say that it is a very small world. You’ll get more info from current and past parents than you’ll ever get from open days. Those who are most vocal are those who experienced opposite sides of the spectrum: those who are very pleased with their experience and those who really aren’t. Listen to both. And listen to those who are neutral or not even in the vocational world. Often it is this very group who gets to be the sounding board. It may not be their personal experience but it is in those very casual encounters and catch ups that you get to hear a lot. Just because it wasn’t someone’s experience, doesn’t mean it’s hearsay, especially when you talk to these people. There’s no smoke if there’s no fire. Lastly, situations change very quickly. I’ve known many parents who have been very pleased with their experience so far…until they’re not (ie their kids don’t get upper or 6th form or there’s some sort of falling out). Equally, I’ve known some disgruntled parents who are lucky enough to find another school or teacher who nurtures their traumatised or broken child. Always two sides to a story, but never dismiss either. Feedback is always born out of context.

Bearing in mind, this is probably not isolated to vocational boarding schools. I also know of concerns in local dance schools. Perhaps not so much the body shaming but definitely the verbal jibes and what can be constituted as bullying. And just like those DCs, often the child would be scared to tell anyone about it (and often the parents too), feeling they have no choice. I’ve witnessed parents who know full well that this happens in the schools but opt to keep their child in there as they feel they have no choice or because the teacher is brilliant. I’m sure a child can make it without being abused but it is a tricky one to manoeuvre.

I didn’t find the documentary to be sensationalistic. If anything, it was quite short, not as in-depth as most expected, and I suspect only scratches the surface. I was only watching it in the background whilst doing something else but I believe it was said both schools refused to be interviewed?

It’s not about being elite at all, when I mentioned ‘shining’. Perhaps it’s the wrong term to use when what I probably meant was ‘thriving’. A child doesn’t have to be top of everything to thrive somewhere. They can be distinctly average to outside observers but be completely happy and settled in themselves. This can absolutely happen in both comprehensive and grammar schools. Would this be acceptable in top vocational schools or would the child be thrown out? Of course the responsibility ultimately lies with the parents. If a child is unhappy or if they feel like something is off, they always have the option to take them out of that situation. This is what at least a couple of the parents in that documentary did.

We live in probably the last county in the country where the default is for year 6 students to sit the 11+ (or ‘transfer test’ as they prefer to call it) unless parents ‘opt out’ their child from sitting it. I therefore know countless numbers of kids who didn’t make the qualifying mark, ended up going to comprehensive schools, and had a more brilliant and rewarding time than a number of those who go to grammar. I can’t even count with all fingers those who left comprehensive schools with much better GCSEs and ended in better unis. It’s horrible going through the the whole 11+ experience, I must admit, but I sincerely believe it’s easier and much more possible for both grammar and comp school children to eventually end up in the same, for example, Russell Group universities. I’m not sure it’s as easy for those who go to normal schools and train after school to go to the same vocational upper schools as those who go to these top lower school vocational schools. In the grammar school scenario, it’s especially cruel for those who just about missed the pass mark narrowly. But these children often end up shining in comprehensive schools and gaining more confidence achieving more there than peers who suddenly found themselves being small fish in a big grammar school pond where most children are as smart or smarter than them.

As far as I know this isn’t published information. That’s why a post on a separate thread asking for evidence to support a comment about the lack of Elmhurst students going to WL/RBS made me wonder how any sort of evidence can be produced if schools don’t release this information anyway.

Exactly what I thought. And normally at a time when the body changes so much too. I’m sure these things exist in some way in all schools and are not isolated to vocational schools but I’d be very surprised if the % of instances of for example, eating disorders, is the same across all schools. In such a small and confined environment, where the career being aimed for has a certain aesthetic, surely all these things are heightened. I guess sometimes also for those who naturally have the ‘ideal physique’ and it’s genetic, it’s hard for these individuals and their families to imagine the struggle of those who are told to ‘lengthen’ or ‘improve their aerobic fitness’. Or for those who currently doing well and are used by teachers as examples, it will be hard to see the other side of the situation.

I can’t speak for all grammar schools but speaking from personal experience of two grammar schools, the parents are regularly consulted with their children’s progress. Nothing is a surprise. Even in schools with 6-7 forms of 30 kids each, I never felt like my kids were overlooked. If any concerns pastoral or academic-related arise, parents are contacted immediately. One of my DCs fell slightly behind in a subject in Year 10. The school immediately organised additional support classes once a week for a term for a group of them and the majority of students who attended these classes ended up getting better GCSE results than they ever thought they could. The schools are very transparent and communication lines are very open. Ultimately, if children in these grammar schools feel upset for any reason during that day, they can come home to their families and be away from an upsetting situation. At age 11/12/13 I believe this is so crucial. Obviously this is only our personal experience of two grammar schools and I’m not on any way saying this is the same for all grammar schools. Why do parents send their kids to these schools? I can tell you the answer I’ve heard 100% of the time from numerous parents I’ve spoken to: because it is their kid’s dream. In a way I admire these kids. I can’t imagine mine knowing what their dream career is until at least they go to Uni. Maybe not even then! I also admire the trust these parents place on their kids’ words. My kids have told me varying ambitions they’ve had since they were young. I questioned all of them. Sure enough, they changed their minds weeks or months later. Perhaps mine are just fickle.

Sadly, although perhaps understandably, the ‘bigger’ the name and reputation, the bigger the responsibility and accountability in the public eye it seems because a lot of people’s eyes are on you. Elsewhere in the educational world (not vocational training), my experience is that before we say, write and do anything, we often do an internal test that has become second nature over the years: not only “is this right?” but also, “If this was in the public domain, would it be considered reasonable, just and sensible?” (what we used to half-jokingly call ‘The Daily Mail’ test as in “Would this land us in the Daily Mail?”). It’s likely that the issues raised in this programme also exist elsewhere, in other schools, but I guess they picked those they deemed to be the most recognisable names in the country. What happens in these schools are always highlighted and discussed. It comes with the big name and reputation.

A couple of years ago a girl started at RBS upper without being in a lower school vocational. I think there is one starting this year who wasn’t in vocational, spent one year in Europe in a vocational school and will be starting at RBS. I think there is also a girl who started at Vaganova this year who wasn’t at vocational school. Another I know is also starting at ENBS. Another at NBS Canada. It is possible but would need time and financial commitment. You’d need to have quality, high level ballet training almost at par hours-wise with those offered at lower school vocational schools.

I’m not sure if the admin is done by the same staff member/s but Tring Park Associates invoices were issued back in the 5th July for this term. They are also very efficient and prompt in responding to queries. Is there a different staff/team that administers CBA? It’s odd because they’re all within the same school. They’re completely separate schemes of course but one would assume that at least the invoicing would be done centrally.

I think you can buy them online from Move Dancewear or Dancing in the Street. However, I normally buy these So Danca tights and SD16 shoes from Devoted to Dance (on Instagram) as I tend to buy in bulk for the term/terms.

Her dance school not being active on social media, for me personally, is a good thing. Over the years we have learned to steer clear of schools that are almost too active on social media, often featuring the same students over and over again. Either these schools have very few students, or they only feature a small number which to me is a red flag and is often indicative of possible issues behind the scenes. Social media is a tricky one, in the last few years I’ve seen her young dancers ramp up their posting as they are about to audition, often tagging schools. Instagram, for example, I believe cites 13 as the minimum age to create an account. A lot of young dancers, some as young as 7/8 years old, circumvent this by declaring to be ‘parent monitored’. This might be well and good for private accounts, but quite a few are public. As to whether it makes a difference in terms of getting offers for places, I’m not sure either. Some schools and teachers seem to think ADs have the time to scroll through social media to look at posts. On the other hand, I have seen very active social media users who repeatedly tag schools suddenly get offers to summer intensives. I guess we will never know, and it’s very much a personal choice. I must say that oddly enough, a good number of those who seem very brave in documenting everything they do, do seem to reap the rewards eventually. Coincidence?

It boggles the mind but maybe I’m in the wrong job. This year was the first year my DD attended an overseas SI (after not attending any U.K. or otherwise for years) and although we were only away for 6 days, the expense when added up is astounding (for me, anyway - I’m not used to spending this much on one kid alone). When you factor in flights, hotel, food... It’s crazy. I know it’s a cliche but on the train ride back home there was a person begging for coins and I literally felt guilty spending money on things that, on the grand scheme of things, aren’t really necessary. Don’t get me wrong, DD and I had a great time being away somewhere we’ve never been to before but I can’t even begin to contemplate doing multiple overseas SIs in one summer. I missed the rest of the family too much as well. Perhaps it’s not much of a dent on the finances of other families but that’s not the case for us. And indeed like you I’ve seen quite a few of these young dancers jetting around this summer.

Hi! If you’re looking at USA for full time, I have heard Miami City and Houston Ballet School often makes year-round offers to SI students. I also know of a full time offer to an international student at ABT JKO from this year’s SI. The Harid Conservatory in FL is also one to look at. I know they’ve made offers to internationals recently.

It probably is! I didn’t know the dancer had FB but I just looked and yes, it probably is! The profile photo is a big clue and preview of similar such photos and videos.

I think you found the dancer we were referring to 😊

If it’s the same one, I’m glad you see what I mean too. It’s one thing doing endorsements or ballet poses but the one I’m thinking of does some poses that don’t seem at all related to dance and appear to be done more to show off physique, and as I said, often in quite unnecessary overly revealing scraps of clothing and tensed up poses. I feel guilty when I say this and in the past I thought it was just me being too square or old school but speaking to others, I found lots think the same. This dancer seems really nice and is of course a brilliant dancer, it makes me think why have the need to do such revealing and risqué poses and videos. The photos I refer to are not modelling endorsements, often not related to an upcoming show and quite a few times not even related to the accompanying caption. Even some of the videos posted seem to be shot in less than tasteful angles, made even worse by the (lack of) clothing worn. I don’t think this is a usual dancer thing, I follow a lot of dancers on Instagram and have not encountered anything like it.

For me, it doesn’t normally affect my perception of them as dancers. However, I must admit that there has been the odd one where whilst it doesn’t affect my perception of them as a dancer, it has affected how I perceive them as a person. I would be very surprised if I’m the only one who noticed this dancer’s often unnecessarily ‘revealing’ posts - it’s one thing being proud of your body but I often feel like a line can be crossed especially when the captions sometimes don’t have anything to do with the photos posted. I know it’s a very subjective thing but I feel like some posts can be too awkward and not very tasteful. And yes, I have just unfollowed because for me, it’s uncomfortable viewing!

I know what you mean, it’s like a European tour (and beyond!) from what we have seen of others. I often think I’m probably in the wrong job as there is no way I can afford multiple SIs either. Thankfully, my (non-voc) DD isn’t keen on this either as to her, summer is for total and complete rest. This summer is completely out of ordinary for us and she only agreed to do 3 weeks due to generous funding. On hindsight, it would have been better to space them out, ie if doing two weeks, maybe one towards the beginning and one towards the end of summer. My DD would kill me if she had to miss even a day of school (never mind they don’t usually do much in the last few days!) so American ones for example, are out of the question because a lot of them start as early as June. My DD enjoyed the intensives she attended but out of them, perhaps unsurprisingly, she enjoyed the ‘least known’ one the most. Less of the usual ones she sees around the ballet scene all the time, less close groups, and so she got to know a lot of young dancers of varying ages. She did enjoy a popular one I initially thought she wouldn’t (one where I’ve heard full time students and competition winners tend to stick together), but this is because she met some lovely international and U.K. young dancers who welcomed her and because she loved the food on offer (priorities!). I think when choosing SIs, have a look at the usual demographic of dancers who attend. I think this makes a difference in the experience of a dancer, especially if your DC is non-vocational. A couple of SIs with high level, quality teaching, classes that aren’t huge with a good mix of young dancers, a varied timetable - this is always a good combination for us. Where we can help it, we also tend to steer clear of very big class/group sizes or those that seem to focus on dancers from certain groups/schools (social media, although never the complete or accurate picture, can often show a glimpse or gauge of this). Whilst this is normal and probably the case for a lot of the big name SIs, from conversations with fellow dance parents, this can impact a young dancer’s experience and confidence through the course.

Sadly, this is becoming more and more the case with young dancers we know. Some as young as 10/11 yo. 7 days a week of dance with no rest day, then intensive courses and masterclasses every school break. I believe a big part of it is feeling the need to be on top form for auditions, the fear of peers doing more than them and for those already in full time schools, the desire to stay in the programme. I can imagine it feels like it never ends. I guess it depends on their dreams and ambitions. My DD would personally go nuts if she had no rest day. As it is, she strictly spends the week focused on being a teenager and student (in a non-voc school) then weekends are for dancing - technically probably too many ‘rest days’ (5) 😂 It works well for her but then she has no immediate ambitions in relation to dance (that she tells me about anyway).