FAQ's

How can my school get involved?

Essentially Dance is available to all schools across the UK. The training package must be bought for a minimum of 5 schools - including secondary, primarys and special schools - training will then be delivered within the local area to all school staff who will be delivering the programme. Training can be organised through SSPs, Extended Services, PCTs and Local Authorities or by a cluster of schools themselves.

What do we receive?

For each school in your area, you will receive a National Curriculum Resource with Kite marking from the Association for Physical Education consisting of:

·         3 booklets - Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced

·         3  DVDs - Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced

·         a CD of suitable music

·       3 days CPD over a year (normally termly) for up to 2 members of staff per school, non-teaching or teaching.

How much is the product?

The pricing structure for all of the above is:

10 (min) - 14 schools	=	£550 per school
15 - 19 schools	=	£500 per school
20 (max)	=	£450 per school

I'm a parent - can I buy the books and DVDs for my children?

Due to the nature of Essentially Dance, which is a high-quality training based product, none of our materials are available to the public.  However, we would definitely encourage you to speak to your child's school and ask whether any agencies have considered bringing Essentially Dance to the area.

Our teachers and students really enjoy Essentially Dance, is there anything else we can do?

Schools already involved in the programme have used Essentially Dance as a basis for other activities including cross-curricular based activities, celebration events and competitions with other schools. 

We have now introduced a Members Area on this website, which will give you access to a range of other resources and ideas for running events, as well as information on how to enter your school into competitions organised by Essentially Dance.

Why is it important to offer an alternative to traditional PE provision?

The main aim of Essentially Dance is to get children active through the medium of dance. We are not attempting to replace any of the traditional games based activities on offer in PE, but rather to provide further opportunities in an attempt to encourage all children to get involved in physical activity both in and out of school.

With the popularity of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, Ballroom and Latin American dance has come to be seen as a fun and exciting new activity.  The Essentially Dance programme is closely in line with the Department of Health's Change 4 Life initiative, seeking to encourage more people to take up physical activities in a bid to tackle childhood and adult obesity. 

In addition, we believe that the Roehampton University research will show that there are other huge benefits from this style of dance, including improved attendance, better relationships with other students and teachers, and a stronger interest in academic subjects.