Information for 16-19 providers and academies with sixth forms
We will continue to support access to the performing arts sector through the Dance and Drama Awards (DaDA) scheme from 2013/14. The national levels of support for 16-19 year olds will remain the same from 2013/14.
The administration of the scheme is to change. Schools will now be responsible for their own budget management and for undertaking income assessments for new learners.
The Department for Education has written to those schools administering the Dance and Drama Awards to inform them of these changes in more detail.
Does anyone know anything about the new scheme? Or know anyone who works at a dance/drama school who may have received the information on what's going to happen for 2013 applicants?
Dh hasnt been told anything yet. Last year the principal made an Nnouncement once details were known but he is at a different school this year who have both MDS and DaDa
Hi, I am new to this site and when I saw some of the comments on DADAs I felt I ought to impart what I know.
We recently participated at a dance festival where the adjudicator was in the know and this is what they told the competitors.
Unfortunately DADAs from 2013 are going to be means tested ( ok so far) if your child is awarded any amount of funding they will not be eligible to apply for student loans or maintenance grants / loans. ( ie if they are awarded as little as £400 it will prevent them from applying for student loans.) It gets worse the government in their wisdom have also decided that if you study at places such as Arts Ed, mountview, Birds, etc you will only be able to apply for a £6000 student loan not the usual £9000. as I am currently looking into places for 2013 I am worried sick the fees for where I want to go are £13000 this year.
If any one knows of where I can get some financial support please shout up
Recipients of DaDA's never have been eligible for student loans as far as I am aware. They have in the past been ably to apply for hardship grants (not loans) dependent on family income - I imagine that this will remain the same, though I don't know for certain. When I received a DaDA the whole amount of my fees was paid for AND I received a hardship grant - so it may not be all bad news. The hardship grant did not cover all my living costs but it certainly helped! I took out a Career Development Loan for the remainder (which needs thinking about carefully, as you do have to start paying it back as soon as you graduate, regardless of your earnings and the interest rate is higher than for student loans).
I found that the best source of information were the drama schools/colleges themselves. I realise it is all in a state of flux so they may not have the definite answers yet, but you can bet your bottom dollar that the schools will want to know - so much of their income will be dependent on this - so it is in their best interest to chase the information and make sure that they have the latest and most up to date information. I found help-lines unhelpful ( ) and inconsistent.
Hi Thanks for responding, I am aware that if you got a dada you couldnt get a loan and dadas were offered only to diploma course, but the old dadas paid all but £1000 and some off the collages such as Arts Eds mt course states its a diploma that converts to a degree so you could apply for a student loan and it allowed them to offer dadas. I know 4/5 students that are there at the moment.
The proposed changes wont allow this and the dadas wont cover as much of the fees as before.
I did speak to the Student Finance earlier this year and they also told me that the amount of loan you could get for the private colleges such as Arts Ed, Mountview etc was £6,000 and not £9,000 as for universities which does seem rather unfair. It does make these colleges out of the question for many very talented students. Not sure why you are only able to get a £6,000 loan - after all, it's not a grant and does have to be paid back in the same way as a university loan. Perhaps there is somebody out there who knows why this has been decided.
I don't think the final details have been decided yet, the details below talk about offering support for both "fees and maintenance". Schools who wish to offer DADAs for their Diplomas (Acting, MT, or Dance) are going through a process where they have to apply to be on the "Approved Suppliers" list. The closing date for these applications from the schools themselves isn't until the 12th October 2012 and the schools may well not be notified of the outcome until December 2012.
BACKGROUND
Introduction
"The EFA is seeking to establish the provider base for delivery of financial support to talented young people and adults through the Dance and Drama Awards from the 2013/14 academic year. The EFA will use this Approved Supplier Self Declaration process, to create a formal list of Approved Suppliers who can demonstrate they are capable of delivering the appropriate courses to a high standard. Once the list of Approved Suppliers is in place, the EFA will determine which providers will be awarded a contract in respect of the Dance and Drama Awards.Those providers will be expected to administer an allocation of DaDA funding to students within national guidance and to report on a regular basis to the EFA to ensure compliance. A suitable reporting methodology and service level agreement will be attached as an annex to each contract."
Background Information
The Dance and Drama Awards
The Dance and Drama Awards offer support towards tuition fees and the costs associated with living and learning at some of the leading private Dance and Drama training providers in England. All students in receipt of an Award study a Trinity College (London) Level 5 or Level 6 National Diploma.
The Department for Education (DfE) has responsibility for student support for 16-18 year olds and responsibility for post-19 student support resides with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).
DfE and BIS have confirmed that changes will be made to the scheme with effect from 2013/14 and are currently working with existing DaDA providers to develop detailed scheme arrangements.
Changes to the scheme will be based on the following key principles:
- all students will be income assessed to determine the level of support that will be provided for the costs of fees and maintenance;
- local administration arrangements (providers will receive and manage an allocation of funding for fees and maintenance support; providers will undertake student income assessments);
- income assessment bands and levels of support will be set nationally.
BIS will continue to support adults undertaking performing arts training. The Department is currently considering future funding arrangements and have confirmed that they wish the EFA to include provision for adults as part of this exercise.
Summary of the Approved Supplier Application timetable
A summary of the planned timetable for the Approved Supplier process for the Dance and Drama Awards 2013/14 is given in the table below.
Date Milestone
24 August 2012 Details of Approved Supplier Application published
12 October 2012 (12 noon) Closing date for submission of completed Approved Supplier Applications
14 December 2012 Providers notified of outcome of Approved Supplier Application (Providers will be notified earlier if possible)
The above dates are current at the time of publication and may change. If any significant change occurs the applicant may be given a comparable altered time to respond.
It confirms that the maximum tuition fee loan for new students starting at private colleges will be £6000 (even though their fees are around £12000) but students will be able to apply for the same grants and loans for living costs as other full-time students.
I'm afraid the sliding scale of parental contributions for the DADA funding from 2013 are now on line and for many if not most it will not make pleasant reading.
I've already messaged my MP. There's a debate on the ballet co website about this too and the possibilty of setting up an e-petition (if anyone knows how to do this?). I've put a message on Twitter. Does anyone have links with the Press?
We've told dds that they'll only be able to audition for Degree courses and I think these will be massively oversubscribed (more than at present). No way we can afford £15,000pa on our £47,000 gross earnings per child even if they're fortunate enough to get a Dada:(
) and inconsistent.
