Stagecoach signs up to Stage and CDET’s drive to improve school standards

Published Tuesday 6 March 2007 at 12:45 by Nuala Calvi

Stagecoach Theatre Arts, the UK’s biggest part-time stage school operator, is to sign up to the National Council for Drama Education and Training and The Stage’s drive to improve standards at musical theatre and dance schools across the country.

Directors of the company have confirmed that all 14 of the institutions they run directly will apply for Recognised School Status under the scheme, certifying that they meet basic teaching and health and safety standards, while the remaining 591 outlets in the franchise are being advised to follow suit.

Stagecoach Theatre Arts founder Stephanie Manuel said: “I am very pleased that some kind of regulation is now in place for training establishments and I think this will push up standards across the sector.

“We all know how necessary it is that there are basic standards of safety in any educational establishment, which is why we are applying for RSS.”

Some 25 schools have now acquired RSS and a further 200 have contacted CDET about applying.

The benchmark, which is also supported by Dancing Times, costs £100 a year and is designed to help parents choose safe, good quality dance, drama and music training for their children. Schools must be able to show that they meet a list of terms and conditions and any complaints from students about institutions failing to live up to their claims will be referred to a special CDET panel, which can withdraw the status.

CDET director Sean Williams said: “What’s happening now is that a lot of schools are saying they meet most but not all of the requirements. Over the next three or four months many of them will be putting those final details into place and we will get a surge of new people signed up.

“Getting Stagecoach on board is a huge step forward. It’s the biggest provider of pre-vocational training and education in the country and the fact they are committing to this is a very important example to everyone else in the field.”