Approaches to Dance with Older People - Level 4 Certificate

Qualification summary

The People Dancing Level 4 Certificate Approaches to Dance with Older People is a single unit qualification that introduces dance artists to key issues that may affect older people who participate in dance.

It is a vocational qualification with assessment referring to application of knowledge and understanding in work-based contexts.

The qualification covers a range of issues relating to older people including tackling ageism, potential medical conditions, managing risk, adapting movement, and creative practices. The qualification informs the dance practitioner of what they need to do to keep themselves and their participants safe and meaningfully engaged in a participatory dance context.

Entry requirements

There are no prior qualification requirements relating to entry for this qualification.

Prior knowledge or skills

Candidates are expected to have some prior knowledge of one or more dance genres of their choice and experience of delivering or participating in dance sessions taking place in participatory or community contexts.

Qualification structure

This is a single unit qualification. Candidates successfully completing the assessment will be awarded the qualification.

Progression routes

This qualification can be taken as a stand-alone Certificate or candidates may wish to transition to other population-specific Professional Qualifications offered by People Dancing eg L4 Certificate Approaches to Dance for People with Parkinson’s.

Further study will be required before the candidate is ready to take sole responsibility for delivering dance sessions for older participants, however the qualification can be used as a route towards further study, employment or self-employment opportunities including:

• employment as an assistant in supervised dance sessions by dance organisations, healthcare providers, care homes, day centres or older people’s support groups
• self-employment as an assistant in supervised dance sessions with dance organisations, healthcare providers, care homes or older people’s support groups, community or participatory arts sectors.

Qualification aim

The qualification aims to introduce dance artists to key issues that may have an impact on older people participating in a dance session and planning requirements for the delivery of safe dance practice.

It will cover the following in relation to leading dance with older people: benefits of dance to older people; physical, psychological and neurological changes that occur as people age; potential physical and mental effects of ageing on individuals; the potential impact of common medical interventions on a dance class participant; techniques to support participation in dance practice; societal and environmental considerations; structuring a safe participatory dance session; managing assistants and volunteers.

Learning outcomes:

At the successful completion of this qualification you will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the ageing process and how changes to body and mind may effect participation in dance

• 1.1 Identify and distinguish between key medical conditions that may affect people as they age
• 1.2 Identify and distinguish between potential effects of symptoms and related medication on a participant’s physical and mental ability to engage with dance
• 1.3 Demonstrate an understanding of the social and emotional effects of ageing.

2. Demonstrate an understanding of ways to safely manage dance for older people in different contexts

• 2.1 Evidence an understanding of Duty of Care as it pertains to the delivery of a dance session with older people
• 2.2 Demonstrate an understanding of environmental considerations when planning and delivering a dance class for older people
• 2.3 Evidence an understanding of a practitioner’s roles and responsibilities in relation to working with older people
• 2.4 Identify ways of managing interactions with support workers and volunteers
• 2.5 Identify issues pertaining to contrasting settings in which dance for older people may take place.

3. Demonstrate an awareness of different approaches to facilitating and leading dance sessions for older people

• 3.1 Identify mechanisms that will enable older participants to contribute to artistic practice
• 3.2 Identify aims and benefits of dance for older people
• 3.3 Identify examples of good practice in contrasting approaches to the delivery of a dance session for older people
• 3.4 Demonstrate an understanding of key techniques relevant to the delivery of dance sessions for older people
• 3.5 Evidence understanding of the importance of observation skills.

Topics that need to be covered (Indicative content)

The following provides guidance about the areas that someone preparing to undertake assessment in this qualification will need to cover:

• Physiological and neurological changes that may occur as people age
• Psychological issues faced by people as they age
• Contraindications for dance
• The potential impact of common medical interventions on dance participation for older people
• Equality of opportunity
• Societal attitudes towards ageing
• Understanding settings and contexts in which dance with older people may take place
• Partnership working and role allocation with volunteers or support workers
• Safe dance practice in relation to older people, including Duty of Care
• Contrasting approaches to dance sessions for older people
• The use of verbal and non-verbal communication when leading dance
• Session planning and evaluation
• Use of verbal and written language when planning, marketing and delivering dance sessions for older people.

Time needed to prepare for assessment (Total qualification time)

The total qualification time (TQT) for this Award is 125 hours. This might be broken down into 24 taught hours (guided learning hours) and 101 hours of self-directed study or a mix of the above. This includes the preparation and assessment time needed to complete this qualification.

The time needed to prepare for assessment will depend on your level of experience. If you have been working in this field for some time and keep up to date with research related to this area of work you may need less time to prepare for assessment than someone who is new to the sector.

Assessment method

Assessment for this qualification takes the form of an online test which includes multiple choice questions, short answer questions and scenarios. The online assessment accounts for 100% of the mark for this qualification and you must pass the assessment to pass the qualification. The pass mark is 60%. After being assessed candidates will be issued with a report.

Access to the online assessment will be provided when you register for the qualification.

Example task

The following shows the type of question that will be included in the online assessment.

Imagine that a participant has fallen as they are coming into your dance session. Click ‘True’ or ‘False’ to indicate which actions you would or would not take

• Avoid any potential danger to yourself
• Ask other participants to help the person up from the floor
• Comply precisely with the participants wishes
• Make a note of the incident in the accident book
• Stop the participant from moving until you can assess the situation
• Review the causes of the fall
• Immediately call for the emergency services.

Attainment bands

There are four attainment bands for the qualification: Fail, Pass, Merit and Distinction. The pass mark is 60%. After being assessed candidates will be issued with a report.

Attainment level descriptors

The following shows how the assessors use the marks in relation to the learning outcomes set out above to determine your level of achievement.

Attainment bands

• Fail: 59% or under. You will demonstrate limited knowledge and understanding of the impact of ageing on a participants’ participation in a dance session and the ability to plan the delivery of a safe dance session
• Pass: 60% to 74%. You will demonstrate competent knowledge and understanding of the impact of ageing on a participants’ participation in a dance session and the ability to plan the delivery of a safe dance session
• Merit: 75% to 89%. You will demonstrate an assured knowledge and understanding of the impact of ageing on a participants’ participation in a dance session and the ability to plan the delivery of a safe dance session
• Distinction: 90% or above. You will demonstrate an authoritative knowledge and understanding of the impact of ageing on a participants’ participation in a dance session and the ability to plan the delivery of a safe dance session.

Suggested resources

• Amans, D Age and Dancing: Older People and Community Dance Practice. 2013 Palgrave MacMillan, Basingstoke
• Silvester D and Frampton S Dance and Movement Sessions for Older People: a handbook for activity coordinators and carers, 2013, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London © People Dancing 2021.

This information is available as a downloadable PDF below

PLEASE READ THIS GUIDANCE BEFORE ACCESSING THE ASSESSMENT

This guidance has been devised to support candidates who wish to take the assessment for the People Dancing Professional Qualification Level 4 Certificate Approaches to Dance with Older People.

One time only

You will only be able to access the assessment once so please ensure you are ready to take the test before selecting the ‘Assessment’ option on this web page.

Additional support

If you have additional needs and need support in order to access the assessment please email info@communitydance.org.uk before visiting the assessment pages.

Time limit

Once you open the assessment you will continue to have access to it for a maximum of 4 hours. This is considerably longer than you are likely to need.

If you have not submitted your work at the end of the four-hour period the system will automatically submit the answers you have provided and you will not be able to open the assessment again.

Answering questions

Questions within the assessment are provided in a number of formats including multiple choice, true or false, drag and drop and short written answers.

You should attempt all the questions in the assessment.

You can change any of your answers prior to clicking on the ‘Finish attempt’ button that appears at the end of the assessment.

Review your answers before finishing your assessment.

Submitting your work

When you are ready to finish the assessment click the ‘Finish attempt’ button that will appear after the final question. The system will take you to a summary page where you can check that you have answered all the questions. You can either select the ‘Return to attempt’ button or, if you are sure that you want to submit the answers you can click the ‘Submit all and finish’ button.

Once the ‘Submit all and finish’ has been selected it will ask you to confirm your decision. When you have finally submitted your work a message saying ‘Done. Assessment submitted’ will appear on the screen.

You will not be able to revisit the questions or your answers once the Submit button has been clicked for the second time.

Results

The results of your assessment will be emailed to you within three weeks of submission.

This information is available as a downloadable PDF below