Professional Practice for Participatory Artists - Level 3 Award

Qualification summary

The Level 3 Award in Professional Practice for Participatory Artists is a single unit qualification which requires you to establish your knowledge and understanding of professional conduct and competence in relation to autonomous delivery in participatory arts practice.

Entry conditions

There are no entry restrictions relating to this qualification. Candidates may wish to take the Level 3 Award Foundation in Participatory Arts Practice in order to establish initial knowledge about the participatory arts sector.

Prior knowledge or skills

Candidates are expected to have some prior knowledge of one or more arts genres of their choice and experience of participating in arts activities 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 Award or may be combined with other qualifications as part of the Level 3 Certificate Foundations of Participatory Arts Practice. Candidates may also wish to progress to the People Dancing Professional Qualification Level 4 Award in Professional Practice for Participatory Artists to further their knowledge and understanding in this area.

Qualification aim

The qualification aims to introduce artists to information that is central to delivering participatory arts activities in a professional and competent manner.

It will cover codes of professional conduct; the range of knowledge and skills needed for a career involving participatory arts practice; national occupational standards: continuing professional development (CPD) principles.

Learning outcomes

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

1. Understand the professional context of your practice

• 1.1 Understand the concepts of professional competence and responsibility
• 1.2 Understand the role of codes of conduct and their relationship to values-based arts delivery
• 1.3 Understand the principles underpinning working with people in participatory arts contexts
• 1.4 Identify mechanisms for supporting professional development.

2. Understand your own continuing professional development needs

• 2.1 Identify the range of skills and knowledge needed to be an effective participatory arts practitioner
• 2.2 Understand the role of national occupational standards
• 2.3 Identify own continuing professional development (CPD) needs and preferred CPD learning mechanisms
• 2.4 Plan own continuing professional development programme.

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:

• Ethics, values and ethos in relation to participatory arts practice
• Codes of professional conduct
• National Occupational Standards (NOS)
• Continuing professional development (CPD)
• SWOT analysis
• Sector support organisations, networks and mechanisms.

Time needed to prepare for assessment (Total qualification time)

The total qualification time (TQT) for this Award is 40 hours which might be broken down into 10 taught hours (guided learning spent with a tutor) and 30 hours of self-directed study or a mix of the above. This includes time spent in preparation for the assessment.

The time needed will depend on your level of experience. If you have been working in this field for some time and keep up to date with professional requirements 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

There are two assessment tasks for this qualification which each carry 50% of the marks. You must pass both tasks in order to gain the qualification.

Example Task 1

Identify one feature of a code of conduct of your choice and explain how it underpins or supports your practice.

(Max 500 words or two minutes of filmed submission).

Example Task 2

Submit a continuing professional development (CPD) plan that focuses on one area of your skills or knowledge that you wish to develop indicating:

• How your CPD needs were identified
• How your CPD needs relate to national occupational standards and codes of conduct relevant to your art form
• Proposed CPD topic, timescale for learning and learning mechanisms, estimated costs.

You should include a brief paragraph which provides information about:

• Your art form
• The context you are working in or plan to work in
• Your levels of experience.

(Max 500 words or two minutes of filmed submission).

The pass mark for the qualification is 60%.

Attainment bands

There are four attainment bands for the qualification: Fail, Pass, Merit and Distinction.

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:

• Fail - 59% or under: You will demonstrate a limited knowledge and understanding of professional conduct and competence in relation to autonomous delivery in participatory arts practice
• Pass - 60% and above: You will demonstrate a competent knowledge and understanding of professional conduct and competence in relation to autonomous delivery in participatory arts practice
• Merit: 75% to 89%: You will demonstrate an assured knowledge and understanding of professional conduct and competence in relation to autonomous delivery in participatory arts practice
• Distinction: 90% or above: You will demonstrate an authoritative knowledge and understanding of professional conduct and competence in relation to autonomous delivery in participatory arts practice.

Suggested resources

• Amans, D. (ed.) 2017. An Introduction to Community Dance Practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
• Bannon, F, 2018, Considering Ethics in Dance Theatre and Performance; Palgrave Macmillan
• Burns, S, 2015, Reflections on Developing Practice in Participatory Settings, ArtWorks
• Sanders, L. (ed.) 2016. Dance Teaching and Learning: Shaping Practice. London: One Dance UK
• National Occupational Standards for Dance Leadership (NOS) – search the People Dancing website www.communitydance.org.uk

Websites

• ArtWorks Alliance
• Artquest
• Engage
• People Dancing
• Sound Sense.

This information is available as a downloadable PDF below

PLEASE READ THIS GUIDANCE DOCUMENT 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 3 Award Professional Practice for Participatory Artists.

One time only

You will only be able to submit work for assessment once so please ensure you are ready before selecting the ‘Assessment’ option on the left of this web page.

Assessment method 

There are two assessment tasks for this qualification which each carry 50% of the overall mark. You must pass both tasks in order to gain the qualification. The pass mark for the qualification is 60%.

Task 1 (Max 500 words OR two minute film)

Identify one feature of a code of conduct of your choice and explain how it underpins or supports your practice.

Task 2 (Max 500 words OR two minute film)

Submit a continuing professional development (CPD) plan that focuses on one area of your skill or knowledge that you wish to develop indicating:

• How your CPD needs were identified
• How your CPD needs relate to national occupational standards and codes of conduct relevant to your art form
• Proposed CPD topic, timescale for learning and learning mechanisms, estimated costs.

You should include a sentence which provides information about:

• Your art form
• The context you are working in or plan to work in
• Your levels of experience (eg New graduate working in dance with Early Years).

Submission format

You may submit your answers to the questions EITHER in written format OR in filmed format.

Written format

You may use a maximum of 500 words to answer EACH question and should submit a maximum of one file per task (two files in total). You should use your Unique Candidate Number (UCN), followed by the task number, as your file name (eg 2120001Task1)

Accepted file types are:

• OpenDocument Text document .odt
• PDF document .pdf
• Word 2007 document .docx
• Word document .doc

Files saved in other formats will not be accepted.

Deleting or replacing files

You can delete any file that you have uploaded and reload prior to submitting your work.

Filmed format

If you are submitting your answers in filmed format you should upload your film to YouTube or Vimeo, and provide the full URL link AND the password (if appropriate) into the box below each question on the assessment page.

Each film must last for a maximum of two minutes.

You should NOT attempt to upload film files to the assessment portal.

Preparation

You should prepare your answers (either in written or filmed format) prior to going to the assessment page.

Regulatory compliance

In order to comply with People Dancing’s academic regulations the work you submit must be your own. You should:

• Read the academic regulations and ensure understanding of them
• Confirm that the submitted materials are all your own work
• Acknowledge any sources of information used to answer questions by stating the source of the original information fully (see ‘Referencing’ in the Academic Regulations).

Additional support

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

Time limit

Once you open the assessment page you will continue to have access to it for a maximum of 2 hours. This is considerably longer than you are likely to need as your only task will be to upload your files OR paste the URL location of your filmed submission and password (if appropriate) in to the box below each question.

If you have not submitted your work at the end of the two-hour period the system will automatically submit the material you have provided (if any) and you will not be able to open the assessment again.

Submitting your work

When you have attached your files or provided a link to your film you should select the ‘Finish attempt’ button. The system will ask you if you are sure you wish to submit. You can either select the ‘Return to attempt’ button or, if you are sure that you want to submit the documents 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 ‘Finished. No more attempts are allowed’ will appear on the screen.

You will not be able to revisit assessment pages 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.