About the Register
A national register, so parents and guardians can have confidence in the school.
The National Dance Safe Register is a public record of dance schools in the United Kingdom. It is run by the British DanceSport Association, the governing body for dance sport in the UK. Our mission is to unify the dance community and set a fair and transparent regulatory framework. This Register is one of the ways we do that.
What it does
It lists dance schools in one place, with basic, accurate information. And it shows which schools have been assessed against the Safe Dance Standard.
Listed is not the same as assessed
This is the most important thing to understand about the register, so we state it plainly.
A school appearing on the register has not necessarily been checked by us. Many schools are listed because they are known to be operating, not because they have applied for or passed any assessment. A listing on its own is a record that a school exists. It is not a recommendation, an endorsement, or a statement that a school is safe.
Where a school has been assessed, we say so. Accredited means it met every core requirement of the Safe Dance Standard, including enhanced DBS and barred-list checks for teaching staff. Enhanced adds a teacher qualification pathway and the required insurance cover. Where a school has not been assessed, we label it as unverified, so there is no confusion.
Why it exists
Everybody deserves to be safe, no matter where they learn to dance. Safeguarding shouldn't be a postcode lottery. Dance teaching is not regulated in the same way as schools or nurseries. Anyone can open a dance school, and most people who do so run careful, well-managed classes. Until now there has been no straightforward place for a parent or guardian to check.
The BDSA created the Register and the Safe Dance Standard so parents can see a school's status clearly, and so well-run schools can show the standards they already meet.
Who runs it
Assessments are carried out by trained BDSA assessors. A school cannot pay to be accredited, to reach a higher level, or to have an assessment handled more quickly. Every decision is based solely on whether the school meets the published requirements.