Process
How the register works
The Register is built in layers. Read the status on a listing before you rely on it. Being listed is not the same as being assessed.
- 1
Schools are listed
Every dance school we are aware of can appear on the register. Listings are drawn from publicly available information and from schools that add or claim their own entry. A listed school is recorded as unverified until it has been through an assessment. Unverified means exactly what it says: we have not checked the school.
- 2
Schools can show a higher status
A school that wants parents and guardians to have confidence in it can become Accredited through assessment, and may reach Enhanced through the same assessment. Accredited includes the core Safe Dance Standard requirements, including enhanced DBS and barred-list checks for teaching staff. Enhanced adds a teacher qualification pathway and the required insurance cover.
- 3
A BDSA assessor reviews the evidence
A trained assessor works through the school's evidence against the published requirements. Each one is met or not met. This is not a score out of ten, and it is not a star rating.
- 4
A result is published
If the school meets every core Safe Dance Standard requirement, including enhanced DBS and barred-list checks for teaching staff, it is Accredited. Enhanced adds a teacher qualification pathway, public liability insurance at £5m, employer's liability insurance, and professional indemnity insurance where applicable. If it does not meet the requirements, it stays unverified, with a clear explanation of what was not met.
- 5
Evidence is checked as it falls due
Accreditation lasts three years. Evidence with an expiry date is checked continuously. If expired evidence is not updated within 90 days, accreditation is paused until current evidence is provided. We also carry out random spot checks.
- 6
Schools can be removed or downgraded
If a school no longer meets the standard, its accreditation can be downgraded, paused or removed. If a school disagrees with a decision, it can email the BDSA to ask for a reassessment. The BDSA will consider each request and may decline it.
Being listed is not the same as being assessed. Because the register lists both assessed and unassessed schools, the status shown on each listing matters. Always check that status before relying on a listing.