ESFA Dance and Drama Awards

The Dance and Drama Awards (DaDA) scheme offers an income assessed contribution to tuition fees and living costs for eligible students at private dance and drama institutions in England. Institutions that are part of the scheme are allocated funding (via a contract) by Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

Institutions assess which students are eligible to receive support and how much funding they are entitled to, based on their household income. To be eligible to be part of DaDA, institutions must meet ESFA requirements including Trinity College London validation, Ofsted grading of 1 or 2 and financial health.

This procurement process establishes suppliers that meet ESFA's requirements for DaDA from 2020/21. Successful institutions are placed on an Approved Suppliers List from which ESFA determines which will be awarded a contract.

Neither submission of an expression of interest or a completed application, nor the gaining of Approved Supplier status, guarantees that ESFA will award a contract. The DaDA scheme offers support with tuition fees and living costs for eligible students at high quality private dance and drama institutions in England.

DaDA funding provides a contribution to the costs of participating for talented individuals who want to become professional dancers and actors. Around 1,200 students are in receipt of DaDA support each academic year.

Institutions that are part of DaDA are allocated funding by ESFA via a contract. Institutions are responsible for managing the funding.

They assess which students, based on performance at audition, have the most talent and potential to succeed in the profession. They then determine the amount of DaDA funding each individual is entitled to, based on their household income, using nationally set income thresholds and guidelines.

DaDA funding is only available to students enrolled on study programmes that lead to the Trinity College London (TCL) Level 5 and 6 Diplomas. These vocational programmes last between one and three years and cover professional acting, dance, musical theatre and classical ballet.

Students must be aged 16 to 23 to apply for dance programmes and 18 to 23 to apply for acting programmes. Institutions must be fully validated by the awarding body and must have successfully delivered the provision to at least one cohort of students.