UNQUALIFIED ballet teachers can cause children untold physical damage, the Royal Academy of Dance has warned.

“Unqualified teachers lack important training in anatomy and physiology,” said RAD chief executive, Luke Rittner.

Encouraging children too early into moves, like going up 'en pointe', where the whole body is balanced on the toes, can ruin careers, said Mr Rittner.

The RAD added that too many parents put their children in dance classes without checking the teacher’s qualifications.

It’s not just relatively advanced techniques like pointe work that can cause problems, the academy warns – but forcing 'turnout' where dancers splay out their feet and open their hips, can also cause damage.

And “baby ballet”, which children can start before two, must be handled with particular care, Mr Rittner said.

He said qualifications for teachers of this age group are perhaps more important than at any other stage, because at that point their bones are completely unformed.

But, according to one RAD accredited dance teacher who asked not to be named, teachers of “baby ballet” currently require absolutely no qualifications or dance experience.

The teacher added: “They target little children from as young as 18 months to five or six years.

“I have many young children coming to my school who are three or four years old, who have had baby ballet training from 18 months and simply cannot apply any ballet movement."

“The children cannot stretch or flex their feet or simply skip. These children have bad posture and no technique.”