Drama Residency for Primary and Special Schools
WAT can offer a 10 week Drama residency working with 1, 2 or 3 teachers to deliver and experiment with what works in their community. The model builds in an opportunity for reflection and learning for staff and for WAT to further tailor the work with no great time commitment.
If you want to make enquiries, please email Gertie: whitfieldgertie@gmail.com
If you want to make enquiries, please email Gertie: whitfieldgertie@gmail.com
Gertie recently completed a residency at Rowan School.
Rowan School is a small, special school in Sheffield for primary aged children who have complex speech, language and communication difficulties.
“It has been an amazing opportunity to work with Gertie. Her approach and lessons have been interactive, fun and appropriate for all learners. The children's confidence has grown and they are stronger as a team. As a teacher I have developed lots of tools to develop my own practice. Thank you very much for the lovely lessons.”
Grace Hallam, The Rowan School
Rowan School is a small, special school in Sheffield for primary aged children who have complex speech, language and communication difficulties.
“It has been an amazing opportunity to work with Gertie. Her approach and lessons have been interactive, fun and appropriate for all learners. The children's confidence has grown and they are stronger as a team. As a teacher I have developed lots of tools to develop my own practice. Thank you very much for the lovely lessons.”
Grace Hallam, The Rowan School
WAT is happy to work with:
Gertie will work with Drama to deliver literature, PSHE, History or any theme the school is working on at the time. WAT have developed a unique set of scripts and some wider literature available for this work.
- KS1
- KS2
- Special Schools
Gertie will work with Drama to deliver literature, PSHE, History or any theme the school is working on at the time. WAT have developed a unique set of scripts and some wider literature available for this work.
Paul Scragg, a primary school head, says that Drama: “develops teamwork, cooperation, listening skills, debating skills, empathy, confidence, social etiquette, the list is endless.”
Paul is particularly keen on the fact that Drama: “develops thinking skills - the children have to have an opinion and have to be able to justify their opinion. Not only to themselves but to their peers. Their peers develop strong questioning skills to try to understand the thoughts/actions of the people involved in the drama.”
He wanted Drama in school because: “Learning is dynamic and children's ideas/learning can be challenged and accelerated at the point of learning for the greatest impact. Some children were not engaging in the classroom and were being passive learners. However, in Drama it is very evident how the children are working and what their level of understanding is and the lesson can be adapted to take into account feedback and observation of the children in real time.”
Paul is particularly keen on the fact that Drama: “develops thinking skills - the children have to have an opinion and have to be able to justify their opinion. Not only to themselves but to their peers. Their peers develop strong questioning skills to try to understand the thoughts/actions of the people involved in the drama.”
He wanted Drama in school because: “Learning is dynamic and children's ideas/learning can be challenged and accelerated at the point of learning for the greatest impact. Some children were not engaging in the classroom and were being passive learners. However, in Drama it is very evident how the children are working and what their level of understanding is and the lesson can be adapted to take into account feedback and observation of the children in real time.”
Gertie asked Year 4 children over the past years, what skills they thought they were learning in Drama, 50% would come back with (although not all using this word) – persistence. She hadn’t realised she was teaching to “keep on trying”; “that failure was okay”; and “not to give up when it goes wrong” so clearly. Persistence is a key life skill.
