Drama to Teach Life Skills

Name of School:

Various schools in Doncaster

Year Group:

KS2

Aim of Work:

Using drama to teach essential life skills (team work, communication, listening, problem solving, independent thinking skills, reflection, decision making.)

Length of Project:

10 sessions per school over a 6-month period

What did we do?

The Essential Life Skills project’s main focus was to use drama to practice using essential life skills. Each of the schools involved was given the opportunity to shape the project so that it fitted both their children and their curriculum needs:

Tickhill St Mary’s Primary – Y3

1/2 term life skills were embedded into the Romans as part of the History curriculum
1/2 term life skills were embedded into plant biology as part of the science curriculum

Hayfield Lane Primary School – Y5

Chose to use drama techniques to explore Michael Morpurgo’s Kensuke’s Island and embedding learning about life skills at the same time.

Carr Lodge Academy – Y5

Chose an explicit focus on life skills, collaboration, negotiation and drama skills (rather than being attached to curriculum).

Atlas Primary Academy – after school session with selected Roma children from Y3-6

Sessions took place outdoors and focused on outdoor theatre and teaching the key skills.

What impact did the project have?

The overall impact of the project was to teach and embed the life skills for the children involved. There were also other impacts noted in specific schools:

Tickhill St Mary’s Primary – We worked with an ECT who was supported to embed creativity into her teaching. Teacher moved from passive recipient to active deliverer of drama and expressed that she felt empowered to take risks in front of her class and how much she had learnt that drama is an effective tool for teaching.

Atlas Primary Academy – 3 children started attending Doncaster Youth Theatre following the sessions in school. School was delighted in this result as traditionally Roma children do not engage in extra curricular activities. The children gained the confidence to speak out in the classroom as a result of participating in the drama sessions, having often not been able to previously.

Carr Lodge Academy – In written feedback, the children noted increased levels of self discipline, self regulation and resilience as well as confidence to take risks. They were able to reflect on and articulate their ability to use these new skills.

Hayfield Lane Primary School

Teachers learnt to incorporate the outdoors into their teaching and learning by taking this drama and literacy project outdoors.

"I think we work as a team. We are more collaborative. I have made more friends sharing ideas together."

Child

Carr Lodge Academy

"One teacher was absolutely petrified of the sessions. At the start she said she was really scared about performing and modelled this really well for the children, but by the end she said it had really helped her practice and her development. Rachel would go back in for a session and she’d say, "We’ve been working on our active listening skills, come on everyone let’s show Rachel!""

Sophy Sylvester

Director, Darts (project commissioner)