Niall Whitehead, education practitioner and member of the RSC’s Teacher-Researcher Network, considers how drama in schools enhances wellbeing and promotes student voice.
The Arts in schools
Recent research by the RSC through the Time to Act project has clearly demonstrated the invaluable impact and importance of the arts in education. However, for many secondary schools, there is still a way to go to raise recognition of the value of the arts for young people.
For many years, the focus has been on STEM subjects and, with so many schools advocating for the EBacc, it is fair to say that the arts have often found themselves marginalised and restricted within the curriculum.
The Cultural Learning Alliance's (CLA) report (released May 2024) identified an overall decline of 42% in the number of Arts GCSE entries, between 2009 and 2023. Drama is not recognised as part of the National Curriculum and the CLA reported that 41% of schools no longer enter any pupils for Drama GCSE.
It is vital that we return the arts to the heart of the curriculum and that they are not dismissed to the sidelines of ‘enrichment’ and clubs.
Young people in a 2024 workshop for First Encounters: The Tempest
Why it matters
In her contribution to this blog series, Jacqui O’Hanlon writes of the value of the arts in building literacy and oracy skills. She also describes what teachers and practitioners have long taken for granted – that the subject is vital to building so-called soft skills such as self-esteem, empathy, resilience and tolerance.
Such noncognitive skills have long been seen as a by-product of the drama lesson. However, they are intrinsic to student learning as the very nature of the strategies and content of the drama lesson means that pupils are building these skills without thinking.
That said, young people today are very articulate about wellbeing and mental health. Social media has raised awareness and allowed students to reflect upon their own emotional responses. But such reflection need not be confined to PSHE (personal, social, health and economic education) lessons. If the arts help build a range of skills, why not encourage pupils to explore how these skills have affected them personally in the performing arts lesson?
There is a focus in schools on conceptual knowledge learning in order to pass exams but beyond school is a world where interpersonal skills play a key role in young people’s development and progress. My research at Ark Alexandra Academy, a state-maintained secondary school and sixth form in East Sussex, involved a more conscious engagement with this aspect, highlighting social and emotional capabilities within learning, and allowing this to sit side by side with knowledge and performance.
Creating a company
A vibrant drama classroom is a rehearsal room in itself. The class is the company of actors and, like a professional company, each individual carries responsibility for themselves and others.
My students are familiar with RSC rehearsal room techniques, and we incorporate these into our lessons, on Shakespeare and beyond, to explore texts. Central to any theatre company and drama class is trust. Directors and teachers often spend a significant amount of time playing games and creating exercises which bond the actors and ensure mutual respect. It is common to hear schools discussing British values these days, but values of respect and tolerance have always been prevalent in drama classes.
Once trust is established, an environment exists in which individuals are free to explore and develop their craft and, crucially, on the path to getting things right, they are allowed to get things wrong without fear of judgement.
In my role as a member of the RSC’s Teacher-Researcher Network, I worked with Year 10 students to explore the value of company-building and collaborative learning. My drama students not only reflected on their own experience of being part of an ensemble, but they also acted as my teaching assistants during a rehearsal room class with children from a local primary. This developed their confidence, leadership skills and understanding of trust as a key tenet of drama.
Student Voice
In a safe space, students are allowed to evaluate their learning with honesty and empathy. They are able to be both critical and self-critical, which inevitably leads to constructive development. In my drama classroom, students’ learning has involved an engagement with both theatre skills and, crucially, social and emotional capabilities. This has formed a key part of our work around student voice, with the students involved in the research developing their own reflection system, or survey, based around the acronym of MySELF – My Social and Emotional Learning for the Future.
The system identifies key questions relating specifically to the way in which drama develops social and emotional aptitude in five key areas:
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Management
- Social Awareness
- Relationship Skills
- Responsible Decision-Making
By exploring their personal development in these areas, the students have become more articulate and eloquent in class discussion. As a company, they are able to share and celebrate their successes and reflect on their mistakes with the knowledge that they are supported by their peers on their future path. In other words, their exposure to the arts has been critical to these students’ social, emotional and educational development.
Niall Whitehead, RSC Teacher-Researcher
Niall has worked extensively with the RSC through the Associate Schools Programme and Teacher-Researcher Network. He is a teacher and director, working in primary and secondary education, youth theatre, and specialising in Shakespeare performance and teacher training.
