Drama is not a national curriculum subject, so there can be variation in drama curricula in different settings. That said, there are key elements and key principles that underpin what a good drama curriculum looks like and what we want our students to be able to know and what we want them to do.
Drama helps us investigate the world and our place in it. However, often it’s used as a pedagogical vehicle to learn other subjects, rather than an art form to be studied, according to George Coles in conversation with John Tomsett and me for ‘Huh’.
On the other hand, there can be some great possibilities for the English and the Drama departments to work together. For example, you might be studying An Inspector Calls in English, and pupils will understand a great deal more if they've learned the play then in the drama studio. Then it’s possible to really bring it to life. George’s view is that the drama department and English department should be working together a great deal.
George makes the case for having performances at the heart of the drama curriculum. He believes it's crucial that students experience high-quality theatre. Otherwise you're setting them up to just play. There is room for play within the subject, but pupils also deserve to know what good plays look like, sound like, and feel like. The more we take them to the theatre, the better!
There are rich possibilities for drama and other departments to collaborate. But it must be meaningful. Taking part in critical analysis in English, exploring societal context in history-all enabling them to speak the text and experience the play as one should: in performance.
It’s important for line managers to understand the nuances of the subject in order to have sophisticated curriculum discussions & the underpinning pedagogy. We have to get the balance between consistency and autonomy right so that the essence of the subject is not damaged. Where drama can be damaged is in situations where the SLT declare a whole school initiative and drama has to fit in with it, which sometimes distorts practice. This happens when inflexible blanket school policies that do not understand the context of the individual subject. They need to be built from the ground up!
Some resources that are helpful for colleagues line managing drama
1. The Drama Teacher’s Survival Guide by Matthew Nichols
2. Learning to Teach Drama 11–18 by Andy Kempe
3. Structuring Drama Work by Jonothan Neelands and Tony Goode
If you’d like to know more, you can watch the full conversation with George, John and me on Myatt & Co (£/free trial)
Until next time
Mary
And when you’re ready, you might find these helpful for curriculum and leadership development in your school
NEW: Huh Leadership Lobby: a blended, self-paced course with live check-ins, led by me and Andrew Morrish. It is designed for aspiring, new and established leaders, and starts April 2023, places are limited. You can sign up for a free online webinar on either Wednesday 1 February 6-7pm or Thursday 9 February 7-8pm
Huh Curriculum Leaders Course: UPDATE: Bookings are now closed for the January - February 2023 cohort. If you’d like to be kept up to date on the June course, you can sign up here
The spring Primary Subject Networks now available to book, live and recorded (£/free trial). Due to demand we are planning secondary subject networks, details to follow