Education Department's Aims and Priorities 2008 - 2012
The Department has five overarching aims for the next five years:
- To give young people access to positive experiences of Shakespeare
- To ensure this experience is offered to the full range of children and young people in our society
- To provide training opportunities for teachers, lecturers and theatre educators
- To play a leadership role in the way Shakespeare is taught and assessed in schools
- To contribute to creative learning agendas
We will work towards these aims by:
1. Giving young people access to positive experiences of Shakespeare by offering:
- A variety of opportunities for young people to enjoy a sustained engagement with Shakespeare, including opportunities to create and then perform responses to his plays;
- Education activities for school groups attending our Shakespeare productions;
- Productions targeted directly at, and/or performed in, schools - eg Young People's Shakespeare;
- An ever-growing range of educational materials targeted at schools;
- Training for teachers and artists in active approaches to Shakespeare;
- Specific projects to support the study of Shakespeare at Key Stage 3;
- Seeking commercial opportunities which cross-subsidise our work, or by securing funding or partnerships that enable us to effectively target as many schools and young people as possible.
2. To ensure this experience is offered to the full range of children and young people in our society by:
- Creating inclusive programmes of work suitable for the full range of abilities including pupils working above and below national attainment guidelines and pupils with specific needs, for example those with visual of aural impairment;
- Ensuring all programmes of work and visual materials are free from any covert or overt discrimination and support and enable achievement by pupils of different abilities;
- Applying specific selection criteria for our projects to help us target schools with young people in greatest need of support;
- Targeting schools and young people who have limited access to high quality Shakespeare provision;
- Creating support activities and resources for schools with a high proportion of young people at risk of under-achievement;
- Creating projects targeted at specific under-achieving groups; and
- Using appropriate non-Shakespeare plays in the repertoire as ways to begin a relationship with high priority schools.
3. Providing training for teachers, lecturers and theatre educators by offering:
- Sustained professional development opportunities for English and Drama teachers through the Learning and Performance Network;
- A wide programme of training opportunities for existing or trainee English and Drama teachers and lecturers, from one day courses through to MAs;
- Training for theatre educators and aspiring theatre educators, including RSC actors;
- National access to our training programme through offering work in Stratford, London, Newcastle, on tour and in schools;
- An international programme of teacher training;
- Educational materials (books, DVDs, web) to support the teaching of Shakespeare.
4. Playing a leadership role by continuing to campaign for:
- Recognition of the value of theatre-based approaches to the teaching of Shakespeare;
- Alternative ways of assessing Shakespeare;
- Greater training and support for existing and trainee teachers.
5. Contributing to creative learning agendas by:
- Strategic exploration of creative learning projects;
- Liaising, and working in partnership, with national and international leaders in the fields of theatre education and creative learning;
- Adhering to, and promoting, best practice in the planning, delivery and evaluating of our work, including exploring certain projects through a programme of research and development;
- Influencing curriculum development, pedagogy and assessment where possible.
Education Strategy »
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We regularly consult with a wide range of arts professionals, education advisors, schools, teachers and young people in the development of our work. We are particularly grateful for the contribution made by Professor Jonothan Neelands, made possible through our relationship with Warwick University and the CAPITAL Centre.
