An INSET session with the RSC is an opportunity for evidence-based professional development for your teachers. Focusing on one play it will feature several active approaches to teach it in your specific school setting. You can book a full day, half-day/twilight or INSET online webinars.

Find out more information on what we can offer below:

• Primary
• Secondary
• PGCE
• Lectures and Bespoke Events

BOOKING INFORMATION

Full Day: £900 for state schools* (£1,250 for other institutions)

Half Day/Twilight: £750 for state schools* (£950 for other institutions)

Online workshop: £250 for state schools* (£350 for other institutions)

*State schools including academies, local authority schools, and free schools.

For international schools outside of the UK, please contact us for bespoke pricing.

If you would like to make an enquiry about INSET sessions before you make a booking please contact us: teachers.courses@rsc.org.uk

If you are ready to book an INSET session with us please complete the form below and a member of our team will be in touch to organise the arrangements.

Booking form 2025/26

How does it work?

• Select a Shakespeare text (or other play in our repertoire) and tell us your teaching context then we will design an INSET session for your teachers to meet their professional development needs.
• You can select a full day of training, a half day/twilight session or a bespoke online webinar. For longer sessions please contact us to discuss your specific requirements.
• Our CPD sessions are facilitated by our Associate Learning Practitioners, all of whom have extensive expertise in working with children, young people and teachers, as well as experience directly from our rehearsal rooms as actors, directors or other theatre artists.
• Each INSET comes with a full pack of teaching and learning resources following the day to support future planning and delivery.
• We can send a practitioner to your school anywhere around the UK, we can also host you in one of our education spaces in Stratford-upon-Avon or we can deliver a session online. Please contact us if you would like to combine your CPD experience with attending a show on one of our stages.
• We are also able to offer combined opportunities for teachers and pupils, and so if this is something you're interested in please contact us and we will discuss your bespoke arrangements.

Professional Outcomes

An INSET session with the RSC gives teachers impactful, creative, evidence-informed, career-long professional development. Teachers attending an INSET session led by experienced RSC practitioners will achieve professional outcomes in key areas of development and learning.

Our INSET sessions support teachers to develop the knowledge, confidence and skills to achieve…

Deep knowledge of:

• at least one Shakespeare play.
• strategies and approaches transferable to any complex text.
• how and why children and young people develop and learn through using RSC pedagogy.

Critical understanding of:

• RSC rehearsal room approaches.
• how to design, implement and evaluate a range of learning activities.
• current research and evidence into RSC pedagogy, including our Time to Act project.
• how to provide appropriate academic and pastoral support relating to learning about Shakespeare’s plays.

Pedagogical understanding to:

• plan and deliver highly effective lessons and lesson sequences on Shakespeare’s plays.
• ensure that all children learn and make progress equitably.
• critically evaluate and reflect on teaching practice.

Primary

INSET sessions for teaching Shakespeare at EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

All our Primary INSET sessions include an introduction to using approaches and techniques from our rehearsal rooms in your classroom. 

• Explore playful activities that make learning about Shakespeare fun and creative.
• Learn techniques for introducing Shakespeare's stories appropriately to younger pupils.
• Discover ways to use the text to support primary literacy outcomes for KS2.
• Find inclusive way to understand Shakespeare's worlds and what they mean for young people today.
• Gain insights into our recent research, Time to Act, into the benefits of our rehearsal room approaches on primary pupils.

Most popular plays for primary include: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Matilda The Musical.

Secondary

INSET sessions for teaching Shakespeare at Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, Key Stage 5 and Further Education for English Literature, Drama & Theatre or Performing Arts.

All our Secondary INSET sessions include an introduction to using approaches and techniques from our rehearsal rooms in your classroom and are transferable across Shakespeare's plays or any other complex text.

PGCE

We can provide workshops, masterclasses or longer courses for PGCE programmes or any ITT (Initial Teacher Training) provider across the UK. Our CPD courses can benefit teachers at any stage of their career, but especially provide trainee teachers with robust training in teaching Shakespeare that will have profound impact on their careers.

Our research-informed and evidence-based methods can equip early career teachers with the knowledge, confidence and skills to establish highly effective learning environments which generate a love of language, literature and theatre for both teacher and student alike.

Our courses for trainee teachers can focus on teaching Shakespeare for secondary English, secondary Drama, Primary, SEND or a combination of settings. Please specify your preference when completing our booking form.

Lectures and Bespoke Events

We are also able to provide a variety of other opportunities for teachers and educators, from lectures and speeches to bespoke education events. Topics we can cover range from areas of interest relating to the study of Shakespeare, to English and Drama education, to classical and contemporary theatre practice, to our recent research projects such as Time to Act.

To discuss your bespoke teaching event please contact us at: teachers.courses@rsc.org.uk