To book, please complete our booking form found on our INSET Days page.

For any enquiries before making a booking, please contact: teachers.courses@rsc.org.uk. 

We will come to your school or a venue of your choice. You can also choose to come to Stratford-upon-Avon where we will host you in one of our education spaces.

The day will include active workshops so it is important that there is enough space, a school hall or equivalent space. If you have any concerns or questions about your venue let us know. 

We currently offer a full day of INSET (6 hours) and a half day of INSET (3 hours).

A full day usually takes place between 9.30am – 3.30pm, although we can be flexible with exact timings. A half day can take place in a morning slot, afternoon slot, or an evening/twilight slot.

If you require a longer or shorter session, please email teachers.courses@rsc.org.uk to discuss your specific requirements.

We can cover any Shakespeare play or any other play in our repertoire, such as Matilda the Musical, The School for Scandal or Edward II.

We can work with up to 30 members of staff during an INSET session, and in order to get the most out of a shared experience, we recommend a minimum of 10. Please email teachers.courses@rsc.org.uk if you have alternative requirements or would like to discuss this in more detail.

No. You can hold a session for just your staff if you wish, or host an INSET for teachers from schools in your area. Our practitioners can also work with groups where not all participants are teachers. However, it’s important that the purpose of the CPD and the expected outcomes are shared with all participants prior to the session. 

Our approaches are for any teacher or educator who engages with Shakespeare in their classroom. We can tailor our INSET days to meet the needs of teachers of specific key stages and subject specialisms, particularly secondary English teachers, Primary teachers, Drama teachers, SEND teachers and literacy specialists. This includes teaching and learning about Shakespeare for specific outcomes, such as GCSE and A-level examinations.

As a theatre company and IRO (Independent Research Organisation), the RSC frequently conducts research into the impact of our approaches on the social, emotional and educational development of the young people we work with. Our most recent study, Time to Act, has generated the following key findings.

Students in schools using RSC teaching approaches showed the following features in their writing:

• employed richer, broader and more sophisticated vocabulary.
• showed a better grasp of linguistic structures and devices.
• demonstrated a broader understanding of abstract terms and descriptions.
• produced more expansive descriptions of setting, place and atmosphere.
• showed greater optimism and resilience when imagining character outcomes.
• demonstrated better inferencing skills, imagining what might come next.

In addition to outcomes relating to writing, students taught by teachers using RSC teaching approaches were more confident in their self-concept as learners.

For more information about Time to Act, including the full peer-reviewed report, please visit: Time to Act | Royal Shakespeare Company

For information about our research into the impact of our work on secondary age pupils, please visit: Time To Listen | Royal Shakespeare Company

Yes. Please email teachers.courses@rsc.org.uk and a member of the team will contact you. 

A full day INSET (6 hours) costs £1,250.00 and a half day (up to 3 hours) costs £900.00. We offer the following discount for state schools (including academies and local authority schools):

• £950.00
• £750.00

For questions about our rates, please contact: teachers.courses@rsc.org.uk

There are lots of ways you and your students can get involved with the RSC.

Our offer includes the Shakespeare Learning Zone and other teacher resources, Broadcasts and Live Lessons, the Associate Schools Programme, and student workshops and conferences. Click hereto find out more. 

Yes. Attendance at an INSET counts towards the experience you would need to join the Intermediate level of the RSC Certificate in Teaching Shakespeare. Find out more about this suite of courses here.

There are direct parallels between teaching and learning in the classroom and the way that plays are developed in the theatre. The process of rehearsing a play is collaborative and inclusive. Actors and directors will make choices about the interpretation of plot, characters, themes and language of the play. They also explore the key themes and dilemmas that are present in the text.

In our teacher training we explore some of the activities, techniques and questions that the actors and directors use to unlock Shakespeare in the rehearsal room and demonstrate how these can be applied to working with students in the classroom. 

Rehearsal room approaches will:

• Inspire creativity and imagination
• Challenge the themes and dilemmas of the plays 
• Explore inclusive practices, making Shakespeare approachable for all ages and abilities