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Friday, 22 March

GSCE set text workshop for teachers - London

Join drama teachers in deepening student understanding of GCSE texts

Run by NATD - National Association for Teaching of Drama

A participatory workshop

Teachers will work collaboratively using experiential drama systems to explore GCSE drama texts. The approaches used have been proven to work over many years in deepening student understanding and enabling them to achieve exam success. They can be applied to any set text that teachers are using although we will begin with The Crucible by Arthur Miller.

The second half of the workshop will see participants working together to develop their own schemes of work that use the same techniques to teach The Great Wave by Francis Turnly. This play is a new text for GCSE and the hope is that colleagues will collaborate to develop their understanding of how best to teach it.

Workshop leaders

Sorrel Oates is currently Curriculum Leader for Drama at King Edward VII School in Sheffield. She has 30 years experience teaching and leading Drama departments. She is a long-standing member of NATD and has served as Chair of the Association. She is currently a member of the National Exec. She has worked as an examiner for GCSE Drama for Edexcel, OCR and AQA.

D r Theo Bryer taught Drama and other subjects in schools and colleges for over twenty years and currently works at UCL's Institute of Education on the English-with-Drama PGCE and MA English Education. She is a long standing and active member of NATD.

Matthew Milburn will also be in attendance. He began his career as a secondary school drama teacher and became a Curriculum Leader for Creative Arts, before spending seventeen years as Headteacher first in Barnsley then in Oldham. He has been a member of NATD for over 35 years and is a Patron of the Association.

NATD.co.uk

 NATD has been an active member of DTEA since its inception. We support the Seize the Day Campaign.

#SeizeTheDay Campaign information 2024

What is Seize The Day?

The DTEA is co-ordinating a national campaign to raise awareness about the value of Drama and Theatre Education in young people's lives, coinciding with World Theatre Day and World Theatre Day for Children & Young People.

We are asking schools, colleges, universities, theatres, arts centres and youth theatres to stage a drama or theatre event in the week of 20th – 27th March 2024 and to invite their local MP, councillors, school governors and local media.

The events could be any form of workshop, rehearsal, event or performance for, with, or by children and young people.

 

Campaign Strategy

  • Update the DTEA website with information on the forthcoming campaign, our plans, our ‘ask’, timeline, and useful guidance and advice for anyone who wants to take part

  • Publish a press release about the initiative by mid-November 2023

    • Reference events held in 2022 & 2023, lessons learned, etc

    • Highlight the initiative objectives:

o   The inclusion of Drama as a subject in the National Curriculum  

o   The entitlement of every child to at least one annual engagement with professional theatre.

o   A drama curriculum and theatre repertoire that is more representative of the UK's diverse population.

https://www.anewdirection.org.uk/the-arts-in-schools

  • February 2024, send a final call to action to venues and groups to participate

  • Mid-February 2024

    • Remind participating groups to invite their MP and to update the DTEA on their plans

    • Publish second press release about the event with a list of confirmed events asking press to cover the stories

    • remind all MPs councillors and school governors that Seize the Day is happening with a list of events

  • Four days before publish final press release with list of events happening, participating organisations/groups etc.

I'm excited to share that I'm on the brink of launching a platform called "Ta'beer/Expression," specifically designed for teachers, artists, writers, and anyone working with children and youth. After two years of working hard, I'm thrilled to announce that it's set to make its digital debut this coming July. This platform aims to be a comprehensive resource hub covering Drama and Education, Writing and Creative Writing, and Family Archives, all with the goal of enhancing educational experiences and promoting cultural understanding.

I'm proud to say that we've accumulated a substantial collection of materials ready for publication across these diverse components. Notably, the project includes five units dedicated to Writing and Creative Writing, delving into the poignant theme of "childhood and war" through various artistic mediums.

In reaching out to you, I'm hoping to extend an invitation for contributions to this endeavor. We're seeking lesson plans, instructional schemes, and practical insights that could enrich the educational offerings on our platform. Furthermore, as our website is committed to being a free resource for educators and individuals, we're keen to collaborate with creators willing to provide materials with free copyright for translation and publication on our platform.

Your support and connections would be invaluable in sourcing such materials and broadening our reach. Any suggestions or contributions you can offer would be deeply appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and assistance. I eagerly anticipate the possibility of collaborating with you and bringing this project to fruition.

Wasim Kurdi

Ta’beer Team

To contribute to Wasim’s work, please contact him directly: wasimkurdi@gmail.com

(Wasim Al Kurdi is a poet, writer, and practitioner in the field of Drama in Education and a friend of the Association. He was the Director of the Educational Research and Development Programme at the A.M. Qattan Foundation, in Palestine. He is a referee for NATD’s Journal for Drama in Education. He was a key member of the team that ran the MA summer school in Jordan on which many members of the Association taught.)

Childhood and War:

An invitation from Wasim Kurdi

NATD statement on Israel/Gaza

NATD stands in solidarity with all those - Israeli and Palestinian - suffering the impact of horrific violence. Our thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones and neighbours and who live under fear of attack, kidnap, bombardment or siege.

We deplore all acts of violence against civilians and call for both sides to respect their responsibilities to protect civilians. International law outlaws collective punishment. Both sides must immediately refrain from retaliatory attacks in which civilians, including children, pay the price. 

Children across Israel and Palestine are suffering. NATD stands in solidarity with children and young people around the world, their teachers and other educators. We thank educators who are doing their best to maintain education in the most appalling circumstances. 

Over 100,000 displaced Palestinians are sheltering in UNRWA schools in Gaza. They must be safeguarded from attack. 

The siege of Gaza must be immediately lifted to avoid an otherwise catastrophic humanitarian crisis. 

The international community bears responsibility to work with all parties to bring about a ceasefire at the earliest possible opportunity.   

The children of the region have the right to a future free from war, violence and oppression. We want a peaceful resolution in which both Palestinians and Israelis can live lives of dignity, in peace and safety. 

NATD opposes antisemitism and Islamophobia. The current crisis must not lead to a rise in racism. 

We must all work to build a peaceful future. 

(NATD stands alongside the NEU. The above statement was adapted from the NEU website). 

The re-accreditation of PGCE courses in England poses a threat to the provision of specialist drama teachers. Here is a statement from SCITED – the Standing Committee of Initial Teacher Educators in Drama about the current situation:

The Ofsted back-lash (Legal case; Inadequate) and industrial action provides context for the current recruitment and teacher supply crisis (Census) - yet the government remains set on wasting £35.7 million on a damaging and superfluous re-accreditation of Initial Teacher Education. Around 25% of providers, including 1 in 7 universities (5k places) have failed the time-consuming, two-stage re-accreditation process, including some rated Ofsted Outstanding, like Durham University (BERA). Experienced staff and the key relationship between universities and schools that they sustained will be lost (Ideological), to be replaced by institutions that do not yet exist, are entirely untested and have no network of schools to build upon. Lack of provision in the South West and North East of England - both areas of social and economic deprivation - will be particularly damaging for Drama and arts education. This follows a round of cuts to those subjects that the government does not consider strategically important at HE level (Cuts; Wolverhampton). Without properly qualified specialist teachers in schools and opportunities to study at university, Drama is under significant threat.

Drama teaching is an art that must be underpinned by profound philosophical understanding and honed through careful, reflective practice. There is a theoretical framework around which rich and empowering learning experiences should be built for young people. The most meaningful teaching starts from the child and builds on what they know, understand and need. Drama offers a unique space in which young people can work socially to understand themselves, the world, and their relationship to it. There should be more Drama in schools and Drama should always be taught by qualified subject specialists.

For Members of NATD - Sponsorship Offer

We are offering to sponsor a teacher to attend the Dorothy Heathcote Now International Drama Conference 2023.*

The conference will take place in Aberdeen from 09:00, Thursday, 5th October 2023 to 17:00, Sunday, 8th October 2023 .

The sponsorship will cover the conference fees. Travel and accommodation costs will not be covered.

If you are in your first 5 years of teaching, are currently teaching in the UK, and would like to apply please complete the application form below.

Closing dates for applications 9th July. 

*Dorothy Heathcote Now International Drama Conference 2023 Tickets, Thu 5 Oct 2023 at 09:00 | Eventbrite

Sponsorship Application Form

An open letter from the education community to the Labour education team

Dear colleagues

You may be aware that this week Lord Blunkett published a major study to inform a potential Labour government’s education manifesto which has proposed, among other things, a review of Ofsted, a reformed “creative” national curriculum and less focus on exams.

You can read more about the study here and download the full report here.

In response to the study a wide alliance of teachers, parents, educators, school leaders, and academics has composed an open letter in support of the report’s recommendations and with suggestions on things that might be changed or improved.

If you would like to read the letter and add your name please visit this Google document page, the more names added from across the education community, the more chance there is Labour will listen and take our community’s views into account.

There have been few opportunities in recent times to influence and shape the direction of education in England, now is one of those times. Let’s hope for change.

Tim

Sign the letter

Copyright (C) 2022 Mantle of the Expert. All rights reserved.

Midland Actors Theatre and University College London present

DOROTHY HEATHCOTE NOW 2022

An International Conference

11-13 NOVEMBER 2022

at IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society, London WC1H 0AL

BOOKING NOW OPEN

Dorothy Heathcote was ahead of her time. Her work continues to provide models, inspiration, and challenges. Her vision of a revolution in the way we think about education seems even more urgent now than ever.

This conference will combine talks and practical workshops. It will explore the continuum between "process" and "product," "experience" and "form" in drama work. We will look at how we can work with theatre texts, and also draw inspiration from them in our drama teaching.

There is an international line-up of presenters including Cecily O'Neill, Stig A. Eriksson, Pam Bowell, Maggie Hulson, Geoff Readman and Carmel O'Sullivan

HOW IT WILL WORK

ON 11 NOV, there will be a one-day online event. There will be a range of speakers, discussing different aspects of Dorothy's work.

ON 12-13 NOV, there will be a two-day, in-person event at UCL in London, with a series of talks and practical workshops.

You have two choices for the event – book for the online event only (11 Nov), or book for all three days (11-13 Nov). There is a discount if you book before 30 Sept.

Places are limited, so book now!

To book, go to: https://dorothyheathcotenow2022.eventbrite.co.uk

The conference is presented in association with the Mantle Network, and the Institute of English Studies (University of Lodz). Midland Actors Theatre is currently lead partner on two Erasmus Plus projects, on the Commission Model and Rolling Role.

 June 2022

NATD message to all members

The Drama & Theatre Education Alliance* has launched “Seize The Day, 2023”.

This is a national initiative to raise the profile of Drama in schools and of Theatre for Young Audiences. The DTEA is calling on, amongst others, all drama teachers to invite their MP, local councillors and the press to witness their work. This may take the form, for example, of drama classes in school, or performances by children and young people.

The DTEA is very keen for as many NATD members to participate as possible. If you think this is something you would like to take part in please contact Maggie Hulson maggieh@natd.eu by 11th July.

For further information please see DTEA press release also posted on this website.

 

*About the DTEA

The DTEA is an alliance of 14 national associations, including NATD, that work in drama and theatre for, with and by children and young people. The DTEA was formed in 2020.

The three key objectives of the Alliance are:

·        The inclusion in the curriculum of Drama as a Foundation Subject in the National Curriculum with the same status as Art and Music;

·        The entitlement of every child to at least one annual engagement with professional theatre.

·        A drama curriculum and theatre repertoire that is more representative of the UK's diverse population.

 

Opportunities at Big Brum TIE Company

Our Friends at Big Brum are advertising a number of opportunities to work with them: an Actor/Teacher role; the post of Operations Co-ordinator; as well as looking for people to apply to join the Board of Trustees. Please follow the links below for details of how to apply.

Big Brum Actor Teacher Advert Big Brum Operations Coordinator 2022 Advert

Big Brum Invitation to Join the Board of Trustees

Conferences, International Liam Harris Conferences, International Liam Harris

Dorothy Heathcote Now Conference

Midlands Actors Theatre and Birmingham City University announce an international conference to mark the 10th anniversary of Dorothy Heathcote’s death.

Dorothy Heathcote was ahead of her time. Her work continues to provide models, inspiration, and challenges. Her vision of a revolution in the way we think about education seems even more urgent now than ever.

Read More