ABSTRACT
Whole-school drama Introducing drama as a whole-school approach is challenging, particularly when staff feel unsure about their abilities to teach drama. Planning this as a team has many benefits. You can ensure that coverage is developmental and varied to suit the needs of the children at each stage. This also adds strength to what you are building because the children will be accumulating skills and knowledge as they move through the school which will underpin the new approaches introduced. Team planning provides mutual support, where ideas can be shared and discussed and suggestions offered. But perhaps most importantl)', a staff who work together in a holistic way with agreed aims, commitment and enthusiasm can have an astounding impact on the quality of the learning, as demonstrated in the Success For All programme in USA (Slavin et ale 1996). For, whilst talented individual teachers might offer a memorable year of drama to their own class, the value of that learning will be the proverbial drop in the ocean! In comparison, six years of progressive drama education during which they are developing competencies in a targeted range of skills are going to produce pupils who are confident and creative learners with a good knowledge of theatre arts and a sense of ownership and control of language and drama as an expressive form. Such planning ideally needs to take place under the guidance of a designated drama coordinator.
