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Teacher training is the core of the Associate Schools Programme. We offer CPD Training and other activities to teachers in the programme, as well as resources to help embed active approaches to Shakespeare in classrooms.
We are developing a network of teachers in Special Needs schools and units within the programme, as well as mainstream teachers of students classed with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We have been working closely with Welcombe Hills School, our first Lead Associate School which is a Special School.
Through the development of this network, we want to deepen and expand the growth of this national community with a focus on this specialist area of teaching, embracing research, practice, young people’s voice and talent development.
By working closely with the network, we have developed RSC teaching practice to be inclusive for all learners, particularly, learners with additional needs. We are now looking to work more closely with SLTs in our ASP special schools to share the practice more widely and embed a framework for measuring the impact of this way of working (using the research methodology of one of our Teacher Researchers).
If you are interested in joining our SEND Network, please contact Esther on esther.leith@rsc.org.uk
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We meet regularly online every half term to provide a space for teachers to reflect on and share their practice, developing the pedagogy to become more accessible and to feed into consultation for wider RSC offers. As part of our SEND Teacher Network, we have led several CPD sessions online and our bi-annual SEND Symposium to focus on adapting the pedagogy and approaches for specific needs.
HAVE A LOOK AT THE NOTES AND TEXTS FROM OUR PAST CPD SESSIONS:
SEND Network - 17 November 2021: Notes and Texts
SEND Network - 19 November 2021: Notes and Texts
SEND Network - 22 November 2021: Notes and Texts
SEND SYMPOSIUM - MAKING SHAKESPEARE ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL STUDENTS
Our next SEND Symposium will take place in Stratford-upon-Avon in February 2025 (date tbc). We held our first Associate Schools SEND symposium in Stratford-upon-Avon in February 2023. This was designed for teachers who are interested in exploring how to make the rehearsal rooms approaches accessible and relevant for young people with additional needs. We will be holding our SEND Symposium every other year and will consult with members of the network to decide on the focus and content for this event.
"A wonderful, inspiring day, as always. A space to enable creative conversations and share insights and knowledge. Thank you so much."
"I have attended many valuable workshops with RSC which have been invaluable for my teaching practice. This has been invaluable for my next developments. Thank you."
"All the techniques are just brilliantly transferrable and easy to differentiate to different groups."
ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES AND RESOURCES
We want to make it easier for Associate Schools to find out more about the Accessible Performances and Events that we offer and would encourage our schools to book onto either our Chilled or Relaxed performances.
Resources to support visits to our theatres
Access Needs and information about support we can offer
Assisted Performances (including dates of upcoming Assisted Performances)
Sign interpreted and Captioned performances
BSL Synopsis Videos
Audio Described performances and Touch Tours
Relaxed performances - These performances are ideal for people with learning disabilities or autism, or anyone who would benefit from a more relaxed environment. Some elements of the performance may be changed.
Chilled performances - A chilled performance takes a more casual approach to noise and movement in the auditorium, but the performance itself is unchanged.
Example of a Visual Story to help identify the plot, the characters and the world of the play, using images from the production.
Example of a Sonic Story for our recent production of Macbeth. This visual resource highlights the loud and quiet moments of a performance.
