Peter Kennedy drama in education

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“Children rise above their average behaviour in play” – Lev Vygotsky

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guidance document states:

“Children learn by doing, rather than by being told. Learning is a shared process and children learn best when … they are actively involved and interested.”

As educators of foundation stage children (irrespective of whether or not you are a drama specialist) your job is to provide your children with structured play that will be enjoyable, challenging and exploratory.

Children’s play reveals innate ‘drama’ skills such as the ability to create, adopt and sustain roles, to interact with others in an imagined setting and to communicate feelings and atmosphere.

Structured drama builds on these skills to provide meaningful and challenging role-play situations that will promote the development and use of language and help them make sense of the world.

Peter Kennedy offers:

Demonstration Lessons

Working with your children in your teaching space, Peter will demonstrate approaches to using drama in the foundation stage including warm-up activities, whole class-role play, teacher in role, magic microphone and occupational mime. As an observer, you will be able to see how your children respond to this approach as well as collecting ideas to add to your own teaching repertoire.

Teacher Training Sessions

Either as a whole school, or working exclusively with the early years teachers, Peter will lead an in-school training event (full day, half day or twilight) that will explain and demonstrate a range of games, techniques and strategies that provide enjoyment, engagement and challenge for foundation stage children. These session can be tailored to the specific needs of your school.

In-class Coaching

Through an extended collaboration, Peter will work alongside individual teachers over a series of sessions to develop their confidence in using drama techniques in curriculum delivery. This approach incorporates joint planning, team teaching and reflective evaluation.