National Theatre's ‘Let's Play’ Primary Schools Programme has created free learning resources to empower teachers across the curriculum. Paul Bateson finds out more.
Seven years in, the National Theatre's Let's Play programme is going from strength to strength. Launched in 2018, the initiative was designed as an ambitious drive to embed drama in primary schools across the entire curriculum. It offers free learning resources – such as playtexts – and training opportunities for teachers, and is centred around three key areas of work:
- Let's Learn: helps teachers to use drama to support learning across curriculum
- Let's Perform: supports creating theatre performances in schools
- Let's Watch: allows schools to access the National Theatre Collection to watch high-quality theatre productions with related resources.
Let's Learn
Teachers are given access to ‘The Learning Hub’, a free online library of resources, which you can explore by key stage, theatre style or keyword. There are short videos, downloadable PDF plans, learning outcomes and production information, all of which are snappy and easy to use, so are accessible for drama teachers and non-specialists alike.
There's a five-minute video called ‘Let's Make It Up’, for example, which is based on devising in KS2 using a variety of stimulus and working to a theme. It leaves us with inspiration and tangible examples to replicate or adapt in the classroom.
Alongside the online offer, ‘Let's Learn’ includes teacher CPD, ranging from in-school sessions with children and bespoke teacher workshops to larger scale conferences.
Let's Perform
This section provides us with playscripts and musical scores from quality playwrights for children to perform. The Snow Queen for KS2 comes from Zoe Cooper, who, among a list of impressive credentials, is a writer in residence with the RSC. Daffyd James, former NT Connections playwright, contributes NurseryLand Revolution for KS1.
Each play comes with a Teachers Toolkit, a creative learning pack to help introduce children to the world of theatre, the play itself, and suggestions of various ways to involve children in the production process. This is accompanied by a Director's Guide, created by specialists in making theatre with young people.
Looking through the toolkit for one of the plays – Emil and the Detectives – I'm struck not just by the quality of the activities and information, but also the practical usefulness. It offers support and development for teachers wanting to improve creative practice, combined with the tools to get a play up and running quickly.
The school show is ubiquitous, but with fewer Drama specialists at primary level, these resources are incredibly useful.
Let's Watch
Finally, to complement the rest of the programme, there are video performances of age-appropriate productions. Bringing stories to life on stage, they introduce younger children to the magic and spectacle of theatre in their own classroom.
The portfolio offers a range of high-quality shows, including various National Theatre productions of Shakespeare for younger audiences: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and The Winter's Tale, literary adaptations such Peter Pan and Treasure Island, a variety of musicals, Unicorn Theatre classic Anansi the Spider (Re-Spun), versions of Greek myths and more.
Again, for each production there are learning resources, which include short films, synopses, key learnings and rehearsal diaries, enriching the experience and supporting delivery.
Of course, there is the opportunity to take children to the theatre and see shows live, at discounted rates. The National Theatre's current production of Ballet Shoes is a playful and innovative adaptation of the Noel Streatfeild classic, offering a proper spectacle for younger viewers.
The Let's Play programme continues to grow through partnerships with regional theatres to deliver in-person outreach, input onto ITT courses and a new branch ‘The Power of Play’, which looks at the ways drama can support literacy.
The National Theatre really is leading the way – as perhaps they should be – with this programme spanning KS1-KS5. We need our flagship theatre organisation to nurture education and educators, and they are.
As is often the case with the National Theatre, it is the quality of the work that stands out, with world-class playscripts and productions, and resources, training and support that are made by theatre practitioners and therefore are successful in their practical application.
Join the community of schools and get involved in the programme at nationaltheatre.org.uk/learn-explore/schools/lets-play.