Trestle are well-known for their fantastic work in mask theatre. Now they have something new and exciting to share with teachers of primary-age students. Helen Barnett, creative director at Trestle Theatre Company, tells us how their new Mini Masks are transforming classroom creativity
Here at Trestle Theatre, we are excited to be sharing a brand-new resource for primaries, our Mini Masks. Over the last 40 years, we have been working to bring quality mask practice to secondary schools seeing the impact that our masks can have in the classroom by championing alternative forms of communication, widening access to the arts and promoting engagement in imaginative play as well as so much more. Our work outside of schools, in the social prescribing arena, has also taught us that mask work can support emotional resilience and regulation, develop confidence and encourage collaboration. We knew this wasn't solely something that would be beneficial for older students and we wanted to find out more.
The last three years have seen us do a deep dive into primaries with our Create, Speak, Thrive project, supported by The Paul Hamlyn Foundation Teachers Development Fund. Our research across the project highlighted a profound need emerging against a challenging backdrop. Schools are grappling with communication challenges that have been intensified by the pandemic. Speech, language, and communication needs have surged, and resources and support have lessened or been stretched, creating an urgent need for innovative approaches.
Charlotte Wood, a leading speech and language specialist working with us on Create, Speak, Thrive, summed up the core philosophy of the project: ‘Oracy is the engine of classroom interaction and beyond,’ Wood explains, ‘shaping how students articulate thoughts and engage with peers’.
Creative pedagogies are central to this approach: ‘Using drama, movement and storytelling to create immersive learning experiences can be invaluable.’
This has only been further reinforced by the recent report on the Future of Oracy Education in England, which highlighted that creativity needs to be at the heart of our oracy education and that it needs to start as soon as possible for our young people!
The Create, Speak, Thrive project then led to a further research and testing period with five primary schools: Merchant Taylors’ School, The Ferrars Academy, Roebuck Academy, Maple Cross JMI and Nursery, and Scott Primary School, to co-create our Mini Mask set and resource pack. The outcome was a versatile tool that addresses key challenges schools are currently facing around access, oracy and communication. They are curriculum-aligned yet flexible, encouraging educators to adapt and explore.
The nature of mask work in itself allows the students to express themselves differently and find other ways to communicate, which can be transformative for some, particularly neurodiverse individuals and students with additional needs.
The development of the masks included a series of workshops where teachers were able to see the masks in action with their students. One teacher stated: ‘I was particularly impressed to see how transformative these masks were, making it incredibly difficult to tell which child was wearing which one! I was very surprised to see how much the mask allowed even the most inhibited and introverted children to come out of their shell during these dramatic activities, with the knowledge that they could literally hide behind their mask.’
Another reflected: ‘I thought this was a really interesting and valuable tool for the children, particularly for those with special educational needs.’
Perhaps most powerfully, in terms of current needs, these masks offer a key resource for emotional exploration. Children who might typically struggle to express themselves find a new vocabulary of movement and expression. ‘It was lovely to see some of the shy children join in,’ one educator noted, ‘as the mask provided a barrier that encouraged them to portray emotions with different body actions and less hesitation’. Another teacher said: ‘It was incredible to see children who would normally sit silently now portraying emotions with confidence and creativity.’
Our goal is to provide tools that allow every child to see themselves represented in the characters they create and to benefit from creativity in the classroom. The Mini Masks provide a unique mechanism for younger children to explore elements of the curriculum in a fun way that supports all students to remain engaged and actively involved in their own learning and develop the confidence to create, speak and thrive.
Each Mini Mask set is handcrafted at Trestle Arts Base and includes comprehensive resources along with professional development workshops. We see this as an offer for teachers, a tool to encourage exploration and alternative forms of addressing curriculum needs, not something new to tackle or a predesigned scheme of work to learn – instead these individually designed masks offer an exciting aid to deepen and enhance existing approaches. We hope teachers agree and we can't wait to see more teachers begin to start exploring with them!
The Mini Masks are available now at the link below. For those eager to dive deeper, Trestle offers Continuing Professional Development workshops both in schools and at our St Albans base – please get in touch to find out more!
trestle.org.uk/mask-shop