I wanted to talk today about the new youth theatre I've started volunteering at. I'm working with their new young group of 5-8 year olds.
What attracted me to this group is it's real commitment to inclusively. Young people are defined as individuals, rather than by traditional SEN labels, and support provided accordingly. There's also a commitment to training all volunteer practitioners in Makaton, which I love using and find really useful with almost all early years work, regardless of any language issues within the group.
Yet, there are some real, practical issues with the operations side of this group:
1 The school hall we're using is a deeply inappropriate space - big, full of distractions and as echoey as you like. The group is largely drawn from the school that hosts us and they feel total ownership over the space - anything that can be climbed on, jumped off, run over or hid under will be.
2 The group is large - to my mind very large for such a young age and range of needs - around 35. Even allowing for the large number of volunteer practitioners - 6 or so each week - their diverse needs and issues with behaviour management makes the group nigh-on impossible to lead.
3 Due to myriad factors around children from other schools attending the group and times we can access rooms there is a complicated and disparate signing in process which involves children waiting in the school library for up to 20 mins before the sessions (like some book-strewn pressure cooker) The school is a large one and practitioners must accompany children at all times, meaning a complicated process of ferrying children round corridors set the tone as chaotic and unfocused before a session's even begun.
All this combines to make what is to my mind utter pandemonium. No only was there very little engagement with anything creative, there was a very limited grasp on safely.
And let me be very clear - this is not down to the children, who while having various educational needs are by no means unsuited to drama work of this kind. It's not down to the practitioners, who are doing their absolute best with the parameters set for them. I don't believe it is even down to the school, who are managing their operations as best they can to make room for us. Nevertheless a combination of the above has made this youth theatre a battle for any moment of engagement: last week we achieved about 2 minutes' worth when me and a fellow volunteer managed to get out group lying in a circle, heads together, imagining different animals we could be. That was the only thing that allowed us to cut off the noise and chaos of the rest of the room.
And so my question is, when do you calmly step back and use that theatrical phrase "I can't work in these conditions"?
I feel this is a classic example of drama in schools at once being overvalued and undervalued. Overvalued because it is assumed we can work wonders, with the most difficult children and with the most limited of resources. And therefore because of this jedi mind-trick we're supposed to be able to do, or because it's seen as harmless fun we are also undervalued, and given deeply unsuitable spaces to work with.
And at the end of the day, everyone likes to be overvalued, and no one (especially arts education charities) likes to kick up an awkward fuss when they're being undervalued so we by and large just accept what we're given rather than admit that actually nothing about this set up is conducive to doing anything positive or inclusive through drama. After all, we (practitioners in general and this youth theatre in particular) are a positive bunch and like to focus on what can be done - yet I feel there has to be a point where we put our hands up and admit this just isn't working for us.
Would love to hear if anyone else has ever been in a similar situation, and how they dealt with it?
In other news, I am going to Goldsmiths University Postgraduate Open Evening this week, with a view to beginning the process of applying for my PhD. I want to look at how play as a mode of learning can be used in secondary schools. The more I think about this, the more excited and determined I am, so expect more news very soon!
