It is that time of year where schools up and down the country are getting ready to
entertain parents with wonderful shows and productions. They may be traditional nativity plays right up to full scale productions with lots of singing and dancing.
My first experience as a headteacher was in a school where staff proudly told me that every child in the school (350 on roll) took part. I did query how we stood with fire regulations when we added an audience of at least the same size but apparently we didn’t have a fire officer as a parent so we should be ok!
The idea of involving all the children can be very noble. If you are doing a nativity play the majority can wear a tea towel and be a shepherd. I even involved everyone when we did the Wizard if Oz because we were all (staff included) Munchkins! However, not all productions lend themselves to large participation.
In those cases, we would provide a choir in which (you guessed it) all children would be involved. That was fine during the school day, when the timetable could be collapsed and everyone made their way to the Hall for rehearsals. The problem came in the evening performances when many ‘choir’ children did not come back as they felt they would not be missed.
- So, what is the best approach?
- Do parents INSIST on seeing their children in these performances whatever the role or is it better to just hope they get a ‘part’?
- Is it better to go for quality rather than quantity or is it a feature of primary schools that everyone takes part?
- What about paying for your ticket?
Do let me know your thoughts! It’s fun to share!
