Stage and theatre schools

Background

There are eight independent non-association stage and theatre schools providing full-time education for pupils of compulsory school age across the country;half of them are in London. They provide an academic curriculum, as well as professional studies. The main difficulty which faces stage and theatre schools is maintaining a balance between the academic and perceived professional needs of the pupils. Most of the schools provide opportunities for developing skills across a range of theatrical arts, but a few specialise in dance/ballet. Please note, however, that there are other specialist schools which are members of associations affiliated to the Independent Schools Council (ISC) and will be inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). These include, for example, all English choir schools.

Sometimes young children appear in television commercials and in stage shows and the school must avoid exploitation. It is worth noting how many pupils actually obtain professional engagements and checking to ensure that pupils do not exceed the permitted number of professional working days in a year. The local authority is responsible for issuing licenses to the chaperones nominated by individual schools, who accompany pupils while they are engaged in professional work. Some stage schools also admit pupils who have failed to thrive in mainstream school. Inspectors should look carefully to ensure that the school has sufficient expertise and resources to meet the pupils' specific needs.

Many stage schools have developed from Saturday class provision and some proprietors are also the headteachers but have no formal training in teaching academic subjects. The owner-proprietor usually takes an active role in the organisation and management of the school, and in several cases, also runs their own theatrical agency attached to the school. As professional artists are used in the majority of schools to provide the vocational teaching, they are usually employed part time and sometimes the timetable is planned to fit in with their availability. Teachers of academic subjects are also likely to be part time and anxious to 'block' their time in an individual school because of work elsewhere, and inspectors should look carefully at arrangements to ensure that the impact of timetabling is not detrimental to the progress that pupils make.

The curriculum

Inspectors must check that a broad and balanced curriculum is provided in line with the regulations, bearing in mind that the time constraints resulting from drama, music and dance commitments may cause pressure on the timetable. Subjects such as religious education (RE), art, information and communication technology (ICT) and design and technology (D&T) are often short of time. Inspectors must not insist that a school offers particular subjects, but must check that the areas of experience detailed by the regulations are covered adequately. Provision for science may be circumscribed by limited accommodation and resources.

Curriculum coverage needs careful investigation because teachers may be solely responsible for the quality and extent of their own planning and evaluation. The disruption of academic work by auditions and professional engagements is a particular problem and pupils' books and records should be checked for continuity. Some schools divide the week into specific days for academic and professional studies; others run a mixed timetable throughout the week. The time allocated to the normal curriculum, the balance of subjects within the curriculum and the timetable need to be investigated.

Teaching and learning

The quality of teaching can vary and there is not always a system for regular monitoring of teaching. As many teachers are part time it is likely that some subjects will be taught to the same group by more than one teacher. The ways in which the school ensures a common approach need to be investigated. Classes often have pupils of mixed ages, as well as different abilities. In some cases one class may have pupils from two key stages and may require substantially differentiated provision. Pupils' learning is at risk of fragmentation because of the difficulty of allocating sufficient time to the competing demands of academic and vocational subjects. Assessment is frequently undeveloped. Levels of attainment often vary considerably between pupils of similar ages but schools should be seeking to achieve at or about national levels of expectation if pupils' educational opportunities are not to be unacceptably curtailed. Inspectors also need to investigate how pupils' entitlement is safeguarded while they are working professionally.

Personal development

Behaviour can sometimes be insecure, perhaps due to more extrovert personalities or the competitive environment, but also as a result of the long hours that pupils may work, especially when doing shows or taking out of school classes in vocational subjects. This affects younger pupils particularly. Inspectors should look carefully at the mechanisms schools have for dealing with instances of poor behaviour, and the assistance they give to pupils for managing stress.

Welfare, health and safety

Particular attention should be given to how attendance is recorded and monitored especially with regard to the number of days which pupils of a given age may work professionally: 40 days for pupils under 14; 80 days for pupils over 14. Pastoral care is an important issue since pupils are likely to have a large number of teachers who do not routinely meet to discuss the different aspects of an individual student's work. Weaknesses in assessment and record keeping may exacerbate this problem.

Premises and accommodation

Premises are rarely purpose built. The provision for vocational subjects needs to be carefully inspected to make sure that, for example, there is adequate space for music and drama and sprung floors for dance. Some accommodation may also be heavily used for classes for students who are not pupils, and some of this may take place during the school day. Given the nature of the school, inspectors should ensure that the school has sufficient changing areas and showers for pupils to use. A few schools offer boarding facilities and the usual criteria need to be used when inspecting such accommodation - see additional guidance in the Independent schools inspection handbook on inspecting boarding and residential schools.

List of stage and theatre schools as at October 2006

LA No.	DfES No	LA name	School name
203	6298	Greenwich	Belcanto London Academy
205	6208	Hammersmith and Fulham	Ravenscourt Theatre School
302	6111	Barnet	Susi Earnshaw Theatre School
307	6050	Ealing	Barbara Speake Stage School
331	6011	Coventry	Pattison College
846	6017	Brighton and Hove	Stonelands School of Ballet and Theatre Arts
868	6018	Windsor and Maidenhead	Redroofs Theatre School
846	6022	Brighton and Hove	K-BIS Theatre School

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