PCI hosts a hugely rewarding conference for drama teachers

“Brilliant leaders...Amazing...Fun”: PCI hosts a hugely rewarding conference for drama teachers - Re-imagining Drama: Strategies to engage every learner

The School of PCI hosted a highly successful one-day conference for school Drama teachers on Wednesday 1st July at Stage@Leeds.   This event followed an equally impactful conference in 2025, and focused on the theme of ‘re-imagining’ - considering how we can do Drama differently to engage and inspire all learners. 19 teachers came from as far afield as Derby and Doncaster, to take part in the co-created development day, designed in close collaboration with the Leading Learning Partnership (LLP), a training programme for schools offered by Leeds City Council. 

Drama subject leaders told us in the planning stages that priorities for their members were leadership strategies, responding to national changes such as the OFSTED framework, and supporting diverse cohorts including learners with additional needs.  Teachers were also keen to have practical sessions with 'takeaways' they could implement in their classrooms.    

The conference programme was curated by Carolyn Bradley, postgraduate researcher in the School of PCI who is also a former school Drama teacher and a freelance education consultant, with executive support from Dr Alison Andrews and Head of School, Professor Jonathan Pitches. Sessions were carefully planned to respond to the conference theme, and we were delighted to invite Jamie Sophia Fletcher, Associate Artistic Director of Leeds Playhouse to deliver our keynote. 

Jamie spoke candidly about growing up in the North of England, her education, the impact Drama and Music had on her as a young person, and her training and career journey.  She spoke tellingly about learning to live authentically, and how her personal experiences have shaped her professional work, rooted in accessibility, inclusion and care.   In the Q&A session following Jamie's presentation, one teacher thanked Jamie for "reminding us why we do what we do."   

Teachers then engaged in practical sessions throughout the day, facilitated by PCI staff and postgraduate researchers.  Led by Marianne Mateusz, PGR in the School of PCI and freelance community arts facilitator, teachers learnt how to incorporate zine-making into written drama work to engage learners of all abilities.  Bev Adams, fellow PGR and community theatre director, then led participants in a puppetry workshop using simple materials, such as newspaper, to demonstrate the principles of puppetry through breath, animation, direction and weight, showing how accessible puppetry can be for teachers and students in school settings.   Bev's key message - "anything can be a puppet" - was warmly received by teachers who have perhaps not felt able to teach this discipline without feeling the need for professional resources.   The final workshop of the morning was a one-minute play workshop led by stage@leeds’ Artistic Director Steve Ansell.  Steve demystified the art of playwrighting for participants, who fed back that they found the accessible techniques for writing useful for their diverse cohorts, picking up new games and techniques to take back to class. 

 

After a lively lunch break where teachers networked and socialised, we reconvened for a Drama Curriculum E-Pizza session, led by Carolyn Bradley.  This session used the E-Pizza game designed by colleagues in the School of Education at the University of Leeds, using pizza as a metaphor for considering how we build curricula and who it serves.  Teachers started with a question: 'What do you want students to leave your drama curriculum knowing, feeling, and valuing?’ and then designed a paper-based pizza in response, where the base, shape, toppings, and quantities were all metaphors for what we teach in Drama.  The playful session was useful in helping them interrogate their curriculum design, thinking more deeply about structure, progression and the hidden curriculum behind the content. Some also found it reassuring that their curriculum design was aligned with others.   

 

A plenary session concluded things, where teachers evaluated the day and we informally discussed how teachers would like to see this annual event develop.  Suggestions for how teachers can stay in touch with the University were shared, such as engaging with the Arts and Humanities Educational Outreach team to receive a workshop in their schools.  

In their evaluations, teachers told us they thoroughly enjoyed the day, and sessions were engaging, challenging and relevant.  They particularly enjoyed the practical nature of the sessions which were well-pitched and easy to implement straight away.  The zine making was a standout strategy, which was new to teachers and a method they felt they could implement straight away to support with adaptive teaching.   The glowing feedback below demonstrates the value of the practical sessions, the collegiate and supportive atmosphere, and how events such as this help to motivate and reassure Drama educators to continue their excellent practice: 

"Really lovely to network and be inspired to explore with students in the studio." 

"This has sparked further creativity and motivation for next year." 

"Great that it is so practical and interactive." 

"Brilliant leaders and facilities, amazing, fun." 

"Reassurance that my curriculum plan is in line with others." 

After two successful events in 2025 and 2026, we will now consider how we can grow our network with teachers, and we look forward to planning a larger scale event in 2027. 

Blog written by Carolyn Bradley, postgraduate researcher, School of PCI, with input from Dr Alison Andrews and Professor Jonathan Pitches