With grateful thanks to NORSE the Principal Funder of T.A.P.
diversity, capability and experience
www.norsegroup.co.uk
The Background
Norwich Theatre Royal has worked with approximately 73% of Primary Schools in Norfolk, leaving 98 of the 367 primary schools with no link to the theatre.
The theatre invited these schools to take part in research in new research during May 2011, to identify barriers to participation and establish preferred subsidy and resource options to encourage and support attendance.
The main identified were:
- Cost of ticket/s
- Cost of travel
- Travel Time
- Time out of curriculum
86% stated the combined cost of attendance was consistently the main barrier to attendance, the secondary factor was the distance involved for many schools. 64% also requested a short informative film for teachers and pupils to illustrate the process of a theatre visit.
The Project
Primary School Subsidy
Subsidy allowance available to eligible schools to ensure the combined cost per child is affordable for the catchment area of the school. The allocation of this fund will be at the discretion of the education department, who will tailor the package to suit the individual school and circumstance, to enable their attendance. For example, a small school of 15 children may be able to afford the ticket price of £8, but may struggle with transportation costs; a class over an hour away may struggle to justify attendance of the theatre but may benefit greatly from an outreach education workshop, and a school with special needs students may provide their own transportation but require specialist support on site – the education team will tailor packages for each school to address their restrictions.
Information Film
Many children, especially those whose parents do not attend the theatre, have little or no understanding of what a theatre visit involves. 64% of the schools surveyed requested a short informative film for teachers and pupils to illustrate the process of a theatre visit. The 10-15 minute professional short film would breakdown the psychological barriers to attendance, and provide a guide to theatre conventions that could be shown to the class prior to their visit.
Teacher Participation Events
A regular series of new Teacher Participation Events will break down the barriers to involvement and highlight the educational provision at the theatre for Head Teachers whose schools don’t attend, newly qualified teachers, and teachers new to the area. This will allow the education team to demonstrate their programme, and allow the teachers the opportunity to see the process in action and have queries answered directly. These events will help the education team establish relationships with these schools, and help them tailor packages to suit the needs of the schools and pupils.
Funding Criteria
The T.A.P. fund in year one 2011/12 will be directed towards the schools that participated in the research. Year two 2012/13 the theatre will approach schools that have not attended a production for five years, and in year three 2013/14 T.A.P will be open to all primary schools in Norfolk.
Each school will be graded according to their factors of need. These factors include the number of children: with a statements of special need, entitled to free school meals, with English as a second language and their distance from Norwich Theatre Royal.
For more information please contact:
Jason Raper
Education Manager
Norwich Theatre Royal
Theatre Street
Norwich
NR2 1RL
e-mail: j.raper@theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk
Tel: 01603 598523
Fax: 01603 598501
Mobile: 0752 780 6748