The Creative Space is the sensory drama studio at Brays School, where we run a programme of facilitated workshops throughout the year that are thematically linked to the school’s curriculum. Established in 2010, the studio has become an integral part of the children’s experience at Brays.
How it works
Every half term we have a new theme at Brays that drives all the work in the classrooms and in The Space. As part of the planning for each theme we devise five workshops for The Space. For example in the theme based on India, the workshops in The Space were Tiger, Carpets, Market, Bread and Festival. The workshop itself usually has three main activities which are accessible to all the children. In the Tiger workshop for example the children arrived at a bamboo house decorated with tiger motifs. First they cleaned and tidied the house, then they decorated themselves with stripes using face paints before the lighting changed and a video of tigers was revealed.
Each week’s workshop takes place in a specific environment which is created by The Build Team on Friday afternoons. Each teacher receives notes and photos about the workshop and a short briefing session on Monday afternoon. They then take their classes in at their designated time each week.
Why it works
At Brays School we believe all pupils are creative individuals. We actively encourage creative play and aim to provide activities that are fun, engaging and accessible for all the children. In addition, we often carry elements of activities over from week to week, so the children get a second chance to participate. As a general rule most of the activities are to do with problem solving, and different children will see the activity in different ways. So for example an activity that involves hanging pieces of wool over a line might involve sorting the wool into colours first, or maybe hanging them all at equal distances, or just delighting in seeing the growing design. For other children the challenge may simply be how to physically engage with the activity. If a child engages in a certain way, that’s the way we go. ‘Child lead’ is a much used. term but in essence we believe the children will engage more with their own ideas.
Additionally, in The Space we are able to utilise the tried and tested methods used in the theatre. We use lighting to highlight areas of specific interest and to set the general scene and music to support or add context to the activities. We have also built up a large wardrobe of costumes and an extensive collection of props and resources. including many unusual musical instruments.
We also reinforce ideas and themes across the school. We will for example use a specific palette of colours throughout a theme, so the work produced in art classes echoes, supports and reinforces the work in The Space. And vice versa.
The curriculum
Having a thematically based curriculum enables us to directly relate the work in The Space to the work in the classrooms, where we can give an additional visceral experience. When the theme was AncientEgypt we used a 4m shaduf to move water in The Space, before digging up clay to make tablets to present to the Pharaoh. When the theme was Space, we boarded the spacecraft, paying due attention to all safety procedures, before heading off to explore the surface of Mars. When the them was On The Land we gathered apples and pressed them into juice.
The impact on the children
This is a long-term project and we aspire to affect positive change in the children, many of whom will have participated in upwards of 200 sessions in The Space during their time with us. We see many developments in the children, including the following:
- Increased focus and attention span. The classroom can be a challenging environment for many of our children but many blossom in The Space where we can use the lighting, sounds and resources to create different environments for them to explore
- Increased independent working
- Increased participation with others
- Increased anticipation of the workshops
- Increased tolerance of new situations.
- Decreased unwanted behaviours
External Validation
The Creative Space forms a key part of our current Arts Mark Gold status and a Leading Aspect Award. The Creative Space was awarded the Drama and Theatre Magazine Editor’s Award Winner 2024 in the Music and Drama Education Awards.
