Theatre in Education
Secondary schools across East Sussex are being offered a ‘Theatre in Education’ package which is being co-ordinated by East Sussex County Council. This package aims to enhance the learning that children receive through their PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) education in school.
Theatre in Education is an educational approach that uses theatre and drama to engage students. It goes beyond traditional classroom lessons by enabling students to learn about certain topics through the issues raised in the theatre performance. The performance and related activities make learning exciting, memorable and meaningful.
During spring 2025, the Theatre in Education package is focused on drug, alcohol and tobacco education. It will include an age-appropriate theatre performance called ‘Time Out’ by Solomon Theatre Company, followed by a question-and-answer session with the actors. The theatre performance of around one hour takes place during pupils’ usual lesson time and often the whole year group watches the performance.
Lessons on drug and alcohol education will also be delivered to pupils before and after the performance, as part of their usual PSHE curriculum. This allows schools to deliver optional activities where pupils explore questions about the performance and consider different scenarios from the drama. If you would like to know more about the lesson content, you can speak to your child’s school.
Theatre in Education research
East Sussex County Council is working with the University of Brighton and local secondary schools to evaluate what works well and what could be improved about the Theatre in Education package. This research is being funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Innovation Fund to Reduce Demand for Illicit Substances.
The aim of the research is to understand how drama productions change knowledge and attitudes of illegal drug use and how they might impact on young people’s ability to make informed decisions.
The research will involve:
- pupil surveys
- pupil focus groups
- observation of pupils watching the theatre performance
- parent/carer focus groups
- teacher and school staff surveys
- teacher and school staff interviews.
The surveys will take place in all schools but the other activities, such as focus groups and interviews, will take place in a smaller number of schools.
If you are taking part in the research, you can find out more about the research activities in the various information sheets and privacy notices for participants which will be listed here as they become available:
Information sheets
- Pupil information sheet: online survey
- Pupil information sheet: focus group discussion
- Parent, carer and guardian information sheet: focus group discussion
- Teacher and other school staff information sheet: Interviews
- Teacher and school staff information sheet: online survey
Privacy notices
- Pupil survey privacy notice
- Pupil Focus Group Discussions privacy notice
- Parent & Carer Focus Group Discussions privacy notice
- Teacher Survey privacy notice
- School Staff Interviews privacy notice
