Fund the Fun!
Lana McCallum
Lana McCallum calls on the Scottish Government to provide more funding for educational theatre
Theatre is invaluable to childhood development, and the Scottish Government should do more to fund live theatre in schools.
You may have seen a piece of theatre, whether that be a play, educational theatre or a pantomime during your time in school. Unfortunately, not all children get this crucial experience, which the Scottish Government should work on fixing.
Theatre allows children to have increased confidence, leadership, communication and listening skills. As well as this, it has been proven that children who are exposed to theatre are likely to have higher academic success. For example, in 2005, students who had been involved in theatre scored 35 points above the national average in the verbal section of their SAT.
Involvement in theatre also helps children with their memory recall, emotional outlet and social awareness. Considering the multitude of benefits that theatre has on children’s education, you’d think that the government would directly fund the travelling theatre companies that visit primary schools, but they don’t.
In some cases, the local council will fund for touring theatre companies to come into primary schools. However, not every school will have the same budget and these events can be expensive, usually costing around £10 per pupil. This method of funding means that not every school will have access to theatre companies because they may have other things that they need to spend their budgets on. This can lead to disparity of opportunity.
For this reason, the Scottish Government should fund each school with enough money for a theatre company to visit at least once a year, to provide a show and a workshop for the children. Not only would this have many educational benefits, but it is also a way for children to socialise and have lots of fun in school.
The performances in primary schools often educate the children on key issues such as bullying, moving into high school and internet safety. These are crucial things for children to learn about and educating through theatre is an engaging and fun way to learn. Expressive arts are one of the main areas of the education curriculum in Scotland, but many schools do not have the correct resources to allow children to learn through theatre. If the Scottish Government were to pay for schools to have visits from touring theatre companies, then every school would be able to provide education through theatre.
Some companies can deliver shows for free because they are funded by charities. However, many of the companies that visit schools do not have funding from charities, so rely on the school paying them. It’s obviously not always possible for schools to do this, so it would be fantastic if the government provided schools with the money to be able to pay for performances from touring theatre companies.
The National Theatre of Scotland are working very hard to provide education through theatre to schools all over the country. Between 2016 and 2020, they toured in 24% of Scottish schools, which allowed over 66,000 children to view performances. Although this is amazing for those children, this number would be a lot higher if these shows were funded by the government because each
council/school currently has to pay for these events from their own budgets. With school budgets being cut by around £265 per pupil, it will become increasingly difficult for schools to afford the luxury of having live theatre in their building. Without this luxury, children may begin to lack in social skills, which can have a large impact on their overall education. Although having a live theatre performance in schools is currently viewed as a luxury, with the correct funding it could become an essential part of the education system.
It is clear that there is a wide range of positives that come from allowing children to view live theatre. From increased confidence to higher academic success, live theatre can really improve the lives of young people, so the Scottish Government should allow additional funding to schools to allow children to experience the unforgettable fun of being an audience member at a performance in their own school. The benefits of this cannot be understated!