I have just read a very interesting article about how dance was used as one method to help a local school get out of special measures and thought it was worth sharing. St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School, in Oldbury, Birmingham was placed in special measures in 1998 and was then identified as an outstanding provider by Ofsted in 2007.
Making such a huge leap was not easy, and headteacher Mary Simmons was appointed to lead the school’s improvement. Her immediate aim was to inspire the leadership team to improve the school’s learning environment. Other measures included providing opportunities for pupils to learn in a range of ways beyond the classroom.
One of the measures taken by the school was the National Healthy Schools Programme, which provided dance as a physical activity option to increase fitness levels. Dance was found to positively impact on behavioural and educational standards. The 250 children aged between 3-11 years were originally offered aerobics classes which then evolved into less traditional activities which the children might not otherwise have had the opportunity to do. Year 4 pupils were offered Ballroom classes and Years 5 and 6 were offered Jive and Salsa classes.
Behavioural and educational standards increased and the school is now regarded as one of the healthiest schools in its region. Additionally concentration levels, teamwork skills, and the social atmosphere have all improved. The school also believes that the children themselves have ownership over the healthy schools agenda that in turn encourages them to implement the healthy behaviour in their free time.
For any teacher considering introducing dance into school life, hopefully this good news story has convinced you. Finding an activity that can unite children of all ages and get them excited can really help in the battle of engaging children in the classroom, and there are so many different styles available its hard not to find something that could benefit your students. Hip hop, jazz, salsa, contemporary, tap, ballet, Irish, lindy hop, African or bhangra to name a few. Teachers can even use a mix of styles to help encourage pupils to think more creatively.
If your school has used dance, and have been able to see changes in pupils behaviour it would be great to read your comments and post them on the website to help encourage other schools to do something similar. From a personal point of view, I danced throughout my entire school life at break times, after school and really wherever I could. It provided me with a much needed confidence boost, helped me to concentrate and feel alert while in the classroom and was a fantastic form of exercise. Starting dancing in Primary School really gave me the passion I now have for dance.
The story regarding St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School was taken from the original article “Strictly ballroom proves a winner” by Nicola Hyde, published in Future Fitness, January 2009 p19.
