Playing in the SRB

Playing in the SRB was a pilot project kindly funded by the Anguish’s Educational Foundation. For the academic year 25/26 Norwich Theatre worked alongside  The Place at Arden Grove, one of Norfolk’s Specialist Resource Bases offering short term provision for children aged 5-7 years, to support children’s emotional and social development through structured, imaginative play. Using role play, storytelling, thematic adventures and the Wise About Words toolkit, the project focused on:

• Building children’s confidence with a new trusted adult
• Encouraging joy and connection through imaginative play
• Strengthen bonds between children
• Improving communication and social interaction
• Building staff confidence in using drama techniques as a supportive learning tool

This project demonstrated that with the right approach, structure and relationships, children’s natural creativity, curiosity and capacity for connection can flourish no matter their background.

The pilot made meaningful progress towards its aims, with noticeable improvements in imaginative play, emotional understanding, communication and social interaction. It also enabled staff to see children in new ways, recognising creative strengths and capabilities that may not always emerge within traditional classroom structures.

Perhaps most importantly, the project created moments of joy, connection and shared imagination for children who do not always have easy access to creative experiences.

“I have to write about X, who  had experienced significant early life trauma and still faced adversity every day in his home. When they joined us X was unable to be part of a group; preferring to sit at their own table. X became dysregulated very quickly and hurt The Place adults daily. X was fixated on Transformers and would talk about little else, finding it hard to know how to connect with adults or children. As X was a literal thinker, unable to think flexibly, I was not expecting them to enjoy the play sessions. However, once they understood the structure of the sessions, they thoroughly enjoyed them. X was playful, creative and very enthusiastic! We saw the Actor Part, we never imagined X had! Without these sessions I don’t think we would have seen their Actor Part!

Other children in the group were able to see X as a fun and playful member of Team Courage which helped them feel more confident to connect with him (rather than being very scared). Although X had lots of additional needs, the sessions boosted their self-esteem as we were able to remind them of their great Actor Part! “

Norwich Theatre is delighted to be continuing the work we started at The Place and will be working alongside the amazing staff and children for another year.

For more information or to discuss Norwich Theatre delivering in your school, please contact the learning team on learning@norwichtheatre.org