Leeds Rhinos Foundation is helping more primary schools in Leeds to offer dance classes as part of their physical education provision by delivering CPD training courses to upskill teachers.
Our Dance Development Officer Nicola Booth recently visited Ryecroft Academy to deliver a dance CPD course to staff, which provide schools across the city with the tools to deliver more varied programmes of dance coaching that are inclusive to boys and girls with a range of interests.
The course is designed to give primary school teachers the confidence to deliver exciting dance schemes of work. Within the course, participants discover the five dance actions, choreographic devices and lesson plan examples are also covered.
Adapted to the needs school, the two-hour workshops provide participants with basic dance and composition knowledge, as well as lots of ideas and inspiration on how to introduce dance to their existing curriculum.
Having witnessed the number of young dancers in Leeds rise significantly during the past couple of years, as well as the growing popularity of the sport, Booth believes that dance should be a vital component of every school’s physical education curriculum.
“Dance is very important as it gives children the chance to develop different skills and explore their creativity,” said Booth.
“I want to be able to help teachers have the confidence and know-how so that they can enjoy delivering it to their students as much as I do.”
Feedback from the teachers who completed the course at Ryecroft Academy was incredibly positive, with Sophie Dunderdale commenting: “I absolutely loved the CPD course, as it was so practical and engaging!
“It was good to learn the different moves before applying them to sequences that we could then apply to specific topics we are learning in school, such as Africa. Nicola was really positive, engaging and pushed us out of our comfort zone.”
Another teacher commented: “I found the dance CPD really useful. It was quite straightforward, but in a good way, with lots of opportunities to develop the lessons further to suit lots of different classes.”
For more information about taking up our dance coaching offers for schools, or if you would like to find out more about our Rhinestones Junior Dance Academy, please contact nicola.booth@leedsrhinosfoundation.org.