YDance (Scottish Youth Dance), the award-winning national dance organisation for children and young people in Scotland, has been awarded £150,000 from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation for Step It Up, a new two-year primary education programme focusing on teacher development across three areas in Scotland – Dundee, West Dunbartonshire and Glasgow.
Step It Up aims to work with teachers to develop their skills and knowledge to teach dance using integrated curricular lesson delivery. Through practical sessions and blended Career Long Professional Learning, 18 teachers from six schools and two Dance Artists in Education will take part in an experiential journey led by pedagogy, sharing, reflection and evaluation.
YDance will work with teachers and school leaders, the drivers of educational change in school, to improve attainment and overcome barriers to learning. The project will use learning from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded four-year YDance project Shake It Up as a starting point. The Shake It Up programme was designed to enable primary school children to learn a range of curriculum subjects through dance. More information about Shake It Up, including an independent evaluation report about the results of the project can be found here.
Linzi McLagan, Head of Education at YDance said:
“We are excited to be given the opportunity to continue the legacy of Shake It Up through Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Teacher Development Fund. Step It Up enables us to continue to develop our cross curricular dance and support the delivery of dance in schools. We are excited to learn and unlearn with the participating teachers and share our collaborative journey in the research findings.”
Find out more about Step It Up >>>
Illustration by Little White Desk.
