Nurture a child, a charity dedicated to promoting and assisting the development of opportunities for children and young people, has supported Hull and East Yorkshire with funding for a number of years now. Most recently, the charity provided Hull and East Yorkshire Children's University with funding to support the delivery of our Dance and Drama workshops in local schools.
The sessions are delivered by Performing Arts teacher, Chris Holmes and take place in the school hall. Chris Holmes is a freelance artist with over 20 years experience and is contracted to deliver a programme of Dance and Drama workshops as a representative of HEY Children’s University.
Chris visits schools on Mondays and Fridays and each school receives 4 weeks of sessions from EYFS up to Year 6. The children take part in a combination of both dance and drama sessions with a final performance but together for week 4. Over the last academic year he has delivered sessions to over 1700 local children.
Dance, Drama and Music is a powerful tool for learning, pupils engage with this and it becomes a therapy for them. We are proud that these sessions, through funding, can reach some of the most disadvantaged areas of Hull - sessions that simply wouldn’t be accessible without the funding provided by Nurture a Child.
Rose James, CEO of Hull and East Yorkshire Children's University explained what an impact the sessions have had on some of the children: "We have heard such amazing feedback from our schools after their dance and drama workshops and I have been lucky enough to watch some of the sessions myself. Chris gives the children a safe space to discover their own unique talents and try new things and that really improves their confidence. Some of the children have gone on to attend dance and drama sessions outside of school to explore their passion further as they have loved the sessions so much. Without the support of Nurture a Child, this would not have been possible and they have even funded transportation for some of the children to get to and from their external classes."
We received the following feedback from teachers at schools that have received the workshops.
Chris brings a drive, a spirit and an enthusiasm for music and the arts that is hard to quantify but if we could bottle it, we'd be millionaires. PM Year 2 teacher.
The children's love of dancing and singing to a variety of songs is evident in their enthusiasm to participate. Also, their confidence has grown and now the children perform with a greater sense of audience as was evident during the Year 6 end of year performance. CD Year 2 teacher.
'Chris has an infectious, positive personality that reverberates across the school, to both pupils and staff alike. Coupled with his obvious talent in both singing and drama, he has the ability to engage all pupils during his interactions with them.' - JG Year 5 teacher
Chris is so amazing at inspiring and creating enthusiasm within the classroom. His links to our Roman topic through song and movement help the children to immerse themselves into the time period and provide hands-on learning. LM Year 3 Teacher
The sessions allow the children to come together to sing, dance and support each other whilst building their confidence - leading to some amazing performances. These key skills are vital for the children moving forward and it is lovely to see them being instilled in a fun, engaging and motivating way. Whole staff team – Chiltern Primary School
When we first booked the dance and drama workshops through the Children’s University – we didn’t know what to expect. The sessions exceeded our expectations. They were brilliant. WT Assistant Head
We absolutely loved the SEND workshops ran by Chris Holmes, we have an increasing amount of SEND our school and these workshops were inclusive for all. Chris demonstrated so much patience with our children and they responded so well to him, he was very quick to pick up on children who were anxious and less confident and also those who can display challenging behaviours and he was sensitive to their triggers. The children got so much from the sessions and we can not wait to have him back this academic year! - VH Assistant Head
We’ve done a lot of the Children’s Uni experiences as a school and the dance and drama is a firm favourite. That’s why we book Chris to come back every year ! – JE Year 2 Teacher
