T. I. E. AND S.E.N.

Over the years I have written much about what we can do and offer, and today I want to mention something I have barely touched on despite it being a very important area , and one in which I believe we excel, having gained a great deal of experience spanning many years.
I am talking about SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS.
Of course, every school has a SENCO (SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS CO-ORDINATOR) assigned to the children requiring special attention for many different reasons: dedicated individuals with specialist skills. We always try to introduce ourselves to them on arrival to ensure those in their care will be okay with our performance.
BUT, beyond this we have a wealth of experience in performing at SPECIAL SCHOOLS covering the whole spectrum from moderate to multiple and profound needs.
IN FACT, our very first performance on the IDES of MARCH 1999 was "The Story of Aesop's Fables" at Springhallow School in Ealing.
Back then it was the only play we had on offer and, fortunately, our Director and Creator lived close by.
We at once realised how important it was to bring live drama to some who would probably never have the pleasure of visiting a theatre.
Since that first day we have performed many of our plays at numerous SPECIAL SCHOOLS, and conducted DRAMA WORKSHOPS.
I will leave you with just one example of a fairly recent occurrence:
A booking had been made for a performance of our play "WORLD WAR II" to be followed by a one hour DRAMA WORKSHOP based on the subject at a SPECIAL SCHOOL. At the time of booking we were informed that the audience would comprise around 30 pupils with moderate learning ability.
On the day we arrived the headteacher told us that they had just accepted a small unit of four pupils in wheelchairs and, whilst they would watch the play, they would not be able to participate in the workshop.
We gave this some serious thought and concluded they would be able to participate; they would dance in their wheelchairs in celebration of the end of the war; a real winner with the head teacher.
The final word.... INCLUSION!