The North Tyneside Schools Dance Festival: The Living World 2026
This month we saw dance take over 65 North Tyneside schools. They joined our PE, School Sport and Physical Activity (PESSPA) team for our annual dance festival, to celebrate movement and expression of “The Living World” (this year’s theme).
Seven packed shows
Pupils and staff presented their pieces which they had been preparing since the start of the academic year. The PESSPA team hosted seven shows and three dress rehearsal days at The Parks Sports Centre in North Shields and the Whitley Bay Playhouse.
The variety of genres and dance styles was particularly evident this year, demonstrating the inspiring creativity of those involved. Some schools used outside agencies to choreograph their routines, whilst many keen staff and talented pupils composed these themselves, demonstrating their commitment and dedication and a huge team effort across the school.
It’s showtime!
Over 1390 performers took to the stage in front of large audiences of up to 500 people. Some even performed twice because of the introduction of a matinee show, which was new to this year’s event. This enabled pupils to experience that buzz again, further boosting their confidence to showcase their abilities.
The shows created such a positive environment. There was so much energy and excitement from all involved, with all groups receiving huge applause and recognition throughout their routines.
Community and togetherness
The Dance Festival always creates a real feeling of togetherness and school community across the borough, with support from many Headteachers and school staff watching the hard work on display.
One teacher stated that:
“One of our children completely astounded us with such a fantastic smile on stage and such a massive improvement in her self-esteem. The whole group developed a sense of community and two pupils made dance bracelets for all team members. They have been asking for a permanent dance club in school to learn other styles they watched at the festival, such as Salsa.”
A festival for all
Pupils taking part ranged from those in year 1 to year 13 and 15% of those involved were young people with special education needs and disabilities. Our PESSPA team’s offer is underpinned by key principles that aim to increase engagement, inclusive practice and access to opportunities. The festival experience enables schools to provide an opportunity that pupils may not ordinarily have access to.
A special school teacher explained that:
“This festival has a huge impact on our families - lots of our children would not experience anything like going on a stage in a theatre in front of a big audience if it wasn't for the festival.”
While a secondary school PE teacher commented that:
“One student had never even seen a theatre before, let alone perform in one, they were all blown away with the sheer magnitude of it.”
Lasting impact
The impact of the festival is clear and is always highlighted by feedback from teachers about the positive impact on individual children.
One First School Teacher explained about a young boy with severe anxiety who rarely participates in school events:
“We were unsure if he would be able to dance on the night, but he did and his family were over the moon!”
Dance offers a physical outlet which allows children to express themselves, which in turn supports their emotional wellbeing and builds their self-confidence.
Just the first steps
For some, it’s clear that their dance journey may just be beginning. The hard work back at school and participation in the festival really ignites pupils’ interest and their desire to begin and continue taking part in dance.
Two parents of children that took part said:
“my child immediately asked me to look into joining dance schools in local area”.
“Thank you for recognising my child and giving her the opportunity, I am now going to sign her up to dance classes.”
and a primary school teacher shared that:
“The children have talked a great deal about how excited they are about joining the dance groups at their relevant high schools after seeing the older children perform.”
As a team we strive to build connections within our community and across schools to support transition, facilitate progression and encourage pupils to reach their potential.
Enhancing dancing
After such a successful event, the next steps for our team are to look at how we can further develop the dance curriculum area in North Tyneside schools.
Despite the popularity of dance activity with children and young people, in the recent Curriculum and Assessment Review (Nov 2025), Dance and PE Stakeholders have called for the curriculum to support teachers to better teach Dance through a clearer PE Programme of Study, that sets out the subject knowledge required for a basic understanding of it.
More access, more support
Through the Call for Evidence, the review heard that access to GCSE Dance is often limited to students who have undertaken extra-curricular or external tuition, even in schools with specialist Dance teachers. This is because of such limited curriculum provision at Key Stages 1 to 3.
Ofsted’s 2023 subject report on PE found that many schools do not match the ambition of the national curriculum for Dance. There is also some evidence that non-specialist and generalist PE teachers are not confident in teaching Dance.
The review recommends some additional specificity is added to the PE Programmes of Study to clarify expectations for Dance, to support breadth within the PE curriculum, and improve progression to GCSE Dance. The focus on movement should be retained, but other aspects, such as choreography and performance, should also be considered.
Training opportunities for teachers
In light of this, and to support colleagues across North Tyneside, our PESSPA team will be delivering a Dance training course in the first summer half-term.
This will look at a simple, accessible and repeatable framework to help primary teachers deliver confident, creative and structured dance lessons with any theme and without needing specialist dance training.
The course will take place on Thursday 21st May 2026, 13:00-15:30 at Decote Dance Studio, 39 Newcastle Quays Coble Dene North Shields NE29 6DW.
Article by
Laura Flasby
School Sport Programme Coordinator
School Games Organiser
laura.flasby@northtyneside.gov.uk
