SEN Schools – Birmingham Hippodrome

Find out how your school can get involved!

Selly Oak Trust School worked with our Artists to create their own version of The Nutcracker: a promenade performance across the school in different spaces through a range of artforms – music, drama, dance, film, art and food.

Students from Years 7-14 performed in the choir, acted in scenes, created scenery and costume, guided parents around the school and worked on market stalls. The young people got an insight into both onstage and backstage roles and the breadth of opportunities involved in making productions happen. The young people had the following to say:

“I have never performed in front of an audience until The Nutcracker. I was a little nervous at the start and then started to get confident and it was amazing at the end. I was sad that it was all over”
Year 13 Student

“My highlight was seeing how much people have grown in confidence, it made me feel proud”
Year 13 Student

“I just wanted to feedback that, last week, we had an OFSTED inspection and creative development was a key focus area – the work that we are doing with you was recognised and praised as being very beneficial to the children and young people that attend our school, all of whom have special educational needs and/or disabilities and may have had limited access to the creative arts previously”
HEN Lead – SEN Teacher, Halesbury School

Children with sunglasses sitting in a theatre auditorium

A young person in a wheelchair watching a s show

Children with ear defenders watching a show

We work with SEN schools in a number of ways to:

Bring the curriculum to life.
Support a school culture which fosters and promotes creativity and supports teachers through professional development opportunities.
Provide young people with opportunities to see Relaxed Performances and work with professional artists/creatives both in school and at Birmingham Hippodrome.
Work on projects connected the programme at Birmingham Hippodrome and other schools across the city – where young people can be involved in launch days with cast members and perform on our stages and at our festivals.
Offer opportunities to connect creatively to key festivals and cultural celebrations such as Lunar New Year and Diwali, as well as key moments in the school calendar such as World Book Day.
Give young people an insight into careers on and offstage including backstage tours, developing leadership skills, and supporting young people to see theatre as a viable option for them.
Empower young people to become Birmingham Hippodrome Young Advocates, feeding into decision making at all levels of the organisation.
Take part in the HEN SEN Work Experience Programme. You can read more about the 2023 programme here and view a short film that was created, produced and directed by the young people involved.
Provide bursary places for young people to attend our programmes outside of school.
Provide schools and teachers with opportunities to connect with other schools and educators across the city/ region.

We offer a range of different packages for schools. Click the link below to find out more.

HEN Packages

If you have any questions or would like further information, please get in touch at the link below.

Email us

We work with SEN schools in a number of ways to:

Chinese New Year in Birmingham: Celebrations return in February

Hippodrome Education Network schools perform shining, shimmering, splendid theatre in the Patrick Studio

Birmingham Hippodrome raises over £45,000 to unlock theatre experiences for all