Developing a Creative Early Years Skill Set
Skills-based training led by DNA Director Rachel Riggs, translating professional touring visual theatre into practical nursery and library practice.
Background & Rationale
Drawing on DNA’s successful international touring repertoire — including early years visual theatre productions Ball Pond Bobby, Atishoo!, and Chicken Licken — this intensive workshop translates performance craft into accessible methods for everyday childcare settings.
Working in partnership with nurseries and children’s centres, Imaginary Leaps develops sustainable good practice in performing arts for children under 5. Rooted in the principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the training stimulates confidence and creative inquiry in young minds, developing symbolic thinking and self-expression.
Looking for a Step-by-Step Timetable?
View the full schedule and module breakdown in our example session outline.
Core Workshop Outcomes
Participants explore playful approaches to learning environments, including:
- Puppetry Across Disciplines: Using puppetry, shadow, and tactile objects as an organic doorway to early learning.
- Abandoning the Script: Starting from child-led curiosity rather than rigid predetermined storylines.
- Material Exploration: Uncovering what different textures mean to different children, and transforming mundane domestic items.
- Diverse Learning Needs: Adapting puppetry to support children with speech, language, or social communication delays.
- Making Play Resources: Designing take-home ‘scrunchy’ puppets and sensory story bags from accessible scrap materials.
- EYFS Curriculum Mapping: Identifying and evidencing creative learning across all Early Learning Goals.
“Brilliant training session, very useful in our everyday work and I feel much more confident using puppets in my sessions. Really enjoyed this course and would recommend to other members of staff at work.”
— Bookstart Practitioner, Wigan Libraries