Delivered through Trinity Theatre in Tunbridge Wells, Speech Bubbles is an innovative drama programme that helps young children come out of their shells
Jason Lower can clearly recall one small and petrified girl. Every time she came to Speech Bubbles she would be in tears or close to it. Then, slowly she became a bit less shy and would talk in whispers in his ear, so quiet he could barely hear her. Over the course of the programme, she found her character – a cat. She just loved cats and would act out the physicality and the movements of a confident feline who was the complete opposite of her.
Lower has been delivering Speech Bubbles through Trinity Theatre since 2017 and has witnessed first-hand what a huge difference it can make to children who are struggling to communicate or fit in. The programme, first devised by London Bubble, has now become a separate charity (Lower is both a practitioner and a trustee). It delivers Speech Bubbles in 23 schools across this part of Kent, taking in Sevenoaks District, Tonbridge and Malling and Tunbridge Wells and working with children drawn from Year 1 and 2.
Children are referred by schools (Kent County Council is a major funder, along with the Brook Trust) and there’s strong support among local school leaders who know what it can do. The children it works with are generally referred by teachers and a school SENCo. The programme aims to address the needs of those who are not on the top of the list for speech and language therapy or one-to-one support, but nonetheless have speech, language and communication needs. “Some of them might be shy, some might be selectively mute; others might be on the other end of the scale – children who communicate at inappropriate times or talk over others.”
Each session for ten students runs for about 40 minutes, running over 24 weeks. Sessions are led by a Speech Bubbles practitioner and a teaching assistant. What’s very important, says Jason Lower, is the mix of children – the group is chosen so that there’s a combination of communication needs (not all shy or inclined to dominate) and a mix of year groups. “It’s really important to have a mix of Year 1 and Year 2 – the Year 2s offer leadership and this also makes sure that any classroom dynamic is gone.”
So why does drama work so well to help children communicate confidently and appropriately? Lower says it’s the process of getting out of their own skin. “It’s allowing them that escape element – they can escape the pressure of being themselves,” he says. “It’s such a lovely environment because it allows them to come out of their predetermined role – the quiet one, the noisy one. It’s not just about children who have speech and language issues – it’s also allowing children to play.”
Jason Lower has good reason to know the lifelong benefits drama can bring. He is autistic and it was his time at youth theatre that he credits with giving him confidence. He became a youth theatre director and arts practitioner and now leads the Creative Engagement department at Trinity Theatre. He says drama is beneficial to all young people. “You can perform yourself, rather than a version of yourself that you’re not terribly happy with. You can perform a new character who you really are. That’s where arts and theatre are a really magical opportunity.”
Each Speech Bubbles sessions starts with a chant that outlines to children what the ground rules are, beginning: ‘In Speech Bubbles we do good listening’. Then children put their names in a bucket and the fun begins. The drama they create in that 40-minute session is their own invention, built around things they love to be and act out – princess, zombie, superhero, cat.
That little girl who found her confidence by being a cat stayed on for two years at Speech Bubbles as her teachers felt that she would benefit. The second year proved to be invaluable because she knew the ropes and could even help others. She remains a quiet child, but is now much more likely to contribute in class. Trinity Theatre’s youth work doesn’t stop with Year 1 and 2. It has been piloting exciting drama work – called Transitions – with children about to move to senior school, and it also works extensively with teenagers and young adults, but Lower feels Speech Bubbles is special, offering an intervention that is perfectly timed to ensure children can find vital confidence and communication skills.
“Part of the joy of Speech Bubbles, and part of the joy in prioritising this communication need, is it’s about addressing the need early on,” he says. Post Covid, the demand for Speech Bubbles’ drama sessions has increased almost threefold among local schools, thanks partly to the advocacy of those schools who have seen its transformative effects. While there are Speech Bubbles practitioners in other areas of the country – London and around Manchester and Salford – Jason Lower would like to it available to many more children. “We as an organisation – Speech Bubbles, the charity – would love to spread it out through schools nationally,” he says. “I think it’s the best thing Trinity Theatre does, and I’m proud of everything we do.”
* Trinity Theatre trinitytheatre.net
* Speech Bubbles speechbubbles.org.uk
Further reading: Southbank International School on the power of performing arts
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