Stagecoach Blog

We’ve always been passionate about the benefits of the performing arts here at Stagecoach. From building confidence to being a fun way to exercise, there are loads of ways the performing arts can improve the lives of children but did you also you know that there are plenty of benefits on their academic performance as well? Read on to find out just how. 

The best way for children and young people to learn is through fostering a growth mindset. This is when you learn and improve through hard work, it’s about trying again when something doesn’t work out and appreciating that’s part of the process of building new knowledge and skills. The concept of the growth mindset comes from Carol Dweck, a key psychologist in the fields of social and developmental psychology.
 

When it comes to the performing arts, having a ‘give it a go’ attitude is key. Singing, dancing and acting are all taught skills that are developed through hard work and building up the skillsets over time. As students work and develop their confidence with these areas, they are praised and given positive reinforcement. There is no way to fail in a Stagecoach class, students are encouraged to take opportunities to grow their skillsets and challenge themselves in a safe and friendly environment. Plus, as they go along they are given the opportunity to demonstrate their skills to their friends and family through regular performances. Before any performance, they will have rehearsal time which introduces students to the idea that time to practice and improve is an important part of succeeding. 
 

All of this contributes to a growth mindset which they can then bring into the mainstream school classroom with them. The emphasis on learning over time, seeing reward from hard work and practice and having a positive attitude to trying again if something doesn’t work the first time will see students have a healthy relationship with their schooling. 

As they grow, all children will need to develop executive functioning and self-regulation skills which include three key areas of working memory, mental flexibility and self-control. 
 

• The performing arts helps children and young people with their memory through memorising lines, lyrics and dance sequences for performance pieces. 

• In order to pull together a performance piece, students will need to have the mental flexibility to work as a team and shift focus when necessary.

• Students will also develop self-control by controlling their impulses both in their classes and during performances when they need to perform an assigned role. 
 

These skills are especially important for early years children and all of these skills are explored in our Early Stages classes. Having strong executive functioning and self-regulation skills means children and young people know how to behave in mainstream school classrooms, how to utilise their memory when it comes to learning and how to work with their fellow students to create a positive learning environment for all. 

We’ve all heard the term “soft skills” but what does it mean in practice? Soft skills are all about developing the skills that aren’t specific to one subject, job role or path in life but are considered necessary to excel in both school and future work. 
 

These skills include good communication and social skills as well as teamworking, problem-solving, time management and adaptability. Many of these skills can be developed through performing arts classes as working as a team, building empathy through putting yourself in a character’s shoes and learning to adapt to the needs of a performance piece are all part of the performing arts experience. 

 

With limited performing arts opportunities currently in mainstream education, finding extracurricular activities that allow your children to build the skills that will see them development a positive attitude to learning and the soft skills they need to achieve success in their academic sphere are so important when it comes to academic success. At Stagecoach, we’re so proud to offer our students those opportunities and to support the next generation both in and out of the classroom.