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The Benefits of Drama and Role-play in the Classroom
Following the publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review (November 2025), oracy is again a key talking point.
The review considers oracy to incorporate speaking, listening and communication and recommends the introduction of an oracy framework designed to ensure greater prominence.
 ‘These recommendations are intended to secure an improved oracy offer to ensure young people benefit from a skill that will help them at every stage of their lives.’ page 43
As part of this, the spotlight also falls on Drama (a statutory part of the English Curriculum in KS1-4 and a standalone KS4 qualification) which is recognised as containing skills that are beneficial for life and work:
‘Drama has strong links to oracy and presenting skills and provides an important introduction to the performing arts. It is a valuable part of a broad and balanced curriculum that builds students’ confidence and prepares them for later life.’ page 79
For those of us who have a passion for this subject or have taught in Early Years, this is something we are aware of and keen advocates for. The role-play area is a staple in EYFS & KS1 classrooms but beyond this, how often are opportunities planned in that allow pupils to explore ideas and try out new language formats through drama?
Let’s start by considering what we mean when we discuss role-play in the classroom. The Collins Dictionary refers to role play as ‘the act of imitating the character and behaviour of someone who is different from yourself.’ The Cambridge Dictionary refers to it as ‘to be someone else, especially as part of learning a new skill.’ These definitions lend themselves very nicely to exploring our English curriculum by allowing pupils to infer characters’ feelings and to try out ways to speak using new grammar skills.
For many children and adults, stepping into another person’s shoes can be a difficult challenge. Add to that the demands of putting pen to paper for many children and you can see why writing may not have as much depth as we would sometimes like. In maths, we are very good at moving from concrete to pictorial to abstract but too often in English, we jump straight to an abstract concept. Role play could be the bridge between all this.
When discussing key pedagogy for the teaching of English, the Teachers Institute highlight the following benefits of role play:
- Real world application of vocabulary and grammar
- Improved speaking and listening skills
- Increased confidence
- Promotion of critical thinking
- Development of empathy and cultural understanding
If you want to get ahead of the new curriculum requirements and incorporate more role play into your classroom but don’t know where to start, here are some of our top tips:
- Don’t assume pupils have experience of what you are asking them to explore – even a restaurant setting may need some background context and key vocabulary provided
- Support pupils by making role cards (with information about each character if necessary)
- Model expectations and suggestions so that pupils have an idea of what to do
- Provide a context or impetus for discussion (the work from mantleoftheexpert.com is a good place to find out more)
- Don’t think you have to transform your whole classroom – a small box of props that can be easily stored away would be fine
- Set clear rules so that pupils know they can explore and safely take risks with their ideas
- Interact and guide pupils with questioning and prompts to keep ideas moving and to provide challenge
You may also want to brush up on some particular drama techniques. If you can get your hands on a copy of Classroom Gems: Games, Ideas and Activities for Primary Drama by Michael Theodorou this can provide some great information and prompts.
We have also compiled an overview of key techniques and have implemented these throughout our Pathways to Write units, which you can download below.
Download the Drama in the Classroom booklet
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