New RCS short course helps primary teachers find their feet in dance education
Primary teachers across Scotland are invited to build their confidence in using dance and creative movement in the classroom through a new professional learning short course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Led by former primary teacher and Lecturer in Arts Education Eilidh Slattery, Teacher Professional Learning: Dance in Primary Education combines in-person workshops and online check-ins to create a supportive learning community where teachers can develop practical skills, explore creative approaches to dance education and discover how movement can enhance learning across the curriculum.
Bookings are now open for 2026/27, with the course offered each term.
Here, Eilidh reveals what inspired the course, explores what participants will learn, and highlights the impact it is already having on primary teachers across Scotland.
What prompted the development of the short course?
The course was developed to respond directly to what teachers were telling me. Being a former primary teacher and now teacher educator, I am aware of the challenges for teachers when it comes to dance in primary schools in Scotland.
My own research found that dance was not happening in 48% of Scottish primary schools, largely because teachers felt they lacked the skills and confidence to teach dance as part of the Expressive Arts area of Curriculum for Excellence.
What I found was that many teachers had little or no experience of dance in their own schooling, had received minimal dance content, if any, during their initial teacher education, and had rarely seen dance being taught during school placements as a student teacher.
And yet, those same teachers recognised dance as an extremely important part of the primary curriculum and expressed a real desire to feel confident enough to teach dance to their class.
In response to this research, I first established Primary Dance Network Scotland, an online community providing a collegiate dialogue space for teachers to chat about dance in primary education.
While this is a valuable platform for teachers already engaging with dance, I could see it wasn’t reaching those who didn’t yet know where to start. That gap is really what drove me to develop this short course.
When I ran a pilot version in 2025, I had 12 places available and a further 50 teachers joined the waiting list. That response really confirmed to me that there was a need and desire for a course like this.
Who would benefit most from taking part?
This course is designed for primary school teachers who are keen to explore dance in the primary curriculum. Whether teachers are looking to build their confidence and skills in teaching dance, develop creative teaching approaches, or find new ways to strengthen learning and ethos across the school, this short course has something to offer.
It is ideal for teachers who want to explore creative ways to develop their pupils’ transferrable skills of problem-solving, creativity, communication, and collaboration through dance and creative movement.
Is previous dance experience required?
No previous dance experience is needed. The course is suitable for primary teachers with or without prior dance experience.
It is designed to be accessible, inclusive, welcoming, and highly relevant to the realities of the primary classroom, so wherever you are starting from, you will find your place in this community.
What will participants learn and experience during the short course?
This short course is made up of five interconnected after-school sessions spanning one school term. There will be three in-person sessions happening here at RCS and in between these sessions we will have two online check-in sessions.
During the in-person sessions, teachers will develop a shared movement vocabulary and a deeper knowledge and understanding of the potential of dance in the primary school.
We will demystify the language of dance, explore the vocabulary that forms the building blocks of creative dance education, and learn how to confidently introduce, assess, and progress dance both as a subject and as a vehicle for interdisciplinary learning.
The course aligns with Curriculum for Excellence and keeps pace with the evolution of the Curriculum Improvement Cycle.
Teachers will actively experience the sessions exploring how dance can be used to develop pupils’ transferrable skills of problem-solving, creativity, communication and collaboration.
The short course is rooted in real-life school experience meaning the content and delivery is practical, relevant, and immediately applicable in the classroom.
The experiential design of the short course allows teachers to go from the in-person sessions back into school with confidence to try out new ideas and to benefit from the support of the online sessions in between.
The two online check-in sessions provide a relaxed, collegiate space to share successes, discuss challenges and reflect on experiences.
The short course is designed to bring teachers together into a supportive and inspiring professional learning community, where they can problem-solve and create together.
The five interconnected sessions will progress and build in real time with the teachers and their experiences on this dance professional development journey.
What has the response been like from teachers so far?
In the 2025 pilot, the 12 places were snapped up in a matter of hours with a further 50 teachers asking for a place on the waiting list.
This really confirmed to me just how much this was needed. The course has been tried, tested and loved by primary teachers across many of Scotland’s local authorities, including Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Dumfries & Galloway, South Lanarkshire and Clackmannanshire.
The enthusiasm and energy that teachers bring to each cohort is something special to be part of. I’ve also delivered bespoke sessions directly in schools and on initial teacher education programmes. This is available upon request.
The feedback from those that took part in the pilot has been fantastic. Teachers left feeling genuine transformation, with one sharing, “I feel more equipped and confident to teach dance. It has given me so many ways to take dance forward”.
That sense of practical, immediate impact was a theme that came through again and again, with another participant noting that there were “so many fantastic ideas to implement straight away”.
What also stands out is the confidence teachers gain around dance-specific language and curriculum alignment. One teacher reflected, “I now feel so much more confident with dance terms, IDL opportunities, building and creating dances and ideas from Early-2nd Level CfE” – which is exactly what the short course sets out to achieve.
Teachers also valued the way the course was grounded in real classroom experience, with one highlighting “Eilidh had so many experiences to share and suggestions on how to adapt teaching to the levels and needs of different classes”.
Perhaps most excitingly, the impact doesn’t stop at the classroom door. One teacher said, “me and my class have had so much fun together dancing and already dance is beginning to have a higher profile in my school” – and that ripple effect, where one confident teacher starts to shift the culture of a whole school, is exactly what this course hopes to inspire.
This is something that can also be seen in the case study which documents the dance professional learning journey of one school I worked with directly.
The collegiate, community feel of the short course was really valued, with teachers cherishing the opportunity to learn and grow alongside one another. As one participant put it, “I have genuinely loved every session and have been telling all our staff”.
There’s already been a number of email enquiries and now teachers are heading back to school, I’m really excited to see who is keen to come and join us this year.
2026/27 dates
- Session 1: In-person workshop at RCS, 2 hours – 25 August 5-7pm
- Session 2: Online check-in, 1 hour – 8 September 6-7pm
- Session 3: In-person workshop at RCS, 2 hours – 15 September 5-7pm
- Session 4: Online check-in, 1 hour – 29 September 6-7pm
- Session 5: In-person workshop at RCS, 2 hours – 6 October 5-7pm
To register your interest and for further information please contact dancecpd@rcs.ac.uk