Private School Nativity Rehearsals OTT

[Stbernadettesteacher]

I teach in an independent pre-prep (Reception-Year 2) and every year we are made to put on a very elaborate Christmas production, rehearsing for an hour each day, every day of the second half of the autumn term.

The children become quite bored in the rehearsals as those who don’t have main parts are sat for long periods being told to sit still and be quiet by various teachers and other adults.

Each year around this time, parents begin to tell us that their children are unhappy/ anxious/ reluctant to come to school.

My colleagues and I have tried many times to tell our manager that this over the top rehearsal schedule is detrimental to the children (and teacher) wellbeing but she doesn’t listen to us and repeatedly tells us that, ‘the parents love it’ and implies that we are being grumpy.

AIBU for wanting just a simple short nativity without an all-singing all-dancing production that exhausts everyone and takes the children off timetable for the term?

Well of course YANBU but do the school feel pressured to show the parents where the money goes - show the bells and whistles?
Our niece’s nativities at their private school was relatively basic and the same each year so it’s easier for the teachers and the pupils.

Maybe that’s what it is but if I was paying I’d want them to actually learn how to do maths and English at their young age. As it stands, the entire curriculum is neglected this time of year and teachers are lucky if they can fit in one maths lesson a week.

You can have an all singing, all dancing nativity without that many rehearsals. 2-3 times a week for 45 mins to an hour would be plenty. And there should be lots of large group singing and dancing so that nobody is left with nothing to do for long.

I'm a Performing Arts teacher in a private prep and this time of year for me involves 2 Nativities (one for Nursery/Reception and one for Y1/2 because parents want all the children to have a part), 1 Musical for Years 3 and 4 and 2 pantomimes for Year 7. Plus all the Music events. And the same schedule applies in the other terms with different year groups. It's intense and a little bit insane but parents demand it. Alongside excellence in Sport. They seem less fussed about academic lessons missed! They want the easily visible value added that they don't see in state schools. Having that said, most of our children seem to love it. If there were hug numbers struggling like in your school I imagine things would change. I do agree 5 hours a week for 6ish weeks is too much. But I don't think a very simple Nativity would cut it in most private schools either.

Is it a selective prep? I suspect most will catch up pretty quickly on the 3Rs at that age. However, unhappy and stressed 4 and 5yos is more of a worry.