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Dateline: 19th February, 2006 No Kissing, Romeo: We're in School New guidelines on drama teaching and school plays from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) would ban Romeo and Juliet from kissing in a school production, according to a report in the Times Educational Supplement. The draft guidance said, "Drama teachers need to consider carefully what gestures and movements are appropriate to communicate the emotion or idea required in the play or improvisation and what gestures and movements are acceptable. "For example, many learners are uncomfortable with kissing in performance because of the physical intimacy that it entails, whatever the motivation of the characters or genre of the performance. "In most cases, a peck on the cheek or an embrace can communicate the required emotion. "These gestures show affection in an acceptable and obvious way." The guidelines said teachers should be "very sensitive" to these concerns and "must never insist that any child or young person should kiss another". Howver, Margaret Higgins, of the National Association for the Teaching of Drama, told the TES, "You can't just cut out scenes like the kiss in Romeo and Juliet. "It is a crucial moment. If this isn't fit subject matter for children, perhaps they should put on EastEnders after the watershed." It also says that "Drama teachers must cut or adapt plays if they have to, in order to protect children and young people. Drama teachers should be able to provide a proper justification for what they do, based on the best interests of the learner, and not rely on arguments about the artistic integrity of the text." The draft guidelines have been compiled as a result of the 2004 Clywch inquiry into allegations of child abuse at Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen in South Wales in 1991. If approved in Wales, they could also be applied elsewhere in the UK. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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