Teaching assistants learn circus skills

In a bid to improve the confidence of pupils with special needs, a group of Welsh teaching assistants have taken a class to the circus.

According to the Western Mail, education students from the University of Wales in Newport have been helping out at workshops for children with learning difficulties run by the NoFitState Circus team.

Caroline McLachlan, academic leader in education at the university, told the paper: "The activities we run have to be motivating and engaging - so we let the children choose them."

"To date, there have been projects on puppetry, music making and story telling," she added.

During the three days of circus skills lessons, attendees learnt how to perform on the flying trapeze, walk the tightrope and spin plates, claims the Mail.

Each child was paired with a student, who is either studying to be a primary school teacher or for a degree in creative therapies.

The project was devised by the New Leaf reading group, a charity open to both adults and children who struggle with literacy.





Published On 13/08/2009