
Make Your Move: A Dance Residency & Teacher CPD
with Ballyowen Meadows Special School
By Jess Rowell
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Between March and May 2025, I had the pleasure of leading a creative dance residency & CPD training for teachers at Ballyowen Meadows Special School, informed by my own inclusive movement practice. The residency took place over a five week period, during which time I spent 2 days per week in the school with pupils & teachers. It was a joyful, collaborative process, and a real privilege to be invited into these learning spaces. This residency was supported by the Arts Council Ireland Creative Schools Initiative.
Ballyowen Meadows is a school that provides specialist education for pupils aged 4–12 with autism. As the school are preparing to move to a new building within the next year, there was a lovely focus on journeys and new adventures woven into the residency. Through collaboration with the teachers, it felt intuitive to enhance the pupils’ ability to explore and adapt to this move through movement and imagination.
The Aim
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To design & deliver sensory movement workshops created with and for pupils with additional needs, and to share a toolkit for integrating sensory movement into classroom spaces in a special school.
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Provide teachers with a manual to help them continue these sessions after the residency. Introducing dance into their weekly schedule and creating a sustainable model for this.
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As a freelancer I didn’t want to parachute in and leave at the end of the month. My hope was to create something sustainable with the school that the teachers could learn from and continue growing with their classes over time in the months and years ahead.
March - Getting to Know Each Other
The residency began gently. I visited the school to meet staff and students, say hello, and introduce the idea behind the project. Then I spent two full days visiting and observing each classroom, watching daily routines, transitions, and how the pupils engaged with their environment and activities.
This time was absolutely vital. I quickly learned that:
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Sessions should be no more than 20/25 minutes long.
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A structure with up to four clear sections would work best.
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Sessions needed to be flexible enough to work around tables, on mats, or with pupils in various different spaces in the room. As always we would need to met the pupils where they are.
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A session that could be led by one teacher with support from classroom staff would have the most impact.
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Creating a teacher’s manual with curriculum links and adaptable lesson plans would ensure sustainability.
April - Building Sessions, Gaining Trust
Before starting the sessions, I sent each class a social story & video introducing myself again using Lámh, a sign communication system commonly used in special schools: “Hi! I’m Jess, and I’m really looking forward to dancing with you & your teachers in your classrooms.” I do this ahead of all my projects, these small steps can help to build trust and familiarise the young people ahead of the activity or project. I also introduced my assistant facilitator Libby at this stage in the process.
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The initial workshop I designed for each class had four sections starting with a warm-up, combining full-body awareness, rhythmical movement, tactile sensory exploration, and moments of quiet focus. Each section began and finished with a familiar sound. The sessions comprised of a loose framework, allowing space for input from pupils in the moment.
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As the weeks went on, keeping the same session structure, I gradually layered in themes and simple adventures to give teachers new ways to shape the experience. The pupils responded brilliantly! In delivering the sessions, I drew from familiar approaches used by the teaching staff, such as Intensive Interaction and Attention Autism.
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There was a big focus on repetition, gentle prompts, and making sure each child felt safe and able to engage in their own way. Each day, we arrived in the classrooms with a small suitcase filled with everything we needed - props, percussion instruments, materials - and a Bluetooth speaker for music.
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During our final week in the school we moved our sessions (for the senior classes) into the schools music room, where we had more control over the lighting and what was in the space. We created an immersive environment, which highlighted the sensory props & materials further. I was keen to demonstrate another option for teachers delivering their own session in the future. Some pupils who had previously been engaging with parts of the sessions in the classroom, stayed actively engaged for the full 25mins. Although the structure of the session stayed the same, the simple change in environment had a profound impact and we witnessed some big breakthroughs in communication and participation with these students.
Key Reflections
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If there’s one thing this residency reinforced, it’s that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. While the session structure remained the same, how I delivered it shifted from class to class, always responding to the young people in front of me, meeting them where they were at on that given day. The teachers’ support was essential throughout - they were generous, open, and deeply in tune with their pupils’ needs.
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The power of non-verbal communication was incredible to witness. From Week 1 to Week 4, I saw students gradually open up, connect, and express themselves more freely through movement. It was inspiring to see pupils and teachers discovering new ways to communicate ‘beyond words’.
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This residency showed me once again just how impactful intuitive and creatively responsive work can be. When we listen closely and move together, we can create something truly meaningful.
Moving Forward
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Another reflection that emerged was the need for more time to work with teachers alone in the preparation & final phase of the program. While the experiential learning with both teachers and students present holds a vital energy and remains very important, I feel that more space to become familiar with the program and engage with it without students present would empower the teachers even more.
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In the future I would expand the project length if budgets allow, to include more time with just teachers.
Development of a Teacher’s Manual & Curriculum Links
I developed a creative movement manual for teachers,
something that grew alongside my residency as I observed what worked best with the
children. I wanted to create something really practical that teachers could pick up and use
straight away, whether or not they had a background in dance.
Once I had figured out the content, I worked with a designer who created a user friendly document for teachers. The manual includes a step-by-step session plan, a breakdown of the session we created & delivered during the residency, music playlists, prop suggestions, and links to other sensory materials. Our hope is that teachers build these sessions into their weekly schedule, and that it would feel accessible to all.
The sessions are rooted in creativity and connection, but they also align intuitively
with the school curriculum. We reflected in the manual how these activities could support
communication, physical and social development, and lots of expressive, arts-based learning.
Teacher feedback
“The props, the music, the movement, the creative manual! Everything was so catered to our children, it was as if you’d known them and their needs forever.”
“The residency itself was so fun, so child focused and so enjoyable for both staff and children”
“The love, care, time, dedication and patience that you gave to our children was incredible. We have a lot of faces come through our door, but it can sometimes feel like a box tick. With Jess and Libby, it never felt like that. They wanted to be there, they wanted to help and were happy to be there - that was evident in every engagement.”
“Every child was invited to join the activities and they reacted well to them. They were given clear instructions, simple to follow and respond to, so they all felt included”
“One little boy in particular really struggled during our first session, but by the last he was engaging fully and really enjoying the sessions”
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Residency Outcomes​​
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Children's engagement deepened - Pupils who had only dipped in at the start were staying for full sessions by the end.
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Teachers were empowered - The teachers weren’t just supporting the sessions, they were part of them, and the manual gave them a resource they could keep building from.
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The sessions supported meaningful connection - Dance became a shared space where pupils and teachers could connect in new, non-verbal ways. Watching that grow over the weeks was one of the most powerful parts of the experience.
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Flexibility was key - No two classrooms were the same, and the way I delivered sessions had to adapt day by day. Being responsive to each group helped ensure everyone felt included and able to join in their own way.
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Room for more dedicated teacher time - One key learning I will carry forward is the value of giving teachers space to explore the material without pupils present. A bit more time for that would make the work even more sustainable in future projects.
Creative Team​
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Lead Artist & Facilitator - Jess Rowell
Sensory Movement Workshop & Creative Manual Content - Jess Rowell
Assistant Facilitator - Libby Seward
Creative Manual Graphic Design & Formatting - Sarah Lynch
Arts Council Creative Schools Associate - Rebecca Blake
Project Participants & Creative Consultants - Pupils & Teachers at Ballyowen Meadows Special School
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