The Educators’ Trust
Apr 27, 2023
In 2018 the Keith Hutton Award for Theatre and Performing Arts was made to Belinda McGuirk, then principal performer at Chickenshed Theatre.
On Saturday 22 April Chickenshed kids were fast tracked to the final of Britains Got Talent!
Chickenshed Theatre is an inclusive community theatre (especially for SEND children) at which our 2018 award winner, Belinda McGuirk, has had long association. The judges of our award had been so impressed that the Worshipful Company of Educators Social Committee organised a visit at which company members were impressed as they viewed some workshops and heard from their Head of Learning.
Professor Lou Stein, the Artistic Director for many years, nominated Belinda for her award and has maintained close interest in the work of the Educators’ Trust..
You can view a video of Chickenshed on Britain’s Got Talent followed by the original citation for Belinda McGuire’s 2018 award below.
Full lists and citations of winners since 2018 are available HERE.
Keith Hutton Legacy Award for Theatre and Performing Arts, 2018
Winner: Belinda McGuirk, Chickenshed Theatre
Nominated by Professor Lou Stein, Artistic Director, Chickenshed Theatre
The late Keith Hutton was a major contributor to the early development of the Educators. Sadly Keith died in 2016. He very kindly left a legacy to the Trust. Keith was a great enthusiast of theatre and performing arts so it is fitting that his bursary supports the professional development of teacher-practitioners in that field.
This year the award goes to Belinda McGuirk, Principal Performer, at Chickenshed Theatre, where she also is BTEC Programme Manager.
Chickenshed Theatre was founded in 1974 by teacher Mary Ward who believed that children who found the conventional curriculum difficult could be reached through music, drama and movement. She and singer-composer, Jo Collins, began a community inclusive theatre in a disused chicken barn in north London. It now has a purpose-built theatre complex with four performance spaces and a bar/restaurant, regularly hosting theatre, music and comedy evenings.
Chickenshed has an international reputation for its work with children, especially those with special educational needs and disabilities. As well as major musical productions, Chickenshed provides workshops run on weeknights, Saturdays and in school vacations. The staff delivers bespoke programmes for primary and secondary schools as well as education courses in inclusive performing arts at BTEC, Foundation Degree and BA (Hons) Levels, accredited by Edexcel and Middlesex University. The educational provision is designated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.
Belinda McGuirk is a unique blend of educator and performing arts professional. She is a very fine actress and director in her own right and able to convey her specialism in inclusive performance with skill and effectiveness. She is particularly committed to working with vulnerable students and those with moderate to severe disabilities. She has honed her own skills to meet their needs. For example she is a BSL Qualified Signer. Her impact on young people’s performance skills and life-time communication confidence is widely acknowledged by their parents, her colleagues and educational assessors.
Belinda has devoted nearly 20 years of her teaching career to Chickenshed’s educational programme, placing the needs of her students above her own professional development and career opportunities. The Educator award not only brings external recognition for the quality of Belinda’s work but also will enable her to attend a high level international conference on inclusive practice where she will engage with other advanced practitioners in the field and locate her own practice in a wider context. It may lead to new opportunities for her but, in the words of her Nominator, will also ‘refresh the life-blood of educational excellence at Chickenshed’.
The Educators’ Trust is incorporated under the Charities Act 2011 as Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1179353