The Belbin Team Role Guide to the School Nativity

The (tongue-in-cheek) Belbin Team Role Guide to the Primary School Nativity

Which Belbin Team Role:

… is the one helping at the PTFA mince pie and mulled wine stall again, even though their child isn’t in the nativity this year (although after the Christmas Fayre fleecing, you do wonder whether the PTFA aren’t quite embracing the Christmas spirit)?

… has been there since 5pm with their coats bagging the entire front row so that they can see little Susan, aka Mary, sing along to Little Donkey. They will be loudly applauding at every opportunity.

… flies in at the last minute, still on their phone and proceeds to Tweet/Insta every ‘adorable’ moment #itschristmas #ourbabiesfirstnativity

… is looking at the programme to check the timings, and using a highlighter to make sure they know when little Johnny will be making an appearance?  Fully charged their phone beforehand so that they know they will be able to record the whole show.

… is frantically making tinsel halos for Year 4 backstage, whilst trying to ensure the donkeys tail is correctly fastened? Doesn’t want to make the same mistakes as last year – someone miscalculated the number of halos needed which meant that some children (adults) were not happy. And the donkeys tail fell off in the manger.

… has decided to give the traditional nativity story a bit of a twist this year? The challenge was to make it all inclusive and slightly less dull than previous years. No-one really knows which animals were actually there, and who’s to say that a travelling circus wasn’t in town? At least everyone has a part…

… has thought that on reflection it is better to sit towards the back of the hall where the acoustics are slightly better. Rates everyone’s performance out of ten so that they remain unbiased when it comes to their child’s turn.

… is in charge of the lights and the sound? Their face lit up when presented with the rather thick instruction manual, and they have completed the online course to show they have achieved the standards required.

… presents all the gifts to the hard-working teachers and volunteers (purchased by the same person who is still selling the mince pies and mulled wine), gives a rousing speech about the meaning of Christmas, takes the applause, and then leaves everyone else to tidy up?

Answers on a postcard please to [email protected]

P.S. Apologies for any offence caused - this was written by a mother of three (ages 14, 13 and 10) who is only just coming out the other side... We know the PTFA are fabulous.

(Remember we are all a wonderful mix of all these nine Belbin Team Roles - this is just for a bit of Christmas fun!) 

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