The main aim of BBC News School Report is to interest young people in news of all sorts, and the world around them, by giving them the chance to make their own news.
AWARD NOMINATIONS
School Report was recognised across Europe in winning the MEDEA Professional Production
The project won the Royal Television Society (RTS) award for Innovation in Education 2008. It was shortlisted for the Innovation in Journalism award 2007.
School Report was nominated for a Children's Bafta in the Secondary Learning category in 2007 and 2008
It is also an opportunity for students to inform a real audience, via BBC programmes and web pages, about the stories which are important to them.
Many teachers have said that taking part in School Report supports all sorts of learning for instance by helping students develop their ability to work in teams, manage their time, conduct independent enquiries, communicate effectively and think critically.
It is also a chance for students to discuss the responsibilities involved in broadcasting their work to a world wide audience.
UK students aged 11-16, and in the Year Groups indicated by the table below, are eligible to take part in School Report.
AGES OF STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FOR SCHOOL REPORT
Student age
England and Wales
Northern Ireland
Scotland
11 to 12
Year 7
Year 8
P7
12 to 13
Year 8
Year 9
S1
13 to 14
Year 9
Year 10
S2
14 to 15
Year 10
Year 11
S3
15 to 16
Year 11
Year 12
S4
Older students may contribute to the project by mentoring 11 to 16-year-olds and there are some
supporting resources
on this website.
Schools may of course use the resources on this website with students of any age. However the BBC will only feature news made by 11 to 16-year-olds.
Accessibility
The BBC would eventually like all 11 to 16-year-olds to be have the chance to take part in School Report and therefore School Report is designed to be part of mainstream lessons, rather than a separate club. How the project is run is up to each school.
For some students, taking part in School Report might spark a desire to work in news, but for most it will help equip them with a more general set of skills, knowledge and understanding.
Adaptability
The resources on this website are designed to be adapted by teachers to suit their particular students across a range of subjects. If you have adapted the resources, please
contact the School Report team
so we can share them with other teaches via this website.
The scripts of the Huw Edwards's videos, which accompany each lesson plan, and a subtitled version of the School Report Explained video are available. Please
contact the School Report team
to request a copy.
How many students?
This is entirely up to each school although the BBC would like to encourage as many students as possible to be involved. Some teachers have run activities with a whole year group, others with a class, and some with a handful of students.
1. Join our mailing list
online
to receive regular emails about the project.
2. Return an
agreement form
to be eligible for support from a School Report mentor, if we are able to match you with a BBC member of staff.
3. Return a
consent form
for students to be eligible to appear on the BBC, which includes being featured during
practice News Days.
4.Prepare a dedicated web page
for your students' news on your school website to receive a link from the School Report map.
5. Arrange for a news-making activity to take place on 21 March 2013 and for your students' news to be uploaded to your dedicated page by 1600 GMT on this date.
Teachers can complete steps 1-4 as soon as possible, in order to make the most of the project. Once the two forms have been returned and a dedicated web page created, pupils will have real audience for their work it by virtue of a link from this website.
Lesson plans
Teachers are encouraged to use resources on this website to help their students prepare for a UK-wide News Day in March, when the BBC aims to link to the school web pages from this site, creating a world-wide audience for students work. On the News Day, many schools will also be featured on BBC programmes and other BBC websites.
The core resource is a series of lesson plans, which explains the six-step news-making process. Each one hour lesson contains a short video in which the BBC's Huw Edwards shares his journalistic advice. Other resources are also available for teachers to adapt and use.
Agreement and consent
Head teachers of participating schools must formally agree to do the following:
• Take part in the UK-wide News Day in March which includes publishing student-made news on a public-facing school website by 1600 GMT
• Make sure what appears on their website is safe and legal, including obtaining parental permission
• Share the learning from the project, free of charge, to others.
Safe and legal
As the publisher, or broadcaster, the school is responsible for ensuring this material published on their school website is safe and legal.
Schools without a school website can publish content on another appropriate education website such as one belonging to an City Learning Centre. However, please remember that the school is still responsible for checking that the content is appropriate.
Safeguarding children is one aspect of this and schools must ensure the students who appear on the schools websites have parental permission and that only their first names are used.
Guidance
on child protection and other safety and legal requirements are available on this website.
Practice News Days
Schools can rehearse what they will be doing on School Report News Day by taking part in a practice News Day - a chance to rehearse what you will do on the March News Day.
Schools may also run practice News Days on any date they choose. Please
contact the School Report team
to let them know.
Teachers and specialist advisors have commented on the extent to which School Report relates to the aims, skills and programmes of study of the statutory curricula and educational guidelines for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The equipment required depends on how each school chooses to broadcast the news.
A simple way of taking part, which requires a computer and a school website, is to publish a text-based article on the school website on School Report News Day.
Schools who decide to make audio or video news will need additional equipment. However, the project is designed so that schools are able to use the resources they already have.
In addition, some schools are working with partner organisations such as City Learning Centres or specialist media schools, who can provide technical help and support.
The focus of any help from BBC staff will be journalism, although depending on their field of expertise, they may be able to give practical advice. However the BBC will not be able to supply equipment.
Schools outside the UK are able to take part as long as they are twinned with a participating school within the UK, and both schools are working together on the project.
Please get in touch with the School Report team via the
Contact us page
or by sending an e-mail to schoolreport@bbc.co.uk
WHY DOES THE BBC RUN SCHOOL REPORT?
The project aims to give young people from across the UK the chance to make their own news to real deadlines and broadcast it to real audiences. This is because our first public purpose under the Charter is to "sustain citizenship and civil society", in part by providing an impartial news service for all. School Report helps to fulfil this in three ways:
By engaging young people with news
By bringing their voices and stories to a wider audience
By sharing some of the public service values behind content creation, such as fairness, accuracy, and impartiality since so many young people are content creators and distributors.
School Report is a partnership project. While the BBC provides the overall organisation, teachers run the project in schools and its success is dependant on their professional expertise.
Schools take part because they see the educational value to their pupils.
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