School Reporters from Coombeshead College in Devon
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On 13 March - School Report News Day - over 280 schools around the UK will be making their own video, audio and text-based news reports.
Schools will publish the reports and bulletins on their websites, to which the BBC aim to link, creating a UK-wide audience for students' work.
This page aims to answer teachers' questions about what this entails for their school.
KEY REQUIREMENTS
Students, who have parental consent to take part in the project, should complete a news-making activity by 1400 GMT and publish the resulting reports or bulletin on their school website by 1600 GMT.
In order for the BBC to link to this page, please send Schools Producer Ros Smith the address of your dedicated web page by 1 March.
Teachers should ensure the published content adheres to the following guidelines concerning child protection, taste and decency and the following laws relating to contempt, defamation and copyright.
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Child protection: Only use children's FIRST names
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Taste and decency: Don't report anything which makes you uncomfortable
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Defamation: Report the facts NOT rumours, report both sides of the story
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Contempt: Avoid crime stories
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Copyright: Only use YOUR OWN photos, music etc
MORE QUESTIONS ANSWERED
What should I do the week before News Day?
Give clear roles to each member of staff.
Make sure you have all the material you need for the day in the right format.
Plan rehearsals to be carried out before the day.
Make a back-up plan. What will happen if your equipment breaks? Is there another way the students can still make the news?
Make sure you have a plan for how reports or scripts will be edited, printed and distributed.
Experience in school highlights the importance of nominating one person to be in control of the reports/scripts. During the re-drafting process it's easy for two students to find themselves working on different versions of the same story, when only one can be broadcast. A report can go back and forth between the reporter and the editor several times until the editor is happy it's correct. Having one person in charge of the script helps ensure that only the approved scripts and reports are broadcast.
Organise if and how other students can watch, hear or read the broadcast.
Make sure everyone knows NOT to use surnames.
Ensure that the teachers making editorial decisions are aware of the issues of child protection, taste and decency, defamation, contempt and copyright.
What should I do the day before News Day?
Greenwood Dale School Reporters in Nottingham prepare for News Day
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Make sure all equipment is working and that you have plenty of spare batteries, tapes etc.
Distribute a clear timetable with deadlines for different activities. For example, when will the editor check the scripts or reports?
When will they check the amended reports?
Double check everyone knows NOT to use surnames.
Decide on a clear editorial hierarchy. Who is the editor in charge in the day? Who will make the final check on scripts or reports? What happens if there is disagreement over content?
Decide who is running the TV studio, radio studio or in charge of compiling online reports on a news homepage.
Decide who is responsible for health and safety.
How can we evaluate School Report?
School Reporters can complete an evaluation form, explaining what they thought of School Report. As well as helping the School Report team improve the project, printing the completed form before clicking the SEND button serves as a record of self-assessment. There is also a questionnaire for teachers. Both evaluation forms are on the Contact us page.
Students could also report on News Day as a news event. They could interview School Reporters and staff, take photographs of news-making activities in the school and assemble the information in a report. This would also serve as a press release to send to local media organisations.
We need some ideas. What news events do you suggest we cover?
School Reporters asked their peers: "What news are you interested in?"
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This guide will give you some ideas.
During a practice News Day, Wirral Grammar School for Boys in Bebington, Cheshire asked a range of students what news topics which they were most interested in. They reported on their findings as a news story in its own right and used the answers to inform news coverage for their particular audience. Other schools may wish to do the same.
We've not done any preparation. What should we do?
Students should watch these two videos. The first explains the news-making process - find, gather, write, assemble, order, broadcast - which School Reporters and professional journalists follow. In the second, BBC news presenter Huw Edwards explains how to write news reports and scripts which are clear, correct and concise.
Students should also take this quiz which explains how to ensure their news protects them and remains within the law.
Students then undertake the following activities:
- Find: Look at the homepage of the BBC News website
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Gather: Select a few stories of interest and read the top four sentences of each
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Write: Use the BBC's top sentence and re-write the other three sentences in your own words. Write your script or report on this worksheet:
- Assemble: Find a photograph to illustrate your story. Refer to the quiz to remind yourself which ones you can use from the BBC News website.
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Order: Decide on the opening and closing stories, and the order of the reports in between
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Broadcast: Present your news stories and photographs to a group of students at 1400 GMT and publish them on your school website by 1600 GMT
Where and how will we feature on the BBC?
The BBC aims to link to your school website from the School Report map, generating a UK-wide audience for students' work.
A new map is due to launch at the beginning of March. Please send Ros Smith the address of your dedicated web page by 1 March.
In addition, a member of the School Report team will ring participating schools to ask staff and students questions about news-making activities taking place on the News Day.
The BBC aims to broadcast this information, either on School Report Radio - the project's day-long, dedicated web radio station - or the School Report website as a running account of the day.
Schools might like to give one student the role of BBC correspondent for the day. Their job will be to:
- Answer questions from a BBC journalist on the phone
- Take photographs of the practice News Day
- Under supervision, e-mail them to schoolreportpics@bbc.co.uk with a password which BBC staff will give to teachers
In addition, a number of schools will feature on School Report LIVE, the project's dedicated web TV channel which will run for the length of the school day. Students from six schools in and around Liverpool will appear live on the channel and the work of students from schools all round the UK will also be featured. Both School Report LIVE and School Report Radio will be available on the red button service.
BBC Radio stations and websites in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and 44 English regions will feature School Reporters and their work. Many of these reports can be accessed via the School Report map.
Some schools will also be featured on other BBC news programmes and websites.
During last year's News Day, School Reporters featured on Breakfast News, News 24, the One O'Clock News, the Six O'Clock News, Newsround, Five Live, PM on Radio 4 and the BBC News website.
How can we involve students over 14?
Mentors at Park Community learn how to be effective team leaders
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Students who took part in School Report last year are mentoring this year's School Reporters on the UK-wide News Day, at Park Community School in Hampshire and Coombeshead College in Devon. Other schools might like to do the same.
Who can we contact at the BBC for help?
Schools Producer Ros Smith will email the lead teachers of participating schools in March to let them know the phone number on which to contact her on the News Day. She can also be contacted by e-mail.
The School Report team can be contacted using the Contact us page or by emailing schoolreport@bbc.co.uk
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News Day explained
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