What can Screen Scotland offer?
Film education is critically important in the learning of young people in the 21st century, not only due to its ubiquity but also because of the enormous power moving images and sounds have over our perception of the world around us. Film’s importance is recognised in the Curriculum for Excellence, but as it is not taught as a unique subject in Scotland, many teachers lack confidence in teaching about film and filmmaking. Screen Scotland’s main aim in schools is to help build their capacity and capability in film education, through:
- Career-long professional learning in schools
- Teacher education programmes
- Funding film education practitioners and organisations to deliver projects in schools
- The provision of online film education resources.
A Film and Screen Curriculum for Scotland
Embedding film and screen education in Scottish schools.
Designing the Curriculum
Screen Scotland aim to embed a film and screen curriculum across Scottish education from early years to senior phase, situated within the Expressive Arts curriculum. In July 2022, a symposium, hosted and facilitated by Screen Scotland, was attended by academics, professionals from across early years, primary, secondary and tertiary education, and screen access and education practitioners, joined by colleagues from the SQA, Scottish Government and Education Scotland. A draft Film and Screen curriculum was developed, detailing content for each age and stage of school education.
Screen Educator in Residence pilot programme
The Screen Educator in Residence (SEIR) programme will place screen practitioners in schools within five Scottish local authorities who will test and evaluate the draft Film and Screen Curriculum for Scotland and support the integration of film and screen as an expressive art into the national school curriculum.
Film and Screen as an expressive art focuses on enabling pupils to make a film, rather than solely study the history or theory of film. This is core to Screen Scotland’s work to widen participation in film and screen production, cultivate a skilled screen workforce, and develop the screen professionals needed to carry forward Scotland’s film culture.
The programme, which is free to schools, will run in five local authorities from February 2023 to June 2024 and engage with each stage from early years to senior phase. The five areas are Argyll and Bute, City of Edinburgh, Dundee City, the Highlands and Shetland. A 24-credit Film and Screen Award for Levels Five and Six is being developed by SQA in collaboration with Screen Scotland.
The Screen Educator in Residence programme is managed by Station House Media Unit with support from the education team at Screen Scotland. Mindful of the position of flux across Scottish education, Screen Scotland are working closely with SQA and Education Scotland colleagues to ensure a collaborative and responsive approach.
A forum for teachers
Screen Scotland also hosts a forum within Glow, Education Scotland’s school intranet which provides:
- A networking space for educators who want to share ideas and resources about using film in their classroom
- Support from Screen Scotland's Film Education team
- News of upcoming film education events
- Selected short films with recommended classroom resources to assist teaching.
The forum can be accessed here: Screen Scotland: Film Education | Microsoft Teams. If there are any problems in accessing the page, please contact [email protected].