EDUCATION-MAR10-PG30-31:Page 6 26/02/2010 16:20 Page 31
Education Show
“For many children, everyday life does not often
provide a rich diet of experience… For them, films
can provide a genuine window on the world,
helping them to understand elements of the
curriculum which would otherwise seem detached
from their own realities and therefore difficult to
grasp.” Manchester University’s Professor of
Education Mel Ainscow has also noted the
improvements made in schools running a film club:
“FILMCLUB has helped to inspire creativity,
improvements in literacy, writing and oral
language, and an awareness of other cultures.”
This final point seems especially important for
teachers, many of whom are increasingly eager to
instil in their pupils an appreciation of the world
which lies beyond the school playground. A
massive 96% of teachers involved in the FILMCLUB
scheme believe that exposing children to different
world cultures and languages has a positive effect,
and 88% have indicated that FILMCLUB itself
broadens children’s cultural understanding. There
are films in 21 different languages on the
FILMCLUB catalogue, meaning that it is genuinely
that “window on the world”, and pupils can even
use film to discuss their own varied backgrounds
with classmates. Through its website, FILMCLUB
actively encourages members to watch a whole
and improving the richness of their cultural safe, welcoming and non-judgmental environment
range of films – not just the blockbusters with
experience. In getting it right we will rely on the is one way of achieving this. FILMCLUB’s Schools’
which they will be familiar, but foreign language
contribution of teachers to inspire children and Support Director and former Head of English
films, black and while classics and absorbing
grasp the opportunity to switch them onto film.” Sabrina Broadbent says: “A film club is one way
documentaries. Thanks to this diverse catalogue,
that a school can help children to
teachers are able to use the suggestions of
feel a part of something, not
FILMCLUB’s movie experts, and show their pupils
apart from everything”, and this
great films which are increasingly challenging –
is backed up by Assistant
and therefore increasingly rewarding.
Headteacher Karen Burrow who
If we are to set young people on a journey of
believes that the club “can be
progression that ensures they are safe, healthy and
used to enrich the lives of
motivated, then they must be provided with a
students through shared
wide variety of memorable and inspiring
experience and discussion.”
experiences, and extended services are helping
Although the scheme is just a
schools achieve just that. It is becoming clear that
couple of years old, it seems that
where schools have the support of nationwide
educationalists across the UK are
organisations such as FILMCLUB, students really do
seeing how FILMCLUB can
see the benefits in a range of personal, social and
support what happens in the
academic ways and, as such, must be better
classroom. Sir Michael Bichard,
prepared for their journey into the workplace and
FILMCLUB Chair and former
beyond.
Permanent Secretary for the
Department of Education, feels
uwww.filmclub.org
that film can be an effective way
u020 7288 4520
into the curriculum for students:
uStand Number: N16, Hall 6
Importantly, teachers are already seeing how
screening thought-provoking movies each week
can help them meet the demands of Every Child
Matters by providing whole-school benefits, as
well as having a profound impact on individual
students. In a recent survey, for example, 81% of
FILMCLUB leaders said that students who take part
in the club are more receptive to learning, and
teachers often put this down to the fact that they
have developed a better, more informal
relationship with their pupils in the club which has
transferred into the classroom.
The discovery that writing can be fun (FILMCLUB
encourages members to review the films they’ve
seen) can also be a real boost for pupils who might
normally struggle with written tasks, and many
teachers have reported an improvement in their
students’ behaviour. Shelley Claxton of Mounts
Bay School said that “I feel like I’m working as a
professional at a high quality arts event [during
FILMCLUB] – the children behave very
responsibly”.
Another issue high on the agenda for
educationalists is helping disengaged students feel
more included, and using FILMCLUB to provide a
March 2010 www.education-today.co.uk
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