Falkirk Dear Education

Developing the idea

Falkirk Champions Board have been involved in delivering part of the induction for new staff in the local authority and after many years of ensuring their voices were reflected within the council, they decided it was vital to extend this into schools.

The Head of Education suggested that the young people spoke with head teachers from across Falkirk to ask if they would consider including them in their processes. After some thought, they decided to flip the invitation and present to head teachers why they needed the young people involved.

The Champs members, supported by staff, met with head teachers across the area and delivered a compelling presentation. The audience were challenged but brave and encouraged the young people to go ahead and develop something they felt would represent them. This is how the 'Dear Education' video was born. The young people were given the budget, resources and support to create something that mattered to them. The co-design of this video allowed the young people to feel heard and seen and enable them to put the messages they wanted people to hear in the video.

What the Champions wanted to change

"The inspiration was to express our feeling and experiences to the school staff to think about how when they get it right it is massive but when they get it wrong it hurts and damages us.  We used all our stories to make one that we hoped would help them walk in our shoes." —Champs member

The Champs members feel that teachers and staff who see the video can understand and connect with their young people more and think about how their personal experiences can impact their school lives.

The Promise Coordinator commented "I think the video is impactful as it’s through the medium of the time right now, and that is audio visual, it hits harder than a written report and it is easier to consume. It comes from people who have lived this and its straight from the horse’s mouth as it were from our own children here in Falkirk.

"We hope they have realised that making it in the school is the win."

The audience is growing

Since the video was produced it has been shared across the country in many different spaces from Falkirk promise events, Falkirk friends and family sessions and has been requested by many local authorities all across Scotland to use as part of their own events.

Our Hearings Our Voice incorporated the ‘Dear Education’ video into a broader presentation they designed around how education staff can meet the needs of care experienced children and young people. Their presentation centres around the themes of privacy, pastoral support, behaviour, labelling, high expectations, and stigma. They typically show the ‘Dear Education’ video at the end of the presentation as they feel it encapsulates these themes and brings them to life in a powerful and meaningful way.

"When we’ve shown the ‘Dear Education’ video during presentations the impact it has on viewers is clear. They look fully engaged, and a heartfelt round of applause typically follows. Many people have said that the video is a highlight of our presentation and that they felt ‘moved’ by it. The phrase that is repeated throughout the video is simple but profound: ‘if we feel good about learning, we will learn’. I feel that this message gets straight to the heart of educational provision – not only for children with care experience, but for all children." —Our Hearings, Our Voice member

Our Hearings, Our Voice members reflected on how the video can provoke uncomfortable feelings but recognised the importance of not shying away from learning about the lived experience of children within school, “These are portrayals of children’s lived experience, and they should feel uncomfortable, and provoke us to act. The video skilfully balances examples of how children have been let down by education staff but also promotes a simple message of hope and a clear call to action – ‘when we feel good about learning, we will learn’."

Learning

The video is clearly co-designed with children and young people and is an authentic expression of their voice and their lived experience. Providing them with resource, support and agency to create a powerful resource has had a huge impact.

Most importantly Falkirk Champs have said "I have learned that my voice is important, and I can be heard." There are still more people the Falkirk Champs want to see this video and are pushing at doors to make that happen. You can help by sharing this and letting Falkirk Champs know how this has impacted you.

Watch the video here: