Useful contacts for education

See links to Regional and National Screen Agencies for information on each organisation’s policies and funding opportunities for education.

Key resources

bfi Education
www.bfi.org.uk/education
The education section within the bfi’s website details useful contacts, including access to the Associate Tutor Scheme, information on current strategy and partnerships, a Researcher’s Guide with useful contacts and the ultra-comprehensive Media Courses Guide (in association with Skillset), which lists each and every media course in the UK. Offers various nationwide initiatives such as venue-based INSET opportunities.

Other useful bfi Education resources

Film Education
www.filmeducation.org
An excellent website containing lots of downloadable resources for all Key Stages. Film Education produces free study guides for a large number of (mostly mainstream) films in the form of CD-Roms, published guides, etc. The organisation also runs National Schools Film Week, which is the largest event of its kind in Europe – a series of free screenings and talks all over the UK. This can be useful for accessing new audiences. If you are taking part and your bookings are being taken centrally, check regularly for booking numbers to ensure your cinema is not being over-booked. It has a separate website at www.nsfw.org.

Other useful Film Education resources

Film Street
www.filmstreet.co.uk

MovIES
Collective comprising independent cinema Film Education Officers that shares good practice, launches initiatives and lobbies at a policy level. For practical, hands-on knowledge of working with audiences and running a diverse range of events, workshops and festivals, the collective has a wealth of experience. Contact Cathy Poole.

Other resources

Adult Learning Inspectorate
www.ali.gov.uk
Website for the organisation responsible for maintaining standards in education and training for adults and young people.

Aim Higher
www.aimhigher.ac.uk

Auteur Publishing
www.auteur.co.uk
Publisher of a range of media/film guides by genre (eg science fiction, horror) or by films (eg Studying The Matrix, Studying American Beauty), aimed at teachers and pupils.

BBC Learning
www.bbc.co.uk/learning
Lists information by subject and offers sections for young people as well as adults trying to find qualifications.

British Board of Film Classification
www.bbfc.org.uk
While the entire website is very informative, it may be of particular interest that classifiers can be booked to come to your venue and lead discussions. This can work very well with either public audiences or GCSE/AS level/undergraduate students looking at censorship.

Channel 4 Learning
www.channel4.com/learning
Offers lots of information on subjects and levels in an accessible format; however, seems to lack mention of media/film studies...

Childrens’ British Board of Film Classification
www.cbbfc.co.uk

Creative Partnerships
www.creative-partnerships.com

Department for Education and Skills
www.dfes.gov.uk
A useful link for news on both education and training.

Disability
www.yourlocalcinema.com
A website detailing where and when subtitled and audio-described cinema is showing across the UK.

English and Media Centre
www.englishandmedia.co.uk

Other useful English and Media Centre resources

Examination Boards

  • Assessment and Qualifications Alliance
    www.aqa.org.uk
    One of the large English exam boards offering GCSE and AS/A2 GCE and GNVQ syllabi (which includes Media Studies).
  • Edexcel
    www.edexcel.org.uk
  • OCR (Oxford Cambridge RSA)
    www.ocr.org.uk
    Exam board offering syllabi including Media Studies.
  • Welsh Joint Education Committee
    www.wjec.co.uk
    The exam boards amalgamated into three very large committees several years ago. The WJEC is one of these, and is the only Committee at the moment that offers a syllabus specifically for AS/A2 Film Studies. Many schools teach the syllabus and large areas of it are useful for independent cinemas. Students must learn about institutions/the industry and there is also a section on world cinema, including films ranging from The Bicycle Thieves to Un chien andalou and Chungking Express. See their downloadable specifications for more detail, as well as their Media Studies guidelines.

First Light
www.firstlightmovies.com

Other useful First Light resources

Funding

Government Documents

Media-Educ
www.media-educ.org

National Curriculum
www.nc.uk.net
Official website of the National Curriculum, with sections on each subject detailing requirements for each Key Stage. Useful for seeing what learning objectives teachers have to work towards, as well as for seeing set texts and how media can be used for literacy archive for history, etc.

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
www.qca.org.uk
Organisation responsible for maintaining and developing the national curriculum specifications for learning at all ages. Has details of PSHE guidelines (Personal Social and Health Education, a subject meant to be integrated into all levels of teaching).

Scottish Qualifications Authority
www.sqa.org.uk
Scottish authority responsible for the monitoring and development of qualifications other than degrees.

Times Education Supplement
www.tes.co.uk
Contains useful articles about teaching practice and reviews of education resources, including those for film and media.

UK Media Education Website
www.mediaed.org.uk
Website filled with information about media education, from reviews of resources to pointers on how to get started with teaching practical filmmaking. Aimed at anyone interested in media education.