SEE is proud to share the exciting news that a film created as part of our Set the Scene programme was nominated for the 2023 Saroj Lal Award for Schools, celebrating efforts to promote equality in education!

After taking part in our GTCS accredited course, Using Filmmaking to Develop Your Teaching Practice, teacher Gerard Wilkie from Kaimes Special School made a short film about sensory overload with his pupils, as part of our Set the Scene programme funded by Screen Scotland.

Here, Gerard Wilkie shares more about this project:

 

It was amazing to be nominated for the Saroj Lal award, as it is a very prestigious within Scottish education and equalities. I was surprised to get invited to the City Chambers on the awards night and although we did not win overall, it was humbling to receive the nomination.

For the film, the learners wanted to show what it was like to be autistic, and within a school setting. They tried to get across how sensory issues can lead to feeling overloaded and cause a potential meltdown. The class came up with the concept themselves, and did all the pre-production. They filmed and edited everything themselves also.

I immensely enjoyed taking part in the SEE programme. I am continuing to use the skills I learnt with my current class and we are working towards putting together a new film. This is still very much in its initial stages, but we are slowly developing ideas we can build upon and work on.

 

Well done to Gerard Wilkie and his pupils for this incredible achievement!