Fen Ditton update
At Fen Ditton Community Primary School we are using digital animation to facilitate the needs of children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and those facing emotional and mental health challenges, to participate in inclusive learning.
By creating short films about mental and physical health and wellbeing, children gain computer literacy skills and we decrease the digital gap.
We use stop-frame animation studios and familiar resources (Lego, clay, fruit and vegetables) to build confidence and digital skills in children who have not had the same digital opportunities as many of their counterparts during the pandemic, or are not coping with the mainstream classroom setting. These children spend time in smaller groups in our Nurture Room.
Exploring important themes like fitness, healthy eating, mental health and wellbeing empowers the children to recognise their own thoughts and behaviours and how they can control or regulate them. These are vital tools for all children but particularly with the mental health crisis seen since the pandemic – children are worst affected and in danger of developing lifelong mental illness ( Online Article published April 2021).
Gaining these skills will have a positive impact on behaviour; new confidence and the ability to communicate in new ways, exploring emotions, recognising them in others, and expressing themselves all help with methods of self regulation and communication. Digital animation can be used across the curriculum to explore concepts in a more hands-on and visual way which can be very helpful for those struggling with reading and writing, or with difficulty communicating.
Since receiving this funding we set up two full animation kits and started with a pilot; Children in the Nurture Room have a wide range of skills and previous experience -some are definitely new to the concept so need more of the building blocks to animation. Some need more sessions on content before animating – particularly identifying emotions in others is often quite difficult for SEND children and so may need more work before filming.
Others with more time in mainstream classes, or experience with animation could move straight to storyboarding and Lego animation, but we wanted to build their confidence so we set 2 levels of challenges for the start of the project:
- Youngest children/ those with no prior experience use clay, drawings and fruit to explore emotions, recognising them, and what causes them. Guidance through the first steps of animation.
- More experienced children start with fruit emotion videos but include speech, digital editing, and explore other concepts like healthy eating, consequences and coping strategies. They can storyboard and use more complex resources like Lego.
We really want the children to feel part of the process and to include things that interest them in the themes and sessions to engage them in every aspect.
As a school the constraint of the impending summer holidays was immediate – there was one week left and it happened to be the hottest on record!!! With 40 degree heat some of the classrooms had to close and many children stayed at home, so we are really looking forward to carrying on the project where we left off.
September is going to be busy for our budding filmmakers, and we can’t wait to see what they produce!