Thinking Allowed supports Year 7 students

18 May 2010

Students in Year 7 have recently produced a film in their Thinking Allowed lessons which explores the difficult issues of how to deal with bullies, peer pressure and bad language.

In teams of 6, students were given a scenario that they had to develop into a short film. Using Comic Life, an innovative IT software package, boys first created a detailed storyboard. Only then could they film their stories. The purpose behind making the film was to help the students think about the consequences of their actions, for themselves and others. What happens if you fight? What could happen if you get another boy to break a school rule, even if they don't want to? If someone gets hurt, what should you do? If someone tells you that you have been insulted by another student, what happens next? What do you do if you find a student who is upset?

As a result of this focus on self-control and emotional intelligence, each boy in the year has written themselves a target which they are going to work on until the end of term. Each target reflects the student's review of their behaviour and include such things as making sure you cheer a boy up if he is upset, no longer insulting others, telling a teacher if you see one boy picking on another, concentrating more in class and staying away from fighting.

Parents are informed about their son's behaviour around school and how they get on with others, through the progress sheet reporting system, but if any parents or students have concerns they should contact their son's Tutor or Year Co-ordinator.