Moray pupils create a film to help new intake make the step up to secondary education.

Pupils at Milne’s High have created a film to help new primary students make the step up to secondary education.

Produced in-house with the support of guidance staff and Moray Council’s PR and design team, the film helps young people be more aware of the Getting it Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) initiative.

The ten-minute short shows pupils defining what key elements of GIRFEC – such as Safe, Healthy, Active, Nurtured, Achieving, Respected, Responsible, Included ( SHANARRI for short), looks like to them. The film is being used to help transition from P7 to S1 and is being used in secondary schools in Moray and is also available on YouTube.

The SHANARRI definitions came from the pupils and it was scripted and directed by guidance teacher Charles McGuire. The pupils operated the camera and sound equipment with help from Moray Council staff, who also edited the film. In total the project took less than a week to produce.

Director of education and social work for Moray Council, Laurence Findlay, said the wellbeing issue was a major factor in ensuring young people got the most from school.
“Moray Council and partners have been working very hard to develop our approaches to GIRFEC at all levels and to enhance practitioners’ understanding of the wellbeing indicators,” he said.
“I am delighted that Charles McGuire, principal guidance teacher at Milne’s High and his students have shown such innovation by preparing this film which really showcases the importance of wellbeing through the eyes of young people themselves.
“This will be shown across Moray schools and we also hope to prepare a primary school version in due course.
“High quality materials such as this, developed by our staff and students will really serve to highlight the importance of the GIRFEC agenda and I commend their work.”

The film has been well received by pupils, parents and Moray Council’s education staff, and it will be used this year and next year for 2016 transitions.

Moray Council area stretches from Tomintoul in the south to the shores of the Moray Firth, from Keith in the east to Forres in the west. The council and its 4,500 employees respond to the needs of 92,500 residents in this beautiful part of Scotland, which nestles between Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Headquartered in  Elgin, the administrative capital of Moray.