 Are you fully prepared for a News Day? |
A little preparation will help teachers and students concentrate on the task in hand on News Day. BBC News School Report encourages 11 to 14-year-olds to make the news in their school. Here you will find an outline of how to run a successful News Day along with detailed checklists of what should happen in advance of the day itself and what needs to happy on the big day. On News Day, schools are required to: - Undertake a news-making activity
- Complete it by 1400 GMT
- Publish it on a school website by 1600 GMT
This guide gives some examples of what schools can do in advance of and on the News Day, to help them achieve this outcome. IN ADVANCE OF THE NEWS DAY  At Park High School in Birkenhead reports are already being made |
Make a web page Creating a dedicated page on the school website now will dramatically ease the broadcasting pressure of the News Day. It could be a holding page, asking the audience to return at a time and date when the news will be published. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Or it could host reports which students have already created, leaving you with only the news-making activity of the day to publish on School Report News Day, as three schools from East London did in the past. During the autumn and spring terms, groups of students filmed and edited two-minute video reports which were uploaded to the website. During the News Day, the videos were edited to make them even shorter and then slotted into the news bulletin, in between the headlines of the day. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
The videos in the right-hand column are the pre-recorded videos and the main report on the page is the News Day bulletin containing shorter versions of the videos. Know the news A time-saving way to keep abreast of the news is to have it sent to you by: The e-mail service allows you to select the type of news you receive, including national, international and sports news. In addition, there is a breaking news alert option. Put skills to the test As well as delivering the lesson plans, which teach students the skills involved in news-making, we recommend you put them into practice by: - Making the news
- Working to a deadline
- Broadcasting the news
A good way to do this is to run a practice News Day. ON THE NEWS DAY ITSELF On School Report News Day, schools are required to: - Undertake a news-making activity
- Complete it by 1400 GMT
- Publish it on a school website by 1600 GMT
This could be as simple as selecting, presenting and publishing a few of the day's news headlines by: - Finding: Look at the homepage of a BBC News website
- Gathering: Select a few stories of interest and read the top four sentences of each
- Writing: Use the BBC's top sentence and condense the other three sentences into one, using your own words
- Assembling: Find a photograph to illustrate your story
- Ordering: Decide on the opening and closing stories, and the order of the reports in between
- Broadcasting: Present your news stories and photographs to a group of students at 1400 GMT and publish them on your school website by 1600 GMT
Finding and gathering the news A simple way to find out what is happening around the world on the News Day is to browse the front page of the BBC News or CBBC Newsround websites. If you have already set up a news feed or subscribed to a daily email you can browse the news headlines using these services. Having selected the stories you would like to cover, read the top four sentences of each report which provide a balanced summary of the whole story. BBC journalists check at least two sources before publishing a news story. If you use a different source, it is a good idea to check that the same information appears in another source, such as a newspaper or website, before using it in your report. Writing the news Using the top sentence of the BBC News website reports should give you two of the "W" facts - what and who. When summarising the other three sentences, try to include the remaining "W" facts - when, where and why. Before putting pen to paper: - Tell a classmate the story in your own words
- Check it against the story to see if your facts were correct
- Tell your classmate again
- Then write it down
Assembling the news A simple way to assemble words and pictures is to add a photograph to your report. The BBC has gained permission for you to use photographs on the BBC News website that have an AP, PA, AFP or Getty credit in the bottom right hand corner. The easiest way to find these is to: - Type a key word into the BBC search engine
- Select the Search in: BBC News & Sport tab (middle of top margin)
- Chose the News only option (top left, below the margin)
- Click into the stories displayed
- Right-click on a credited image and save it
- Remember to re-instate the credit if you crop the picture
Ordering the news Start by choosing your opening (lead) and closing (and finally) story, then decide on the order of the middle stories. Grouping your reports into types such as national, international and sport news will help you determine an order. Broadcasting the news There are two broadcasting deadlines: Students complete their reports by 1400 GMT and schools publish them on the school website by 1600 GMT. Experience shows that students benefit from the pressure of presenting their reports live to a school-based audience at 1400 GMT, marking the completion of their news-making activity. This could be as simple as a handful of students reading out their news to the rest of the class. Schools creating video or audio news should record this presentation. If you have already published reports made by students in advance of the News Day, it only remains for you to publish the day's news on the school website before 1600 GMT. The BBC aims to link to these sites, generating a UK-wide audience for students work, and allowing them to go home with the satisfaction of having made the news for real. PREPARING FOR NEWS DAY Before a School Report News Day can actually take place, there is plenty of preparation work to be done. Here is a checklist designed to help teachers in advance of the day. It is broken down into different time scales, explaining what to do a month, a week and a day before the News Day. AT LEAST A MONTH IN ADVANCE Decide whether you will be making TV, radio or online news.If possible, run a trial News Day from scratch. The idea of this is for students to be able to compare their ability to make the news before any learning has taken place. They can then compare it to their capabilities on News Day. Record this day in some form - student evaluations, film, photographs - anything which will enable students to recollect the day. Schedule and deliver the six lesson plans on this website.Ensure that it is possible to put content on your school website or that of your delivery partner.Select which children will take part on the News Day.Organise parental consent for all children involved. Generic letters will be provided by the BBC.Return head teacher's consent form to the BBC.Return signed agreement to the BBC.Book area where children will work on the News Day.Organise staff to run the News Day.Decide on the News Day activities and whether you are going to produce any content in advance. Devise a timetable for creating any reports before the day.A WEEK BEFORE Give clear roles to each member of staff.Make sure you have all the material you need for the day in the right format.Plan rehearsals to be carried out before the day.Make a backup plan. What will happen if your equipment breaks? Is there another way the students can still make the news?Make sure you have a plan for how reports or scripts will be edited, printed and distributed. [Teacher's Tip: Experience in school highlights the importance of nominating one person to be in control of the reports/scripts. During the re-drafting process it's easy for two students to find themselves working on different versions of the same story, when only one can be broadcast. A report can go back and forth between the reporter and the editor several times until the editor is happy it's correct. Having one person in charge of the script helps ensure that only the approved scripts and reports are broadcast.] Organise if and how other students can watch, hear or read the broadcast.Make sure everyone knows NOT to use surnames.Ensure that the teachers making editorial decisions are aware of the issues of libel, copyright, taste and decency and child protection.THE DAY BEFORE Make sure all equipment is working and that you have plenty of spare batteries, tapes etc.Distribute a clear timetable with deadlines for different activities. For example, when will the editor check the scripts or reports? When will they check the amended reports?Double check everyone knows NOT to use surnames.Decide on a clear editorial hierarchy. Who is in charge in the day (the editor)? Who will make the final check on scripts or reports? What happens if there is disagreement over content?Decide who is running the TV studio, radio studio or in charge of compiling online reports on a news homepage.Decide who is responsible for health and safety.ON THE DAY: A TEACHER'S CHECKLIST FOR NEWS DAY On School Report News Day, it's a good idea to take a step back and look at the day in terms of objectives. You want your students to: Enjoy the dayStay safeBe on taskMeet deadlinesReflect on their achievement You want your students' work to: Be the best it can beBe safe and legalBe on the school website by 1600 GMTBe seen by an audienceBe on the BBC websiteBe rewarded Below is a checklist to help you achieve these outcomes: ENJOY THE DAY Remind students that they are BBC School Reporters. Make them feel the part by distributing the School Report journalist notepads, pens and press cards. Remind them that they are part of a UK-wide event involving more than a thousand children that will be reported on BBC TV, radio and online. They can see what other students are doing on School Report LIVE on this website. STAY SAFE For child protection reasons, remind students to use their first name ONLY. This includes writing their name on their press cards and notepads, in the credits at the end of their news bulletins, on their by-lines and when referring to each other e.g. "and now over to Sonia for the weather". It would be a real shame, for example, if the BBC was unable to link to your school website because John was filmed wearing his press card with his surname clearly visible. Undertake a risk assessment on your "newsroom." Make sure you consider your students' health and safety. This guide will help you. BE ON TASK Assign students specific roles. If students find themselves without a task, ask them to chose a journalistic activity from this page. It includes a competition to win a guitar signed by Rock School star Lil' Chris. MEET DEADLINES Use the School Report clock and "timetable of the day" poster to keep students on track. Hold regular briefing meetings to remind students of their tasks during the next section of the day. REFLECT ON ACHIEVEMENT Ask students to complete our evaluation form, telling us what they thought of BBC News School Report. This will help us improve the project when we run it again next year. Teachers can also send us their feedback, using this link. BE THE BEST IT CAN BE Remind students of the five Ws and the three Cs. They should gather the facts - what, who, where, when and why. They should ensure their news is correct, clear and concise. Remind them to double check the facts. Encourage them to read their work out loud to check for mistakes. Ask them to read and correct each other's work Remind them to ask an adult to "sign off" off their report before it is published. BE SAFE AND LEGAL Encourage School Reporters to take this quiz, which teaches them how to stay on the right side of the law. Before publishing, check your students' work for: Child protection - Have they used first names only? Have they avoided mentioning details about themselves? E.g. They should not mention which youth club they attend or where they play football.Defamation - Have they steered clear of celebrity gossip?Contempt - Have they avoided crime stories, especially ongoing cases?Copyright - Have they used their own photographs or ones taken from the BBC News website (not other BBC sites) with an AP, PA, AFP or Getty credit in the corner? Here is a more comprehensive guide: BE ON THE SCHOOL WEBSITE BY 1600 GMT Talk to the member of staff who is uploading the students work on News Day. Organise a system that allows them to access the students' final reports and bulletins - the ones "signed off" by an adult. Guidance on making a School Report news web page
Guide to putting your news on the internet BE SEEN BY AN AUDIENCE If possible, make arrangements to record your news "as live" at 1400 GMT in front of a "studio audience". This could be a class, an assembly or a group of staff. A live audience will add to the excitement of the day. BE ON THE BBC WEBSITE The BBC aim to link to all participating schools from this page, giving your students a UK-wide audience for their work: Clickable map of schools' news Nominate a member of staff who will be able to edit the content on the school website if there is a problem linking to it from the BBC School Report website. For example, if there is a child's surname on the School Report pages of your website, we will need to ask someone to remove it straight away. Please make sure the BBC have the contact details of this member of staff, ideally a mobile number, in advance of News Day, using the Contact us link. BE REWARDED Encourage students to view their own work on this website. Organise an awards ceremony during which students are presented with School Report certificates. Don't forget to nominate your school for a BBC News School Report award. If you are successful, five children and a teacher can attend the awards ceremony at Television Centre in London.
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