Professional Documents
Culture Documents
As part of BBC Learnings campaign, specially edited DVDs of The Baby Borrowers series
plus related lesson plans are being made available to all schools throughout the UK. The
teaching materials, for use within Citizenship, Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)
including Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) and all UK nation equivalents, seek to
encourage pupils to talk about the realities of teenage parenthood, to discuss sexual
relationships and the personal decisions that teenagers face as they move into adulthood.
To assess the content of the teaching pack The Baby Borrowers team offered pilot
workshops to a cross section of UK schools. The purpose of the pilot workshops was:
To gather teachers opinions and use their expertise to develop a well informed,
sustainable and invaluable PSHE and Citizenship resource
To gain feedback from pupils to ensure that the pack would be relevant and engaging
Eight workshops were held, two in each nation, with pupils aged between 13 and 16, ensuring
that each section of the teaching resource The Experiment, Relationships, Parenting and
The Carl and Kayleigh Story was piloted prior to launch.
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A non-denominational, non-selective bilingual state school for girls and boys aged
11-18. Total no. of pupils: 541.
Workshop Held: The Carl and Kayleigh Story
School Year: Year 10 (age 14-15)
No. of Pupils: 21
A non-denominational, non-selective
state community school for girls and
boys aged 11-18. Total no. of pupils:
873.
Workshop Held: Parenting
School Year: Year 9 (age 13-14)
No. of Pupils: 15
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Excellent 50%
Good 30%
80% of teaching staff and educational experts rated the written lesson plan as good or
excellent. Of the 20% who rated the written content as okay, concerns were raised over the
length of the lessons and lack of timings. Amendments have been made to ensure lessons
are snappy and succinct and timings have been included.
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Unsatisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Okay
10%
Good
10%
Excellent
80%
90% of teaching staff and educational experts rated the suitability of the content as good or
excellent. The 10% who viewed the suitability as okay felt that the content may not be
appropriate for under 13s. The suitability can be gauged by each individual school based on
their own understanding of their pupils maturity.
Good
40%
Excellent
60%
100% of teaching staff and educational experts felt that the sensitivity of the pack was good or
excellent. This was based on the inclusion of class discussion and the opportunities for pupils
to contribute their own opinions and viewpoints both on a personal basis, and through
reference to The Baby Borrowers couples. Additional positive comments were made in
relation to the DVDs themselves and the appropriate nature of both the content and language
used throughout.
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Okay
0%
Unsatisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Good
30%
Excellent
70%
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The pupils feedback corresponds directly to the four teaching sections of The Baby
Borrowers Teacher Pack
Pupils were engaged throughout The Experiment pilot sessions and actively participated in all
aspects of the lesson. They stated that the appeal of the workshop was being able to watch
people their own age cope with real life babies, to talk about the programme and to debate
the surrounding topics.
97% of pupils felt that they had learned something of value and were interested in
participating in additional sessions with The Baby Borrowers resource.
I have learnt how difficult it is to look after children and there will be
many choices we will have to makeit has reminded me not to jump
into a decision without thinking about it
Pupil, 15, Northern Ireland
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The Relationships workshop gained the least positive response from pupils as they had to
write for a large portion of the lesson. The lessons have now been changed to include tasks
to appeal to all learning styles, with alternatives such as drama based exercises.
Felt they had not learned
anything
15%
85% of pupils felt that they had learned something of value, and of the 15% who felt they
hadnt, most had watched the DVD with intent, and been engaged with and actively
participated in discussion and group based activities.
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Pupils participated well throughout this session producing work of a high standard and
commenting on the interactive nature of the activities. They stated that the appeal of the
workshop was being able to share their opinions and being shown how people cope with the
experience of having children, rather than simply being told about it.
I enjoyed watching the DVD the most because it gives you a (sic)
insight of how hard it would be for young couples to bring up a baby,
Pupil, 14, Wales
Felt they had not learned
anything
3%
Children are a lot harder to look after than I thought and you should live
your life a bit before having kids
Pupil, 15, Wales
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Of all the sessions this workshop came out as the strongest amongst the pupils.
100% of pupils felt that they had learned something valuable and the majority were interested
in participating in additional sessions with The Baby Borrowers resource, primarily to watch
how the other couples coped in order to compare how different people handle different
situations.
The overwhelming response to The Baby Borrowers Teacher Pack was incredibly positive.
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