Children direct and star in a new NSPCC and Triangle video for professionals, parents and children, explain Ruth Marchant and Maxime Cole
F riendship, play and difference is the subject of 'All Join In'. It tells the story of a group of young children coming together for the first time and learning to get along. It aims to encourage inclusion, communication and emotional literacy.
The storyline is held together by a series of whispered questions that came from listening to children as they watched early edits of the video, for example, 'Who is this?' 'What's this video about?' 'Where are you?' 'What did you do?' 'All Join In' encourages children to wonder about each other and about differences in a positive way. Each child is introduced carefully using children's own descriptions of themselves including likes and dislikes such as, 'Fraser doesn't like babies, girls or having to eat his Brussel sprouts'. Differences are handled in a matter of fact way, 'Tasha needs a wheelchair to get about', 'Jacob needs help to stay safe'.
Children are introduced to strategies for making sense of each other including sign language around feelings and getting along. We listened to young children at play and from this put together a top 20 list of signs which are taught by children on the video, including hello, goodbye, play, you, me, friend, happy, sad, excited, tired. There is also a British Sign Language sign-over throughout.
Children are shown skills for observing and understanding others' feelings, 'Stop...go back... let's see that again. I wonder how he feels?' A wide range of feelings are shown, 'Sometimes we liked each other, and sometimes we didn't, sometimes we weren't sure how we felt, sometimes it took time to understand each other.'
All together
'All Join In' was an adventure in participation. Having the children in the middle of the planning, the filming and the editing led to moments of chaos, and contributed to a six-month extension of the project, but it has created something powerful and unique.
The idea was simple, we brought together a diverse group of 14 children, aged three to seven, to play and learn to get along. The group included four children who communicate without speech and two children with significant needs.
The group met weekly and we filmed from the moment of arrival. The children used digital video and still cameras and much of their footage is included. They also influenced the way the adults filmed. When filming painting, for example, children held their camera within inches of the paint.
Children filmed inside tents and boxes, behind curtains and in sinks. They filmed while running about, while hiding, while talking to their cameras. The film crew took their lead from the children, shooting as much as possible from a child's eye level.
Adults took a non-directive role in the group. We had a brief circle time at the beginning and end of each session, plus snack time. Otherwise there was a mix of free play (sand, water, paint, building) and optional activities (painting, design, music).
The aims of the group were to play and have fun, to learn to communicate with each other, and to act in an advisory capacity to Triangle. The children were involved in choosing footage and editing. They were concerned to present honest pictures of themselves and each other and wanted to change sections that 'didn't look right'.
'All Join In' is designed for use with children aged under eight. It has been trialled by more than 200 children and found to engage them individually and in groups and to provoke thought and discussion.
The 'All Join In' group still meets regularly, a year after the project started.
Ruth Marchant and Maxime Cole work for Triangle, an independent organisation working with disabled children and young people across the UK
