EducationFAQs

Channel 4 Education is a commissioning department that focuses on providing content for older children and teenagers in the UK. Our programmes and projects aim to make the audience think about themselves and the world around them in ways

that are enlightening and thought provoking.

What is Channel 4’s education role?

Channel 4 has a remit to deliver publically valuable content and services including news and current affairs, independent film and a range of UK originated production. We commission educational content across the schedule in numerous genres, whether it is taking a new approach to science, informing viewers about life in Roman Britain or inspiring them to change what they eat.

In addition to a broader requirement to deliver educational content, Channel 4 has a specific remit to provide ‘schools-related material’ for 14-19 year olds, as well as content for ‘older children and young adults.’ As part of our overall remit to be different and serve groups that other organisations do not, we aim to deliver this by connecting with young audiences beyond the formal educational system. We want to do this by promoting personal skills, and help our audience explore things they want learn, in ways they want to learn them.

What are your licence requirements?

Channel 4’s licence is overseen by the regulator Ofcom. This licence covers a range of requirements met by the channel as a whole, including originating content in the UK, ensuring our output is innovative and distinctive, commissioning from outside London and providing content that will inform, challenge and inspire. In the case of Channel 4 Education, the licence and the Digital Economy Act 2010 requires us to provide content via television or online that can stimulate learning for ‘older children and younger adults.’ This relatively new requirement reflects the evolving way in which young people consume content and breaks with the past in two key ways:

• Inpreviousyears,wehadanobligationtodeliveralargevolumeofschoolsTVprogramming, amounting to around 300 hours per annum. That requirement was renegotiated over time due to changes in the school and learning environment and changes in consumer and technological habits.

• Asformaleducationmovedtomoredigitallearningtoolsandlegislationrestrictedtheadvertisingthat could surround programmes for young people, it was agreed that ‘schools television’ would be set at a nominal minimum level of 30 minutes per year (which we continue to exceed) and that Channel 4 could provide innovative schools related material across a range of platforms and services – at a budget of around £4m.

What age groups and audiences do you focus on?

In delivering its schools obligations, the Channel 4 Education team focuses principally on reaching 14-19 year olds. We also commission content that is useful for young people as they transition through their early teens to early adulthood.

We are acutely aware that teenagers hold some of the most diverse set of opinions and come from a huge range of backgrounds and statuses. We aim to provide services that touch on the shared experiences of growing up, as well as more targeted projects for groups that might otherwise be underserved.

Do you commission television, web or games?

We have commissioned in all three areas and these formats are, of course, increasingly converging. We recognise that the younger audience Channel 4 Education targets now consume media across a myriad of platforms and in new and innovative ways. The department uses Channel 4’s network of platforms to maximise the impact of each project.

With each individual commission, we asses the educational outcomes we want to achieve and which platform or territory would best communicate this outcome to the audience. Every project has its own specific requirements and in the recent past we have worked across television, social media, the web and games.

AllprojectsthatwecommissionhavetheircorebasedonChannel4’splatforms;thiscanbethroughourmainTVservices or via media platforms from C4.com to YouTube and iTunes. Further to this, we may syndicate our content in other places that our audience reside, from Kongregate to MiniClip, to further increase reach and impact, and estab-lish deeper relationships with them.

Inevitably, we have a close relationship with Channel 4’s Online team, where processes are already in place for commissioning multiplatform projects. The key difference in our commissioning approach is simply one of focus – we aim to lead on reaching young people with content and services that they enjoy and can improve teenage life skills.

What have been your most successful projects?

We want all of our projects to have a real educational impact on our target audience. Many of our projects have won praise, acclaim and awards from the audience, educators and the industry. Our expectations and ambitions should maintain us as a market leader far into the future. We find that projects which capture a zeitgeist and feel right for their moment are more likely to work and there are a variety of factors which contribute to success:

• I066-Projectsthatconnecttotelevisionoftenhaveagreaterchanceof succeeding;thehistoricalgame1066waslaunchedalongsideaChannel4 documentary with the same name to great success. Working within the genre of military strategy was also instrumental to its popularity, helping the project reach over 5 million gameplays in two years. • SuperMe-Basingaprojectonthoroughresearchthatexaminesbehaviouror attitude can really help a project reach its audience and encourage them to return. OuremotionalresilienceprojectSuperMebuiltcoreresilienceprinciplesintoits game mechanic. It has had three phases of qualitative evaluation which told us thatthreeoutoffiveyoungpeoplewhoplayedSuperMefeltthattheyhadmore control over their happiness afterwards.

• Battlefront-Intermsofreputation,theonlineandTVcampaigningseries Battlefront has had the most impact, winning two International Digital Emmys. It is widely regarded as a leading campaigning platform for young people and has agency with national politics, offering teenagers the chance to impact real change that they believe in.

What budgets do you have available?

Channel 4 spends many millions on education across the schedules, but in terms of our schools-related material we have a dedicated budget of £4m per annum with at least £1m ring fenced for digital innovation. We always expect the best value from our commissions and regularly examine the market as formats and technologies mature.IfthecommissionisTV-basedcontentwithanetwork-slotthenthebudgetwilldirectlyrelatetoChannel4’spublished genre-tariff for television. This broadly varies from £10k to £150k per hour for factual content depending on whether the slot is off-peak or prime-time.

If we are working online via either web and/or games, then our budgets will be pegged at the same levels asChannel 4 Online tariffs. We expect that all our budgets include testing and developing with the target age group. Any specialist skills needed to do so will be taken into account in our budgets. We do however expect producers to know about their intended audience and so aim to keep that cost to a minimum. Naturally, each project will have its own budgetary parameters and we expect this to match the value and quality that the business and audience demands.

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Do you work closely with schools and colleges?

We have close relationships with educators across the board but many young people in our target age group are not necessarily in formal education - recent figures show that over 15%of16-24-year-oldsarenotinfulltimeeducation,employmentortraining.

We no longer produce content that is specific to the various syllabi or curricula that exist across the UK, although many teachers do use content from across Channel 4’s output intheirlessons,whichweheartilyendorse.Schoolstellusthattherearefewerresourcesthey can point young people to which tackle life-skills such as emotional resilience, sexual health or entrepreneurship. We also know from experts that these transferable life-skills are what future employers are looking for. Thematically, these subject areas have the huge advantage of connecting sideways to other Channel 4 teams such as Features,wherelife-skillsarealsoakeyareaofoutput,orSpecialistFactual,whichcoverareas such as science and history.

Sointhemain,Channel4Educationisprimarilyaimedattargetingyoungpeopleintheirleisure time rather than at school. This allows us to utilise Channel 4’s relationship with the audience in the most impactful way.

What are your key partnerships?

Channel 4 is a partnership-based organisation. Our most obvious partnership is with the independent producers who make most of our content. We work closely with other broadcasters to co-produce content bothinternationally and in the UK and also have contracted partners with digital media platforms such as YouTube.

Channel 4 has also built up a range of social and third-sector partners who work with us across our output. This can be charities, social entrepreneurs or government bodies, for example:

• WehaverecentlyworkedwiththeWellcomeTrustwhopartfundedageneticsbasedlearningproject, Routes, in 2009. • WehavearelationshipwiththeNominetTrustwhosponsoredthecampaign-basedlearningplatform Battlefront 2010. • WearecurrentlyworkingwithBarclaysonanentrepreneurshipprojectfor2011-12.

ProducersshouldbeawarethatAd-fundedprogramming(AFP)isdifficulttoraise,realiseanddeliverinaneducational context. We do not dismiss it entirely as the inclusion of some commercial brands may be beneficial, but this would require close communication at a very early stage.

We are always keen to find new partners where they can add value, expertise or reach to our projects. We consult with a range of experts, psychologists and educators on all of our projects to help shape the learning outcomes. We also have an Education Advisory Board made up of a broad range of youth and education professionals which acts as an invaluable source of expertise and guidance throughout the year.

What role can producers play in your future output?

Channel 4 is a publisher-broadcaster and has a unique relationship with the independent production sector across the UK and its through creative dialogue with indies that our best ideas emerge. We tend to ask four keyquestions:

1. Is there a need for this idea? 2. Who is your target audience?,3. What is fresh or innovative about your approach? 4. What impact will it make?

We like producers to understand social media, be savvy about search engine optimisation, and who are literate in the mechanics and syndication of content. There are opportunities to hook into bigger Channel 4 commissioning themes, ideas and/or talent. To date we haveworkedonseveraldifferentareasoftheTVschedule off-peak, on T4 and as part of wider subjects in prime time.

We expect producers to work and co-create with young people at regular points in the conception and delivery of their project. We like ideas that are grounded in facts and that are useful for young people. We can help you do that by putting you in touch with schools and organisations so you can test your ideas and early work to make sure it is works for the audience you are aiming to target.

What are your key priority areas?

The Channel 4 Education team focuses principally on the target age group of 14-19 year olds, and currently on areas that fall under three themes:

1. Understanding the way the world worksThis includes media and digital literacy, politics and social skills, citizenship and participation in society and a whole range of exciting areas of creativity which can make young people feel that Channel 4 understands the world they live in.

2. Coming of ageThis includes the journey through life, emotional resilience, personal identity, peer group pressures and all the many varied aspects of personal and social life which young people experience as they transition to adulthood. Again this is a hugely exciting area for creative ideas.

3. Showcasing Creativity This involves young people as the creative agents of ideas where their skills and passions are showcased to wider audiences. This may be in any area of creative excellence where young people are shaping content and creativity. We want to find and grow original and diverse on-and-off screen talent and are looking to work with people who are experimenting with format in new and exciting ways.

Whilst we will focus principally on these key areas of interest we are open to other suggestions, as long as they have the potential to have an impact and enrich Channel 4’s wider ambitions.

What are your current projects?

Science of Attraction

The Curfew

Sweatshop

Jody Macintyre’sBars for Change

CoverGirl

Privates Super Me

Battle of Britain: 303 Squadron

Alien Ink Routes

Trafalgar: Origins

Smokescreen

The Scienceof Scams

What are your current projects?

Click on the image to launch the project.

What are your current projects?Click on the image to launch the project.

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Jo Twist

JoistheCommissioningEditorforEducation.ShejoinedC4in 2010 from the BBC, where she was Multiplatform Com-missionerforEntertainment&Switchresponsiblefordigitalformats and online products. Before that, she was BBC ThreeMultiplatform Channel Editor and led the online strategy for thechannel’srebrand.Shere-joinedtheBBCin2007afterheadingupDigitalSociety&Mediaresearchatthepoliticalthinktank,theInstituteforPublicPolicyResearch.Herearliercareer was as a broadcast journalist for BBC Newsround, then as BBC News online Technology Reporter, commentating acrossdigitalprint,radioandTV.SheholdsaPh.D.whichexplored early online communities, digital inclusion and youth identity.

Contact: jtwist@channel4.co.uk

Faraz Osman

FarazistheEditorforEducation.Heischargedwithkeepingthedepartmentrelevant,freshandaccurate.Hemanageson-going editorial and seeks out new connections, companies and ideasforthedepartment.PriortoworkingatChannel4,Farazhas had a varied career in production, working for the BBC and ITVacrossTVandonlineonproductionsincludingBluePeterand This Morning and has a particular interest in developing and innovating ideas and technology.

Contact: fosman@channel4.co.uk

Gemma Brady

GemmaistheEditorialCoordinatorforEducation.Sheworksclosely with the commissioning teams across Channel 4 to identify opportunities for thematically linked Education commissions targeted specifically at the 14-19 demographic. Sheisthefirstpointofcontactfornewsuppliersinterestedinworking with the team and for companies approaching the department with pitches. Gemma joined the Education team in 2009 from a background in factual television production and development in the independent sector.

Contact: gbrady@channel4.co.uk

The Team

All images by Jon Burgerman

www.jonburgerman.com