My Camera Never Lies Our School

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

Meet Year 7.

Awesome!

It's the most important year of school so far.

You're not here to have a laugh and a good time.

-You're here to learn.

-HE BLOWS RASPBERRIES

With so many changes...

..new friends...

-Oh!

-F, have you got a cloth?

..and new teachers...

You are a Greenwood boy.

-..it's in an exciting world to discover.

-Wow.

It can be fun,

but sometimes it can be tough.

There are different challenges for everybody.

We're in Year 7, we're acting like three-year-olds.

We've rigged another secondary school with loads of cameras...

Is this what you see when you look through a camera?

Cos this is awesome.

..so you can find out exactly what happens.

You're on report by my request.

I'm Trev. HE LAUGHS

I used to go to school here,

but now I'm one of the teachers.

Last question cos you're going to run out of time.

Welcome to Our School. SCHOOL BELL RINGS

I need a wee.

At first, Year 7 can feel

like stepping into the unknown,

but nowadays, everyone has

-at least one friend in their bag...

-One, two, three.

-GIRLS:

-Hi!

Let's do it again.

..in their pocket...

Give me your phone, Darnell. I'll take that now. Thank you.

Give me your phone. Thank you very much.

..at the touch of a button.

Phones should not be allowed in lessons, and you know that.

Do not push the boundaries.

-IN SILLY VOICE:

-Take that bit off. Thank you.

Today, we meet two of our school's most social media-savvy kids.

Ow.

Aspiring vlogger, Leo...

It's, like, a millisecond off.

..and selfie queen, Kiara.

Right, morning, year seven.

It's art, and Miss Crowther's class

are interviewing each other for a project.

Jay! Let me interview you. I don't know you.

This is Kiara,

our school's most skilled selfie-taker.

# I don't care, I love it

# I don't care... #

My phone's really important to me,

when I don't break it.

I've broke it twice now.

# I don't care, I love it... #

I would say I'm quite confident.

-SHE LAUGHS

-I like...

my clothes, and my phone.

My wish is to have a million pounds.

I wouldn't mind that either.

With a million pounds,

I think I would give some to my mum and my dad,

and then I'd probably get myself a car and a place to live in

and loads of clothes and loads of make-up and loads of shoes.

# I don't care, I love it. #

Kiara's settled in nicely at our school.

My approach to the situation was, like,

when you got here, you should just

be, like, yourself and then you will make friends in the end

because everyone has got a friendship group now.

Hello!

And at home, Kiara's phone is a link to her friends.

Hello.

It's even her personal stylist.

It takes me quite a long time to get ready in the mornings.

Like, cos I'm like, "What to wear? What to wear?"

That's why I facetime people in the mornings.

-Hi.

-Hello. What time are you leaving?

-About five minutes.

-OK, then. I'll leave now.

-OK, see you in a minute, bye.

-Bye.

Heard it all now.

It is how you keep in touch with people, through social media.

If you use it in the right way, then it's good.

Sometimes it can be difficult to use social media in the right way,

especially at school,

and that can cause a headache for head of year Miss Richardson.

At Greenwood Academy, we have zones where you can and you cannot

use your phone. There are three of these zones.

Red zone, you're not allowed to use your phone at all,

and green zones, you are allowed, at your pleasure, to use your phones.

Amber zone, it's up to the teacher, really,

if you can or can't use that phone.

If a teacher says no, it means no.

But despite Mr Elliott

declaring today's English lesson a no phone zone,

I think it's fair to say that a few of you

are somewhere you really shouldn't be.

First and last warning, Jono.

Phone out again, it's mine for the rest of the lesson.

What? I've just got it out. I've just got it out.

OK. Put it away.

Millie, show your phone.

Didn't you two just see each other?

OK, year sevens, back to your seats. Thank you very much.

Mr Elliott is testing the class on their presentation skills,

and it's Kiara's moment.

Three, two, one.

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women are merely..."

-BOY MUMBLES

-Darnell.

"..and they all have their exits and entrances"

But while Thomas looks innocent,

under the table, his phone is out

and he's taking photos.

"..seven..."

-No, Thomas is videoing this, and I don't want him to video me.

-OK.

Thomas... Kiara you can start again.

-Guys...

-I don't want to start again.

-OK, finish it.

Erm... "..and he has seven parts in his life."

-OK, good. Well done.

-APPLAUSE

And it's not just Thomas.

-No!

-Can't rob my phone.

Darnell has taken a picture on his phone, too.

Mr Elliott explains why taking pictures without permission

can lead to BIG trouble.

If somebody finds out that you guys are passing around

pictures of other people, that is not a good thing.

I'll make another...make a few announcements.

Year sevens, let me just remind you guys.

First of all, unless I say you can have your phones out,

there's no phones out allowed, ever.

Second of all, it is a very, very bad thing to do

to be taking pictures of other people without their permission.

It's invading their privacy, and it's not OK.

Easy, sir.

Mr Elliott's right, so why allow phones in class at all?

Some schools do not allow students

to use their mobile phones at all in the building.

At our school, we do allow that.

So, in design technology,

we try and use them to take pictures of products

that we may have made.

In maths, we use it a lot for our calculators,

and sometimes in English, they try and use it for an online dictionary.

We know everyone has a phone, so why not make the most of it?

So, there are plenty of good reasons for having phones in lessons...

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

..but the temptation to use them when you shouldn't

is too much for some.

Phones in class is hard

because it's on the table there in front of you,

and you're like, "No, don't do it, Cerys."

No, it wasn't me.

No, it wasn't me.

Well, you get your books and then you, like, read your books,

but you've got your phone there like this.

And the teacher's like, "What are you doing?

I'm like, "Nothing, just reading my book."

I do not text, Shelby, I do not call anyone.

Yeah, you do. You're always texting me.

Not you. Here you can check my message...

No, thanks.

Oh, I've got a message...of...

One second, sorry.

KEYBOARD CLICKS

I've got a good trick,

cos, like, when a teacher finds out

that you have your phone there,

you go like...you go like,

"Oh, Miss, I was just checking the time."

-Good one.

-SHE SNIGGERS

-Boys get away with it as well...

-Yeah, I know.

..cos, like, they've got their headphone,

they put it all the way down their sleeve,

-and then sit like that.

-Yeah.

And then they get away with it.

OK, bye.

Ooh. She was speaking to me...

People use mobile phones in class.

Not me, though, cos I'm a good girl. Nah!

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

Over in the canteen, the phones are also out

-but for a very different reason.

-Three, two, one...go!

-BOYS:

-All teachers have got a superpower!

This is Leo, and he's starring in a film.

More about that later.

Yeah!

Leo is one of the most energetic kids of Year 7.

When I grow up, I'd like to be a rugby player

for the Welsh rugby team,

cos I'm kind of half Welsh.

-TEACHER BLOWS WHISTLE

-Go.

Pass.

He's not going to be

-a rugby player.

-Yes, I am!

Look how small you are.

Well done, you two.

Hey. Well done.

LEO CHUCKLES

But the move to Greenwood hasn't been as easy for Leo

as it has for others.

What is it like to experience autism?

When you first know that you've got it,

you don't really understand what it is,

but after a while, you kind of learn to live with it.

Leo has lived with ADHD since he was five,

but more recently was also diagnosed with autism.

ADHD is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,

which means it's hard for me to sometimes concentrate.

-Mister! Ya?

-Stop jumping around.

-Ya!

Sometimes, like, I mess about

and, like, do something I'm not meant to do.

-Get down now!

-It's not dangerous.

-No, no, no.

And my type of autism is, like, it stops me from being able to

interact properly with kids.

I come across as annoying.

Ooh-ooh-ooh!

Leo is loud.

He butts into people's conversations.

If somebody, like,

gets him angry, he'll start, like, shouting across...

shouting across the classroom,

telling them to be quiet and stop saying that.

Leo! Stop.

Do you notice that you just need to...?

Just stop. Honestly.

-WHISPERS:

-Shut up!

-LEO WHISTLES

-Don't make noises, Leo.

-IN SILLY VOICE:

-Sorry!

-No, Leo. Don't react like that, please.

It's hard for me sometimes cos I, like, get in trouble

when the teachers don't really know why I'm doing what I'm doing.

-Right, Leo, go out.

-I said sorry.

No. Go out, please.

Even though they know it can be part of his condition,

teachers sometimes need to challenge his behaviour to keep him on task.

Right, Leo. Come on, then.

Let's come and get your tablet, please.

To try to manage it, his mum helps him take medication every day.

My tablets, they help me calm down,

they help me behave myself, so I'm not, like, always hyper.

And at school, he has access to a special area called The Base.

Base is a place where we can go if we, like, if we're having trouble

or if we just don't want to be near other kids.

It's where you'll find teaching assistant Laura.

What is autism to you? How do you feel about it?

Erm, something that people might think is a bad thing

-even though it can help you.

-OK!

They come to us, and we give them the support that they need.

We're there for them.

If they need to speak to us, we are always there for them.

Today, Leo's on Laura's radar.

His teachers have noticed that he's been struggling

to keep his behaviour under control.

I have noticed a little bit lately

that you're getting yourself into trouble a little bit.

-What's going on?

-Nothing.

-Are you...? You need to tell us. Are you struggling?

-No.

Is there anything that we can do to help you? More support maybe?

You just seem to be getting yourself into a bit of bother, though,

and that's what's concerning me.

I worry about them all of the time.

The children that I work with,

I feel are like my children that are in my care.

You know, I'm not going to shout at you or anything like that,

you're not going to be in any trouble,

but if you need help with something, I need you to be honest with me.

Right, I'm telling you now,

I don't want to see your name on the behaviour log again this week.

I'm going to give you a week to turn it around,

and if that's not the case, if you don't turn around, I'll call Mum.

Do you understand? Yeah? Come on then, you.

We need to be getting it right. We need to be doing it better.

At times, it's good to know that someone at school has got your back.

All right?

The rules for the big social networking sites

say that you have to be 13 to sign up,

but despite that, many of our year sevens do use them,

and that can cause problems, as Kiara May is about to discover.

During this week's maths lesson,

the class were given special permission to use their phones.

Times 2.5.

So, get your calculators, use your phone.

Kiara, Cerys and Jay used more than just calculators.

So, basically, we were sitting in class,

and as we got our phones out, Jay took a picture of me.

So, then I took a picture of him, and then Cerys took a picture.

We get the picture, Kiara.

But this behaviour hasn't gone unnoticed.

And the next morning, Mr Killminster is on a mission

to teach them a lesson they won't forget.

So, you're going to work in complete silence.

If you don't like it, it's a bit of a shame, isn't it?

OK?

He's discovered that the photos taken yesterday

have found their way online,

and that he's in one of them.

..so I'm not very happy about that.

If you take a photo in this lesson, you will be excluded.

You are not allowed to take photographs in class

without the permission of the teacher.

I didn't give my permission yesterday,

and those people who have posted pictures will be in serious trouble.

So, that's a warning, guys. The photograph is zero tolerance.

-Jay, did you take a photograph yesterday?

-Yeah.

-Right, thank you for being honest. Did you take one, Darnell?

-No.

-No?

Kiara, you did, didn't you? Who else took one?

You're quiet, Cerys.

I didn't own up to taking the photo

cos I didn't know at first that we were in trouble.

Guys, you can't do it.

You know, if I did that, I'd get the sack.

Cerys didn't want to own up,

and she was, like, "Well, no, I don't want to get involved."

Well, you got involved when you took a picture of him.

Guys, you've got this one now.

Right, so I want you all to be looking at...

In school, if I am in trouble,

I'll... Like, not straightaway,

but after, like, a couple of maybe days or something,

I'll own up to it after, yeah.

Cerys isn't just ignoring Kiara.

Unbelievably, she's on her phone again.

-SCHOOL BELL RINGS

-All right, those people

who are on report...

Kiara and Jay may have owned up,

but Mr Killminster's not leaving it there.

Not so fast, guys.

-Now?

-Yeah.

Uh-oh.

I think that if you've done something,

then you do face the punishments,

even though sometimes they're not fair,

but then you shouldn't have done it in the first place.

Well, that's true.

And downstairs, all three culprits -

including Cerys, who's finally owned up -

are ready to face Miss Richardson.

As a head of year,

I do have to deal with a lot of

the social media side of things

and trying to manage that can be quite difficult.

I get it.

You've been asked to use your phones, OK, for calculators, right?

Take the mick a bit. OK, I am human,

I do understand you're going to take the mick a bit.

-But should you really have taken the mick a bit?

-No.

-No.

No. If you take...

Number one, take a picture of someone without them knowing, OK?

Or without their consent.

So, them to say... You know what I mean?

Like, not saying yes to it can be illegal. OK?

So, when sir's teaching, to take a picture

and he's even in the background, that's technically illegal.

Does that make sense?

OK? Does that make sense, Jay?

Second of all, though, then,

you've doubly taken the mick to share a picture, OK?

Again without that person...member of staff's consent.

But you need to protect yourselves, guys. OK?

Otherwise the police can get involved in that,

and I don't want you guys to get mixed up in that, OK?

They don't realise what they post today can affect

them in the future,

and also how if they post

a picture of a teacher as well

that could affect their career

as well. So, students just need

to be really careful.

You see any of your friends that have done the same,

tell them to delete it quick. OK?

Guys, it's not appropriate.

We're here to give you guys an education

and to be there for you, OK?

Don't go against that, all right?

Have you said anything to sir since this?

-Sorry, sir.

-Yeah, they have. They've all apologised, miss.

-Good.

If it gets to a stage, guys, when it's quite a few times now

with the phones and stuff,

it keeps repeating itself as a situation,

I will ban you from using a phone on the school premises, OK?

Is that really a clear message to you all, though?

Do you really understand what I'm trying to say?

Kiara?

I've learned that social media can be bad and good,

and I've learned not to take pictures in Mr Killminster's class.

Shouldn't that be ANY class?

I'm seeing if his head can snap a pencil.

PENCIL SNAPS

-High five!

-What happened?

Remember that film I told you Leo was making?

Today, he's on location and in front of the camera again.

Look at me.

Leo's big sister, Shyanne, is helping to put the film together.

Stay there.

So, what would you describe autism as?

How does autism affect you?

It's hard for me to come across as normal to people.

That's it. Just be careful, don't fall down.

It's about my autism and ADHD and the way it affects me

and the way...I react.

It's kind of a message to other children

that have the same problems,

that just because you have ADHD or autism or any other disability,

it does not make you any different to anybody else.

Leo's a big fan of social media,

and he reckons getting his sister to post his film online

might help others like him.

I'd like it to help kids like me to understand themselves.

-Oh!

-LAUGHING:

-What's meant to happen?

But if someone said,

"Yeah, this has helped me to understand myself. Thanks,"

that would actually be really nice

cos then I would know I would at least help one person.

-But before the film hits the internet...

-Go.

..year seven are going to get a preview in Friday's assembly.

Best get cracking, Leo.

I think it's fair to say that

social media is the biggest distraction at our school,

but what is so interesting?

It's like we're always on our phones constantly

because, like, typical 11, 12-year-olds.

Once I added...I added Justin Bieber on Twitter...

Really is there any logic in that? No!

I just...get annoyed.

-Bullying.

-To take selfies, opinions.

-I do that all the time.

-No. Yeah, I'm not being funny,

but opinions...

"I don't think I like this one."

Don't like it, don't put it on.

No-one cares. No-one cares.

No-one's going to go, "Oh, really?" and comment on it. No.

You don't need to show how much you love your mum.

Your mum already knows that you love her.

One of my friends put, "Oh, yeah, having a cup of tea

"then just getting in the bath."

And I care because...?

Once your phones goes off, yeah, you're like,

"Oh... Who text me?"

And sometimes it's just like...

"Hello, Malcolm, you've just won £10,000 because of your..."

-"..accident you had."

-"..PPI accident."

Payment protecting insurance.

Yeah, that's annoying.

Friday's assembly is looming,

and Leo's still got to record the big introduction to his film.

But the cat seemed to have got his tongue.

You were so up for this earlier, and you were like,

"Yes, I'm going to tell people, post it on YouTube."

If Jacksepticeye was watching, what would you want him to know?

Ringing in my ear.

What would you want to say to him?

Do you want to give it a go?

In a second.

Are you nervous?

COMPUTER BEEPS COUNTDOWN

Hello, my name's Leo.

No-one decides who gets ADHD and autism or not.

It just happens.

I used to want to get rid of it,

I used to hate myself because I had it.

Now I've realised that it helps me.

It can help you in all aspects of your life.

It can help you with being smart, it can help you with your sport,

it can help you with anything, really, if you know what to do.

And I never used to know what to do, and I really hated it.

I actually really hated myself...

..and that put me down in my life,

knowing none of my friends used to understand me,

none of my teachers - no-one.

You should understand yourself,

and if you don't understand yourself,

you're just going to be tucked away in your house all the time

with no friends and no real family

cos they're not really going to understand you...

..and that's not a good thing.

If you know anybody who's got ADHD and autism...

..help them, help to understand them

cos if you don't...

..you're never really going to be there for them.

This is the end of the video now.

I hope I've helped some people out there with ADHD and autism.

Bye.

Well done.

Come here. Aw.

-You OK?

-Yeah.

-You did good.

-HE SNIFFS

It's Friday morning, and Leo's big moment has arrived.

His family have come to support him

as finally he has the chance to show the school who he really is.

-LEO'S MUM:

-Are you nervous?

-Kind of.

-Kind of?

-Yeah.

I can't wait to see it.

It's an insight into you, isn't it?

He woke up, and he was so nervous, you could see.

We've sort of not discussed it too much,

so it's not him thinking about it constantly.

I don't want to be in the room whilst the video's playing.

I know, but this is going to be good for you, Leo.

What you're going to find is that

people are going to react really well to this.

-Hello!

-Hello. Are you all right, sweetheart?

-Yeah. You all right?

-How are you doing, little superstar? Are you all right?

-Yeah.

-Yeah? Cool?

Are the nerves kicking in or are you good?

Are you good to go? Yeah?

-I'm a bag of nerves! Honestly.

-Aw, it'll be fine.

So am I now.

Good morning, year seven.

Leo here has done an absolutely amazing film about autism.

So, I'm going to hand over to Leo just to say a couple of words

and just to say how you feel about it.

Go on. Do you want to?

Go on. You don't want to?

Oh, he's a little bit shy.

So, yeah, we're going to show you the film now.

When Leo first entered the school, I didn't know he had autism,

but I knew there was something that

he was hiding from everyone.

I've always knew I was different to other kids,

because I act... I always acted different.

It opened my eyes, I guess, to think,

well, there are some people in this school that are different to us,

but they don't want to be seen like that.

The way you are isn't your fault.

It's no-one's fault, really, cos it's just natural.

When he put the film on, it made me think of

my own sister because she's go autism,

and it made me feel really good about myself

for what I've done for my sister and everything.

Just because I have ADHD and autism

doesn't mean I need to be treated, as in, different to anybody else.

So, if you know anybody who's got autism, be nice to them.

-Right, guys, thank you. Leo.

-APPLAUSE

Well done, mate.

I think Leo was really brave, cos, like, if I had autism

I'd be really scared to talk about my own disability.

When I saw the video today, I thought it was amazing,

and I'm pretty proud of him, actually.

To be able to see him speak so openly and frankly

was very, very emotional, very emotional.

I was crying my eyes out, so...

Good work, Leo.

How does that feel?

I'm proud because my main goal was to help people

understand ADHD and autism, and I actually have.

I do feel like people understand me better now.

Next time on Our School...

Ooh, a piece of salami.

..Kiara and Archie have a truly rubbish lesson...

Whoa, there's a hair on it.

..and as year seven prepare for a night in the cold...

LAUGHTER AND SCREAMING ..tempers boil over.

I want to kill them. I want to kill the boys.

-Nah, my hair's messy.

-Hey, guys!

Oh, yeah.

What? It's not funny.

..and, like, you've got to hold it high, yeah,

but I don't like the red cheeks.

Like, I've been using cream. I think it works.