Worcestershire Pupil Referral Units 

Young people attending the six countywide Pupil Referral Unit's have produced a short, dynamic film based resource that showcases the work of Worcestershire PRUs.

They aim was to present the role and the positive impact of this invaluable service and create a contemporary, accessible resource for young people, their parents/carers, education professionals and the wider community.

PRU's are often thought of as a place where badly behaved children are sent, but they can actually cater for a wide range of pupils — those who cannot attend school because of medical problems, teenage mothers and pregnant school girls, pupils who have been assessed as being school phobic, and pupils awaiting a school place. They do also provide education for pupils who have been excluded and they can be used to provide short placements for those who are at risk of exclusion.

Some PRU's cater for particular kinds of pupils (units for teenage mothers and pregnant school girls, for example), while others have a mix of pupils with different needs and requirements. But usually, pupils who are in PRU's because of behavioural problems are not taught alongside pupils who are in PRU's for other reasons. For most pupils, the main focus of PRUs is on getting them back into a school.

In Worcestershire PRU's are changing their names to 'Short Stay Schools' and this project will help to mark that transition in a positive way.

Young People are working with professionals in studio environments as well as on location and are learning new skills and increasing their awareness of potential career options. This project ran during April and May 2010 with a celebration event at the Palace Theatre, Redditch on Friday 28th May.