Get The Knowledge: Writing for Children's TV

This special edition of our ‘Get The Knowledge’ training programme focuses on the art of writing scripted content for children.

Presented online by experienced writer Julie Bower, we will guide you through the essential techniques required creatively and practically when working in the sector. 

Part of the session will provide you with an opportunity to share ideas that you may be working on, in strict confidence. Julie can advise you about your ideas with reference to what works for commissioners and also help you focus your writing so that it adheres to current rules and regulations governing production of content in the Children’s TV space.

Julie is the creator and writer of BAFTA and Broadcast Award winning CBBC comedy So Awkward for Channel X North. She also co-wrote the So Awkward Scrapbook and wrote and devised weekly content for the CBBC website to accompany the series. 

Other writing credits include The Evermoor Chronicles, The Lodge (Disney), Wereworld (Netflix), The Worst Witch (CBBC) and Flatmates on BBC iPlayer. 

She currently lectures in screenwriting at the University of Hertfordshire.

This session is paid for by the Children's TV Skills Fund which invests in training for those making live-action content for children, thanks to contributions from production companies.

This session is produced by our training partner Grand Scheme Media.

Who it's for

The course will focus on supporting writers with ambitions and ideas that could succeed in the Children's TV sector.

By the end of the session participants will better understand the requirements of writing for Children's TV, what works for commissioners in the genre and the practicalities of working with children on set or in a studio on scripted productions.

Trainers

Alison Cresswell is the country’s leading expert on child licensing, performance, health and safety, welfare, compliance and legal guidelines. She is executive director for ACE (Children) and is “the font of all knowledge when it comes to working with under 18s”. Her company offers training in current guidelines, editorial advice on difficult projects, advice on good practice and how to get the best out of contributors. Alison has an impressive CV of work in the children's TV sector and beyond.

Mark Robson has worked as an executive in development at Endemol, Chrysalis and Talent TV and head of development for LWT. He created Best of Friends for CBBC, Inside Clyde for Disney and Crash Test Danny for Discovery Kids. His first TV production was the children's comedy series Jackson Pace for ITV. Mark now runs Grand Scheme Media with Graham Smith, they are a creative consultancy that offers development and packaging expertise to the TV business plus high-quality training in TV and radio production.

How to apply

Please let us know in your application if you have written for the Children's genre in television, radio or online.