Stoke-on-Trent Youth Develop Animated Film for Families First Programme

Young people aged 14-20 gained creative industry experience by helping to produce an animated film to explain local support services.

Generic image of young people collaborating on an animation project in a studio.
AI

Generic image of young people collaborating on an animation project in a studio.

Young people from Stoke-on-Trent have gained valuable creative industry experience by developing a new animated film designed to make the Families First programme easier to understand and relatable.

Working with local animation and visual communications studio Carse & Waterman, the young people, aged 14 to 20, helped create the film for the Families First programme – from the first ideas through to the finished product. The Families First initiative aims to simplify and enhance support by assigning families a single lead practitioner to coordinate services and ensure timely access to the right help.
Participants acquired new creative and digital skills, including scriptwriting, voice recording, and animation, alongside developing teamwork, communication, and problem-solving abilities. Carse & Waterman provided professional guidance, teaching participants how storytelling, visual communication, and animation can simplify complex messages for audiences, ensuring the young people's ideas remained central to the final film.
The young contributors helped shape key messages, storylines, and scripts, focusing on clear, relatable, and engaging communication. Carse & Waterman then incorporated these contributions into the final animated film. All participants received a work experience summary to aid future applications and employment opportunities.

Families First is all about making it easier for families to get the right support at the right time, so it was important that we found an engaging way to explain what the programme offers. This project gave young people the opportunity to develop valuable creative and digital skills while working on a real-world brief and producing something that will help local families better understand the support available. The finished animation is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the creativity and commitment of everyone involved.

Councillor Sarah Jane Colclough, cabinet member for children's services at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, highlighted the project's success in explaining the programme's offerings and developing the young people's skills.

One of the most valuable parts of this project was being able to work so closely with the very audience the campaign needed to connect with, which allowed us to develop something far more considered, well-researched and relatable. For the young people, it was also a rare opportunity to experience a real visual communications brief from the blank-page stage, helping shape the idea, story and messaging while taking part in the same kinds of discussions and creative debates that happen every day in our studio. Their willingness to challenge ideas, listen to one another and build on each other’s contributions was hugely impressive, and their involvement genuinely made the final piece stronger. They tackled sensitive subject matter with remarkable empathy and nuance, showcasing a sophisticated ability to engage with specific demographics and weave layered educational messaging into a compelling narrative. Beyond just storytelling, they successfully integrated clear calls to action, proving their ability to drive real-world impact. In our many years of hosting work experience, it is a dream to host such engaged, high-calibre individuals; they have shown the grit and confidence necessary to thrive in any professional landscape, and we have no doubt they will be an asset to any team they join.

Daniel Waterman, co-founder and company director of Carse & Waterman, praised the close collaboration with the target audience and the young people's professional approach, noting their empathy, nuanced engagement with sensitive topics, and ability to integrate calls to action.

I have enjoyed being part of the animation project it has allowed me to use Blender - something I have never done before. I loved working with everyone on the animation, all aspects of it and am so thankful to have listened and given my own input. This experience allowed me to gain new knowledge on the work of animators.

A participant shared their enjoyment of using Blender for the first time and the value of contributing their input to the animation project, gaining new knowledge about the work of animators.
The animated film will serve as a communications tool to raise awareness of Families First and help children, young people, and families across Stoke-on-Trent better understand available support. It can be viewed at: https://vimeo.com/1184142579/b91a0c0b37?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci.
Based on information from the official source: Stoke-on-Trent City Council (21/10/2026)