BFI funds Into Film to expand support for schools and young people

Into Film has secured £12.99 million from the BFI, awarding National Lottery funding, over the next three years to expand film and moving image education, media literacy, and screen careers support for children and young people across the UK.

The investment comes at a time when schools are increasingly expected to help young people make sense of AI (artificial intelligence), digital media and an increasingly complex online world. It follows the UK Government's recent 'Growing up in the online world' consultation, which highlighted growing national focus on children's digital wellbeing and the role of media literacy, critical thinking and education in supporting safer and more confident online engagement.

Alongside this, schools are adapting to rapid changes in how AI and digital tools are used in classrooms, while also preparing young people for future careers in fast-growing sectors including the creative industries.

We at Into Film already work with more than two-thirds of UK schools, and will use this funding to expand our support for teachers, increase access to creative learning opportunities, and help more young people from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds build confidence, creativity and future career skills through storytelling, film and digital media. The role Into Film plays in opening up the screen sector to schools was recently recognised by its inclusion in the Government's Response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, Schools White Paper and Creative Industries Sector Plan.

From 2026-2029, we will continue to deliver three national programmes for 5-18-year-olds: BFI National Lottery Teaching with Film, BFI National Lottery Young Creatives and BFI National Lottery Careers and Progression.

Fiona Evans, CEO of Into Film, said: "At a time when schools are helping young people understand AI, digital media and an increasingly fast-changing world, creative skills, media literacy and access to the creative industries have never mattered more.

We now work with more than two-thirds of UK schools, helping children and young people develop critical thinking and future career skills through storytelling, film and digital media. We are so grateful to the BFI and all our industry match funding partners who make this possible.

This investment will help ensure that more young people, regardless of who they know or where they come from, can access high-quality creative learning, see pathways into screen careers, and tell their own stories."

The BFI National Lottery Teaching with Film programme will continue to enable educators to use film and the moving image to support literacy, oracy, critical thinking, cultural understanding and responsible engagement with digital media across the curriculum.

The programme will provide teachers with classroom-ready resources, training and practical support designed to respond to evolving educational priorities, including media literacy, AI, digital wellbeing and creativity in learning. During the 2026-29 funding period, we aim to achieve more than 270,000 engagements with teaching resources and train up to 9,000 teachers across the UK.

A place-based approach will focus support in 31 priority areas, including Fife, Barrow-in-Furness, Sandwell, Newham, Penzance and Omagh, helping ensure that children and young people can access high-quality creative and cultural learning opportunities regardless of geography or background.

Arike Oke, Executive Director of Knowledge, Learning and Collections at the BFI, said: "Not only is film a true artform, but the moving image is also today's primary means of communication. Our Teaching with Film funding brings film into classrooms and into teacher training UK-wide to build not only the next generation of film-making talent, but also to help children and young people navigate the modern world with confidence. Into Film is the leading UK charity for film in education. I'm delighted that they'll continue their innovative work, supported by the BFI."

The BFI National Lottery Young Creatives programme for 7-16-year-olds will continue to support young people to develop storytelling, filmmaking and transferable creative skills through filmmaking clubs, national youth partnerships and inclusive digital activity.

Through the BFI National Lottery Careers and Progression programme - one of the UK's largest sector-specific creative careers initiatives for young people - we will provide careers information, industry encounters and progression support to help young people better understand opportunities and build the future talent pipeline into the UK's world-leading creative industries.

The programme aims to open new routes into film, television, animation, VFX and games, particularly for young people who may not otherwise see creative careers as accessible or achievable. It will also support wider sector and Government drives to widen access to these industries through the refreshed Creative Careers Service.

Designed to support more balanced regional participation and broaden access to creative careers, goals for this programme include over 33,500 direct engagements with young people, educators and parents/carers, alongside achieving an estimated online and social media reach of five million people. Eighty per cent of targeted activity will take place in areas with the highest indicators of disadvantage or lowest engagement with existing careers provision.

Sara Whybrew, Director of Skills and Workforce Development at BFI, said: "All children and young people should be supported to develop skills for life and work, and have the opportunity to do so close to home. Through our Young Creatives Programme and our Careers and Progression Programme, we want to empower every young person to learn that whatever their interests or current skillset, there could be a job in the screen industry to suit them. It's also important that we don't lose sight of the importance of young people engaging in filmmaking for joy, which we know helps young people build confidence, team-working and problem-solving skills, and is good for wellbeing."

The three programmes form part of a wider BFI-supported skills and talent development pathway, including BFI Film Academy and the BFI Skills Clusters across the UK.