AN animation made by the creators of Wallace and Gromit to teach Gloucestershire children about consent has landed a top national teaching award. 

The 90-second video from Bristol-based Academy Award-winning studio Aardman was recently commissioned by Gloucestershire’s Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) as part of efforts to tackle violence against women and girls. 

It was incorporated into a lesson plan, created by county council-funded wellbeing service Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning (GHLL), to be delivered at schools across the county. 

Now, it has been awarded a Quality Mark for its contribution to Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) - one of the highest symbols of excellence in teaching. 

It will now feature on the PSHE website and be distributed to 50,000 teachers nationwide. 

The video was funded by Gloucestershire’s allocation of the Government’s Safer Streets Fund.

Gloucestershire PCC Chris Nelson said: “We were delighted to work with GHLL and have the support of such a talented and globally respected team as Aardman after my office worked hard to secure the Safer Streets funding which made it possible.

“This innovative campaign provides a friendly and engaging way for young people to talk about consent and boundaries, encouraging respectful behaviour from an early age, which I hope will benefit the next generation growing up in the county.

“If we are to change the culture of violence again women and girls, which is inflicted mainly by men, we have to challenge such behaviour as early as possible.

“It also demonstrates how Aardman values its social responsibility to young people in the South West”. 

Aardman producer Nick Miller said: “It’s wonderful to hear that the consent film that we produced for the Gloucestershire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) has been awarded the Quality Mark, enabling children on a national level to benefit from such an important resource. 

“Animation is a powerful tool for communicating difficult messages and it’s brilliant to see the film has been recognised in this way by the PSHE Association.”