When Ofsted were looking for a children’s residential service in August 2008 to film to highlight their new remit of inspecting children’s homes, they asked their inspectors to recommend a service. Top of the list was The Nook, northerncare’s care and education service for boys aged between 8 and 13, based in Lancashire. The Nook was rated as “Good” in its last inspection report by Ofsted, and has for years enjoyed an excellent reputation.

A film crew from Channel 2020 was dispatched on location to The Nook to obtain High Definition footage to use in the film. Budding film star, Nathan, agreed to take on the lead role alongside his co-star and Registered Manager, Brian Carrott (Jasper). The remit was to capture Nathan on the telephone, making lunch and playing football. Footage will then be used by Ofsted to celebrate internally to their own staff their expanded inspection role, with filmed case studies, on the Ofsted intranet.

The film crew was led by Producer (and Camera Man) Chris O’Brien, ably assisted by Assistant Producer, Hollie Foster and Camera Assistant, Shannon O’Brien. In each film setting, lighting and the camera had to be positioned, with the camera being moved on mini-rails in order to move with the action. The only thing missing from the set was a clapperboard and a director shouting “Take 9” as Nathan patiently walked up the stairs for another shot. Nathan’s patience was a redeeming feature of the day – there were none of the big star tantrums from him, instead a willingness to listen and learn, and a mature attitude. This helped the crew to get the film in the can in half the time they had allocated for the shoot, and as a reward, they were then able to enjoy the sandwiches prepared by Nathan and Jasper while they were being filmed, while watching the playback of the footage.

So for Nathan, the first step on the road to media stardom, with a glowing reference from Chris O’Brien that he is “a natural in front of the camera”. A big well done to Nathan, a big thank you to Chris and the film crew for their understanding, and a big thank you to co-star Jasper and all the young people and staff at The Nook, who kept out of the way and allowed film shoot to proceed without interruption.