University of Glasgow scheme focuses on film and TV industry

Glasgow Times

10 hours ago

Developed at the University of Glasgow, the Set Ready Safety scheme is designed to transform safety culture within the UK screening industry, providing hands-on, experiential training for film and TV crews.
Led by Dr Lisa Kelly, senior lecturer in film and television studies, and supported by entrepreneurial lead Samuel Conway, the programme was piloted at Film City Glasgow and developed in collaboration with industry professionals, safety experts, and psychologists.
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Dr Kelly said: "Set Ready Safety emerged from my research investigating changing production practices, talent development and working conditions for crews across the UK's screen sectors.
"As these conversations unfolded, a pattern became clear: traditional safety training, often online, static, and compliance-based, was not translating into cultural change.
"Freelancers were falling through the cracks, and existing systems did not reflect the complexity or pace of real-world production."
These insights gave birth to the idea of training people for safety the same way we train them to perform in a fully immersive model that mirrors a working set.
'While traditional safety training has played an essential role in raising awareness, Set Ready Safety builds on those foundations by introducing a new, emotionally engaging and hands-on training experience.'
Set Ready Safety uses simulations with professional actors, scripted scenarios, and digital backdrops to recreate typical on-set environments.
Trainees participate in workshops to analyse incidents, reflect on behavioural drivers, and step into the scene themselves to apply their learning.
The approach is informed by best practice from high-risk sectors such as construction, healthcare, and energy, where immersive training has improved knowledge retention and confidence.
Samuel said: "The opportunity here isn't just about better training, it's about transforming industry culture.
"We're applying proven behavioural psychology and immersive learning methods from sectors like healthcare and construction, where they've already made a measurable difference.
"Our goal is to embed a new safety mindset across production teams, starting from day one."
The need for improved safety training was highlighted by Freddie Flintoff's 2022 accident while filming Top Gear, as well as a survey by BECTU and the Mark Milsome Foundation, which found that 75 per cent of crew had felt unsafe at work.
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Jules Hussey, who co-founded CallIt! - an app which aims to create a safer and fairer place of work, was one of the first people to participate in the pilot.
She said: "As TV and film budgets decrease and the pressures on freelancers increases, safety so often falls by the wayside and lives continue to be put at risk.
"The Mark Milsome Foundation has forged the path in safety training and the University of Glasgow immersive, multi-sensory experience takes safety awareness one step further and makes it up close and personal.
"This is a powerful tool for change and another example of how the creative industries can learn to be better from other sectors."
Set Ready Safety is supported by the University of Glasgow's Knowledge Exchange Impact Acceleration Account and Creative Launch Fund in partnership with Glasgow School of Art and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
A national rollout is planned for 2026, with additional modules in development covering mental health, inclusive leadership, and accessible working practices.