— THE DOCUMENTARY
Democratic schools where
student voice matters
School Circles follows six democratic schools in the Netherlands, where students, teachers, staff and parents come together in circles to dialogue, mediate conflicts, and make collective decisions about their school life using Sociocracy — a consent-based governance system.
Produced by Charlie Shread & Marianne Osório · 2018 · 90minutes
— GLOBAL IMPACT
Transforming Education & Governance Worldwide
School Circles has reached over 200 screenings in 26 countries, becoming far more than a documentary: a catalyst for change.
The film has been screened in 20+ universities, such as King’s College London, Leipzig University, and the National University of Singapore.
Universities refer to it as a research and educational resource. Schools use it to cultivate student voice and shift toward participatory governance. Organizations, cooperatives, and communities turn to it as a working model for consent-based collaboration.
TRUSTED BY
School Circles License
Bring School Circles into your school, university, community or organization and spark meaningful dialogue on student voice, democratic education, governance and collaboration.
Available: Educational License, Screening Licence, Library License
- 1
Fill the License Form (1 minute)
- 2
Get a personalised quote (automatically)
- 3
Choose to continue with purchase & make payment
- 4
Receive your license agreement & sign digitally
- 5
Get immediate access to the film & supporting materials
— CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Advocating for Children’s Rights
— SOCIOCRACY PRINCIPLES
About Sociocracy
Consent
Collective decisions are made when everyone gives their consent— which means there are “no objections”. These are “good enough for now and safe enough to try“.
Circles
The organisation is structured into circles with specific domains. Circles follow the consent decision-making process and use rounds to ensure all voices are heard.
Open Elections
Circles have 4 key roles: facilitator, administrator, representative and coordinator. These are chosen using open, consent-based elections.
Double Link
Circles stay connected through representatives and coordinators, ensuring feedback and transparency flow across the whole organisation.
— CONTINUING THE JOURNEY
How we can support you
Whether you’re just discovering sociocracy or already implementing it in your school, community or organization, we offer talks, workshops, consulting, training, and ongoing implementation support tailored to your needs.
— RECOGNISED AS
A Film for Social Change
Canal Futura
Educational TV Channel
School Circles was broadcast nationwide across Brazil on Canal Futura for two years. Futura is a non-profit educational TV channel that offers free content on education, citizenship, and social inclusion.
Big Syn Festival
International Film Festival
School Circles won the People’s Choice Award (2nd Runner-up) at BSIFF in 2020. Big Syn is the world’s largest sustainability film event dedicated to raising awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Films for Action
Digital Library for Social Change
School Circles is featured as one of the 50 patron-exclusive documentaries on Films for Action – a digital library fully sustained by patrons, featuring over 1.000 free documentaries for a more sustainable and democratic society.
Videocamp
Free Public Screenigns
School Circles was available on Videocamp platform for two years, so anyone could host a free public screening of the film anywhere in the world. There were 100+ screenings worldwide through the platform.