Curriculum reforms will falter without media literacy funding for schools,  say 35+ experts close to the issue

Over 35 organisations and experts warn that planned media literacy reforms will fail without  dedicated funding for schools

The inclusion of teaching about ‘fake news and AI’ literacy in the revised curriculum for England  recently made headlines, highlighting the vital role media literacy plays in children’s education, well being, and democratic engagement, especially in light of ongoing discussions around lowering the voting age to 16. 

However, a coalition of media and information literacy experts (MIL) warns today that the promise  of greater media literacy will not be delivered without meaningful funding and support for  educators. 

The coalition, which includes organisations spanning media literacy, librarianship, citizenship  education, and democratic engagement, released a joint statement today welcoming the inclusion  of media literacy in the revised curriculum. They stressed that this opportunity to properly embed  the knowledge and skills to critically engage with media across the curriculum can only be seized  with adequate resources for the staff expected to deliver it. The experts have warned that the  Government’s newly announced plans for the curriculum in England will fall short without this  investment. 

Professor Julian McDougall, Chair of Media and Information Literacy Alliance/ Bournemouth  University 

“The strength of this statement lies in the alignment of over 35 organisations, uniting a breadth of  expertise that spans academia, librarianship, non-profit programmes, policy and subject specialism.  This group stands ready to offer its collective knowledge to ensure these curriculum reforms are  successful, but this depth of sector-wide experience can only be meaningful if the government  provides the necessary resources and funding to support the educators on the frontline.” 

Matteo Bergamini MBE, CEO and Founder, Shout Out UK, Secretariat to the APPG on Political and  Media Literacy 

“Only one per cent of teachers feel fully prepared to teach the citizenship and media literacy content  recommended by the Curriculum and Assessment review*. At a time of deepening national  polarisation, there is a clear and urgent need to fund high-quality, impartial teacher training in  Political and Media Literacy to ensure that the benefits of the new curriculum requirements are  realised.’  

* The Missing Link, Dr James Weinberg, University of Sheffield, commissioned by Shout Out UK and the APPG on  Political and Media Literacy, 2021.

Polly Curtis, CEO at Demos 

“Teachers are on the frontline of supporting our children to navigate our increasingly complex media  and information environment in polarised times. Whilst we welcome the inclusion of media literacy  within citizenship on the curriculum, we cannot expect teachers to empower and equip children with  these skills without funding to enable the specialist training this subject requires. Such funding is an  investment in the resilience of the UK’s democracy to the increasing threats we see in online spaces.”  

To support the changes meaningfully, with proper funding, the coalition recommends that: 

• The recently created government Media Literacy taskforce should work to create new  funding routes for media literacy education, which could include funding from DSIT or DCMS
•  Funding made available for democratic education via the Electoral Commission, of which  media literacy is a critical aspect, could be used to empower teachers 
• While delivery of media literacy teacher training is not within Ofcom’s duties, the  government may also wish to re-evaluate this scope 

To ensure the curriculum changes deliver positive change for pupils, the coalition also recommend:  

• Making critical AI literacy an explicit part of media literacy in Citizenship 
• Working with media literacy experts to produce a framework that helps define what good  media literacy looks like within reformed National Curriculum subjects including Citizenship  and English and beyond this. This should include the creation of media, not just spotting  false information 
• A varied repository of high-quality teaching resources, drawing on the expertise of the media  and information literacy sector 
• Investment in professionally staffed school libraries, in line with the Government’s  commitment to provide a library in every primary school by 2029

Should you  have questions regarding this statement, please do not hesitate to get back to MILA at media.infolit.alliance@gmail.com . To contact the APPG for Political and Media Literacy, please contact the secretariat: amelia@shoutoutuk.org .

Would you like to add your name and/or your organisation to the list of signatories? If so, please click here to give your details.