Thank you to Stéphane Goldstein, our MILA and outreach representative, for this blog post.
A coalition of information and education organizations [1], including the CILIP Information Literacy Group, has issued an urgent call for media and information literacy (MIL) to become a mandatory part of England’s school curriculum, warning that young people are being left unprepared for an increasingly complex digital world.
The joint statement, coordinated by the Media and Information Literacy Alliance, comes in response to the UK government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review interim report. The coalition argues that MIL – the ability to engage critically with media and information in daily life – should have the same status and attention as reading and writing.
Currently, only a minority of schools in England provide MIL education, despite 83% of teachers recognizing its importance. Alarmingly, 61% of teachers report that MIL is not taught at their school, and only 5% feel confident delivering it.
“MIL is not just about protecting everyone against online harms. In schools, MIL education is vitally important to help young people develop critical inquiry capabilities for dealing with all the information and media that they use, share and create” says Prof Julian McDougall, chair of MILA and Professor in Media and Education at Bournemouth University.
“These attributes are crucial in all aspects of life – for instance, in health, employment, and civic participation,” Prof McDougall adds. “MIL must therefore be at the heart of an education system that prepares young people to be capable, critical and positive contributors to the media and information ecosystem.”
The statement emphasizes that MIL extends beyond digital safety to encompass critical thinking across subjects including mathematics, science, history, and geography. It argues that this holistic approach is essential for civic engagement and social cohesion. The statement also regrets that the interim report has failed to consider the role that school librarians play in the teaching of MIL across the curriculum.
With the OECD introducing Media & Artificial Intelligence Literacy assessments for 15-year-olds in 2029, the coalition warns of urgent action needed to prevent the UK falling behind internationally.
The statement calls for comprehensive teacher training, proper assessment frameworks, and recognition of school librarians’ vital role in delivering MIL education.
For further information or if you have any questions, please contact the Media and Information Literacy Alliance at media.infolit.alliance@gmail.com .
[1] Association for Citizenship Teaching; CILIP – The Library and Information Association; CILIP Information Literacy Group; CILIP School Libraries Group; First News; Into Film; Media Education Association; Media and Information Literacy Alliance; Parent Zone; PSHE Association; School Library Association; Shout Out UK; SP4IL; Wikimedia UK.
