Media Literacy

Train the Trainer Grant Fund

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As part of the Online Media Literacy Strategy, DCMS has granted over £250k funding to five organisations who work with schools to adapt their media literacy resources for teachers working with children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Find out more about each of the grantees’ project below.

Explore the incredible work these organisations are doing to help young people think critically about the content they come across online.

A picture of a young girl raising her hand up, facing towards a computer screen
A picture of two young women looking at a laptop
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Photo by CDC on Unsplash

A teacher speaking to two children
A young girl is putting her hand up
A series of newspaper clippings piled on top of one another
A series of newspaper clippings piled on top of one another
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Photo by CDC on Unsplash

A picture of a young girl raising her hand up, facing towards a computer screen
A picture of two young women looking at a laptop
A thumbnail of 4 different youtube videos
boy in green sweater writing on white paper

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

A teacher speaking to two children
A young girl is putting her hand up
A series of newspaper clippings piled on top of one another
A series of newspaper clippings piled on top of one another
people sitting on blue carpet

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Media Smart UK

Media Smart UK is an education company from the advertising industry supporting children to confidently navigate the media they consume. Media Smart adapted the resource ‘TikTok: Adverts, Creators and You’ to support 13-17 year olds with SEND to understand how influencers and advertising works on TikTok.  

'We are delighted to receive funding from DCMS’s Train-the-Trainer scheme. The grant is enabling us to take our media literacy educational resources to a SEND audience. Through our research with SEND teachers and students we can ensure our teaching materials are fully inclusive and accessible - benefiting thousands of young people' - Rachel Barber-Mack, Director, Media Smart UK

Parent Zone

Parent Zone have created PZ SEND, a hub of dedicated resources carried out a consultation with specialist teachers, in order to learn more about the needs of learners with SEND. They have since launched PZ SEND - a hub for specialist resources that teachers and parents can access. 

'Media literacy is essential for all children to thrive in a connected world Parent Zone SEND unlocks the creativity and expertise of educators – providing quality-assured media literacy resources that respond and adapt to the specific needs of their pupils. Thanks to the support of the SEND community and the DCMS, we can help ensure media literacy is for everyone.' - Vicki Shotbolt, CEO and founder, Parent Zone
'It is very refreshing to see people wanting to cater more towards SEND pupils and this is most welcomed…Your resources are extremely well thought out and provide educators and pupils the best chances of discussing online safety in a constructive and safe way.' - Lee, Computing Lead, Mainstream Primary School, Parent Zone

The Economist Educational Foundation 

The Economist Educational Foundation runs the news literacy programme ‘Topical Talk’ which creates teaching resources to help children have classroom discussions about current affairs. The Foundation has adapted ‘Topical Talk’ to suit the needs of children with SEND, including supporting children to think critically about information about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

'The impact of the grant has been transformative for Topical Talk. From on-the-ground research with SEND specialists to feedback from teachers and students, we have been given time to reflect and learn about best inclusive practice. We are now able to reach a highly-engaged audience of teachers, make informed and ongoing adaptations to our teaching materials, and ultimately bring far more young people into critical conversations about the biggest issues of our time.' - Olivia Platman, The Economist Educational Foundation
'The structure and accessibility of the resources has allowed students to venture forward in their thinking and it’s been noticeable even after a few weeks. They are now tackling things they would have been frightened to tackle – the concepts and the understanding they have of them has been beyond anything they have had before.' - Teacher, Laleham Gap School, The Economist Educational Foundation

The Guardian Foundation

The Guardian Foundation were funded to adapt their two news literacy programmes ‘NewsWise’ and ‘Behind the Headlines’ which empower young people to engage with the news, understand how it is produced and develop critical thinking skills to recognise disinformation and misinformation.

'The DCMS Online Media Strategy recognises students with special educational needs may have limited access to media literacy education. We adapted and developed an engaging suite of accessible training for teaching media literacy to secondary school age students with special educational needs.' - Margaret, The Guardian Foundation
'Pupils commented on how much they enjoyed the interactive element of the resources...The resources stimulate and build "thinking' skills”...I really enjoyed it and can see how I can use a lot of this with non readers and early emerging readers.' - Secondary SEND teachers, The Guardian Foundation

The Student View

The Student View launched in 2016 with the aim to help young people spot misinformation. Their mission to create a newsroom in every school across the country is part of their wider goal to bring high-quality media literacy education, particularly in underserved communities. Their work has reached hundreds of schools, with thousands of young people benefiting from their programme.  

Resources

From managing privacy to ensuring online safety, our online media resources page lists a collection of organisations, activities and events you can engage with to develop your skills online.

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