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Media Literacy Ambassador students looking ahead

Media Literacy Ambassador Programme

Behind the Headlines
Scaling media literacy in your school or college

Our free Media Literacy Ambassador Programme trains young people in years 9-13 to teach their peers about fake news, enhancing media literacy skills across year groups and subjects in your school or college.

We currently offer this programme in London, the Midlands, South and West Yorkshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire. We also prioritise schools/colleges with above average free school meals or pupil premium students.

Media Literacy Ambassadors have co-delivered sessions to their peers in English, Media, PSHE, Citizenship lessons and tutorial time.

Register now
How it works

Students and teachers participating in the programme will benefit from:

  • Onsite training day at your organisation for Media Literacy Ambassadors and teachers

  • Virtual support for students before they deliver media literacy sessions to their peers alongside their teachers

  • Virtual reflection session for students up to one month after peer delivery

  • Regular resource updates after delivery

    • Register now
    Resources and teacher guide: free to download

    Not eligible for the programme? You can deliver the programme independently with our free, expertly tested resources. They are suitable for all schools including those with students who have English as an additional language or special educational needs.

    The guide will provide you with a model for scaling media literacy and building resilience to mis and disinformation across your school or college. The resources are aimed at students aged 14-18. You can follow the whole programme, or you can pick and choose a selection of activities and resources to incorporate into your teaching.

    The guide includes:

  • Full lesson plans designed by educators

  • The benefits of teaching media literacy through peer learning

  • Guidance in setting up the programme

  • Guidance on collaborating with colleagues and your senior leadership team

  • How to timetable the programme

  • How to integrate the programme across the curriculum

    • Download resources
    Why is media literacy important?

    Media literacy skills, knowledge and confidence are fundamental in being able to navigate our fast-paced digital world. Young people need to be inspired and supported to engage with the news and media they consume, understand how it is produced and develop the critical analysis skills to recognise mis and disinformation.

    Through peer learning, we hope to embed these skills in schools and colleges in the long term.

    Register now
    What is the impact on young people?
    Evaluation by the National Literacy Trust has shown that this programme improves Media Literacy skills in young people. The peer-to-peer model supports greater reach, embeds learning and has a positive impact on transferable skills, particularly for less confident students.
    90%
    of ambassadors felt more confident about recognising mis and disinformation and that they had increased skills in thinking critically about news stories.
    Significantly more students could identify
    fake news
    after taking part.
    75%
    of ambassador students felt they had increased their presentation and communication skills.
    Read evaluation summary
    Read the full evaluation
    Hear from students and staff at Hull College on the impact of the MLA programme
    In my 15 years of teaching, this is probably the most positive thing I've seen in terms student impact.
    Teacher
    Previous MLA school
    I am more open to news and media because I trust that now I can fact-check sources and news. I used to avoid most news altogether because I didn’t know what was true and what wasn’t.
    Student
    Media Literacy Ambassador
    The impact on our students has been vast. The MLAs have used their communication, teamwork and presentation skills already across the curriculum supporting their recent Science presentation, and have made developments in their oracy skills.
    Teacher
    Previous MLA school
    guardian-foundation-mla-workshop-nunnery-wood-high-school-(1).jpg

    Sign up: Register your school or college for the programme

    If you think you meet our eligibility, register to take part in our MLA programme today

    behind-the-headlines-resources-2024.jpg

    Resources: Download our Media Literacy Ambassador teacher guide and resources

    You can deliver the programme independently with our free, expertly tested resources.

    derby_college_mla_jan_2023.jpg

    Case study: Derby college

    Hear from Derby college about their experience on the MLA programme

    behind-the-headlines-mla-training-2024.jpg

    Article: The threat of disinformation

    Hear how we are rising to the challenge with peer learning in schools

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