I have worked with NewsWise and Behind the Headlines for several years. Whether attending training days or CPD for teachers, or bringing classes to participate in their workshops, I have always been impressed by the quality of their educational provision, the professionalism and passion of their delivery, as well as the tremendous impact their work has on those they deliver to. As a NewsWise Teacher Champion since 2018, I have had experience delivering the NewsWise project to several Year 5 cohorts, championed the work of NewsWise in school (in school assemblies, at parent events and governors’ meetings) and more widely in the borough, at network meetings and running CPD for teachers. I’ve piloted different programmes they have offered, benefitted from journalists visiting my classes and have been invited to speak at several NewsWise training webinars for teachers nationally.
As a teacher, it can be easy to lose sight of what is truly important amidst the pressures and demands on your time. NewsWise reminds me of why I became a teacher and why I love my job. For me, so much of what NewsWise brings up in its delivery is to do with exploring what sort of person you want these children to become: compassionate, interested, resilient, critical, brave, and truthful. It teaches them practical and meaningful ways of engaging with the news, challenging disinformation, separating fact from opinion and the value of having their own beliefs. The power of the programme is such that this then informs every part of their learning, both in school and beyond. It teaches them how to think, how to look for the truth, how to make their voices heard. It teaches them that what they think matters.
