Volunteer with NewsWise

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Real journalists bring learning to life and help children understand how the news is made.

Journalist volunteers help us show how news is exciting and important, highlight its capacity to hold power to account and inspire the next generation of young news makers!

We have volunteering opportunities for journalists and student journalists.

I was tremendously impressed by the level of enthusiasm shown by the pupils. They had obviously put in a lot of hard work and carefully researched their questions with great maturity and interest. It made participation in the session very rewarding and as with the best experiences, the benefit went both ways.

Philip Barker

NewsWise volunteer

We aim to show pupils the wide variety of people and roles in journalism and welcome journalists from all organisations and from all roles in the industry. We also have opportunities for student journalists, or students involved in their university newspaper.

You do not need any experience of working with children – we will give you tips to help you answer their questions in an appropriate and engaging way.

Volunteers just need to be passionate about sharing their knowledge of journalism with some very young journalists!

Q&A sessions last 30 minutes to an hour and all happen virtually.

How we support you

You'll get dedicated support from the NewsWise team, who will provide you with all the information you need before taking part in a Q&A.

We'l give you advice on how to prepare answers to common questions.

A member of the NewsWise team will be present with you for your virtual Q&A.

Training

Before your Q&A session, a member of the NewsWise team will have a short chat with you about how to prepare for the session and safeguarding.

You don’t need a DBS certificate to take part in NewsWise volunteering as all sessions are virtual and a teacher will be present with the class at all times. You will be required to read and sign our safeguarding policy and code of conduct.

Teachers

Working with journalists enriches your NewsWise experience. Meeting real journalists inspires pupils and helps them contextualise everything they are learning in journalist training school. They understand that the news is made by real people.

For all schools taking part in the full NewsWise programme, the NewsWise team will arrange a virtual Q&A session with a journalist.

Want a journalist Q&A session? Register for the full NewsWise package below.

All NewsWise volunteers will have attended safeguarding training, and been vetted by the NewsWise team. All volunteers are required to read and sign our safeguarding policy. Volunteers are not required to have DBS certificates while all volunteering activity is virtual. A teacher must be present with your class at all times during volunteer interactions.

The NewsWise team will provide you with more information about your journalist Q&A session.