Journalist visits

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Journalists: find out more about volunteering with us

Teachers: book one of our free virtual journalist visits for your class

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!

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

Journalists: get involved

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, including student journalists.

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

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.

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.

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 understand that the news is made by real people.

Our virtual journalist visits are free and open to everybody, including schools not taking part in the full project.

Watch this space for sessions available to book in January!

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 as 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 virtual journalist visit.

My pupils were absolutely gripped by our journalist who was both kind and engaging. Again, it made the whole thing more 'real' for them!

Year 6 teacher

[The pupils] were really engaged with the Q&A. As she was talking, more and more children wanted to ask questions and we had a long chat after thinking about her role and journalism. It really helped them to get engaged in the project and they were much more enthused by it. It was lovely for them to hear about a job role they were unfamiliar with and that a real life journalist was talking to them!

Year 6 teacher

The visit from the journalist had a profound impact on the pupils, enhancing their understanding of journalism and inspiring many. Overall, the Q&A was insightful and informative.

Year 5 teacher

Journalist visits

Bringing journalists to classrooms