Young People’s Media Literacy

Question

11:35:00

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve young people’s media literacy by providing additional resources to schools, in terms of IT equipment, staffing, training and appropriate curriculum materials.

My Lords, the curriculum and assessment review’s interim report notes the rise of AI and trends in digital information and states that it is necessary that the curriculum keeps pace with these changes, “including a renewed focus on digital and media literacy” and critical thinking skills. There is already a range of resources and training available to schools on teaching media literacy. Once the review has completed, the Government will decide how best to provide any further support that schools need.

I thank my noble friend for that response. Perhaps she is aware of the recent research, published by the National Education Union, which adds to the volume of material demonstrating that significant harm is experienced by young people from social media and from being online in general. Does she agree with me that the current curriculum review must address the need for greater access to all the arts, providing much better activities for children and young people to engage in, but that it must also weave through the school experience the skills and knowledge to deal effectively and, as she says, critically, with the online world, and that this will need resourcing?

I thank my noble friend for that further question. She is absolutely right that it is vital that pupils are taught about staying safe online, but we have to remember that we live in a digital age and it is imperative that we strike a balance, so that young people can access the benefits of social media while we continue to put their safety and well-being first. The curriculum and assessment review is looking to see how it can widen the curriculum and the offer, in this specific area and all the areas that contribute to the well-being of young people and emerging adults. Of course, this will lead to curriculum requirements, and any information on funding to support this will be available after the review is finally published.

My Lords, the Minister will be aware that a Select Committee, ably chaired by the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, is doing a piece of work on media literacy. It is convenient that we will have not only the curriculum review but this piece of work as well. What do the Government think should be their number one priority?

For me, the Government and, I think, all of us here, the number one priority is the safety of young people. We have to make sure that all the measures we bring in keep children and young people at the centre of everything we are doing. We talk a lot about systems, structures and strategies, but let us focus on their needs and hear their voices too in contributing to what we need to do.

My Lords, media literacy is indeed the subject of the Communications and Digital Committee’s current inquiry. Evidence we have received argues strongly that good media literacy for young people is characterised by sustained and repeated engagement and interwoven throughout the curriculum, across all subjects. Sadly, that is not the case in our schools in England. We have heard, in fact, that the rigidity of the curriculum—the emphasis on assessment—can mean that media literacy skills are deprioritised because they are not assessed, and that relegating media literacy to optional subjects or ad hoc PSHE sessions is insufficient. Members of the UK Youth Parliament described to us lessons that were reactive, infrequent and did not engage pupils. The committee will report back to your Lordships’ House on our inquiry in the summer, but do the Government accept that this important subject needs to be properly taught and embedded in the curriculum?

I thank my noble friend for the work she is doing on the committee, and all the members who are engaged. There is also the issue of consistency between different schools and the way that they approach this. That is why the reviews that are undertaken are so important: to get some standards. At the moment, we see media literacy being taught through compulsory citizenship, RSHE, computing and English, but we know that every single subject area will have to be engaged in this important work. We are living through vastly changing times. All teachers need to be aware of the opportunities and challenges young people face and need to make sure that the teaching materials they have are appropriate.

My Lords, like digital literacy, media literacy is a cross-cutting essential skill that is needed by all young people and relevant to all subjects. It is good to know that the curriculum and assessment review is taking account of this, but will that review look seriously at a better balance between skills-related subjects, such as digital and media literacy, and the academic subjects on which the current curriculum focuses, in order to achieve a system that is able to take account of assessing things that cannot be usefully assessed by current GCSEs?

I am grateful for that question. The scope of the review has been one of its real strengths and benefits, and we all look forward to its conclusions and recommendations. This is such a large question in terms of assessment and how skills are judged and taken forward for young people. We need to have a much more holistic approach, as the noble Lord suggests.

My Lords, the noble Baroness just finished with the words “holistic approach”, and the evidence of the impact of parental screen use on children is growing daily, whether that is on very young children, with delayed language development and social skills, or whether it is on teenagers accessing online materials. Without effective communication with parents about screen use, surely any school efforts are doomed to failure, or at least to be less successful. So what plans do the Government have for a public health campaign on this, directed at parents?

When I received the briefing for this, my first question was about parents—and, if I can express an interest, grandparents too. That is a very serious point, because so many young children are now looked after by their grandparents and older relatives. It is absolutely imperative that we address the issues, as the noble Baroness suggests. A report mentioned the number of children going to school who have never held a book, for example, and how we deal with that. On another point, in my experience a lot of schools are setting up parental groups to help schools navigate this difficult area. There is a strong recognition that, without parents’ engagement, helping to recognise the dangers and opportunities, we will not get as far as we need to.

Will the Minister agree that a renewed focus on media literacy, which is absolutely necessary, will require significant support for the profession? The number of media studies teachers has been decimated, and it has been written out of the curriculum—yet this is an essential skill for young people in today’s world. If they had better knowledge of media literacy, Andrew Tate would have less influence.

I thank my noble friend and absolutely agree: high-quality teaching will make such a difference in this particular area. This is why the Government are committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers, especially into shortage subjects, and this can fall into this area. What we understand is that teachers are desperate for high-quality resources and materials, and to make sure that the new quality requirement since last year really focuses on helping and supporting curriculum mentoring, partnerships and bringing people in from outside to help teachers. This is a fast-moving area and I have every sympathy with teachers who are doing their very best to keep up to speed with all the changes that are happening.

My Lords, I will pick that up. As a governor, I have listened to very good and very poor teaching and, having heard the Youth Parliament, I note that its point about not being engaged seems to be a crucial part of looking at how to teach.

This is a subject very dear to my heart. The Youth Parliament has a lot to say, but that goes back into all the schools and school councils that contribute to that process. If we do not take account of young people’s voices, we will not make progress. The response to the “Adolescence” programme is that so many people do not understand the language that is being used. We need young people to work with us, especially those who have had poor experience, so that they can help us to move forward in this area.