Young People’s Media Literacy

Baroness Keeley Excerpts

Thursday 22nd May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

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.

[Baroness Keeley (Lab)]

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?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

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.