Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to increasing the time devoted to online media literacy as part of the national curriculum.

The Department continues to support schools to deliver media literacy education. There are many opportunities across the national curriculum for pupils to acquire knowledge of online media literacy. It is taught through the compulsory subjects of computing and citizenship and relationships, sex and health education (RSHE), which was introduced in September 2020. Non-online media literacy is also covered in history and English.

The computing curriculum teaches children how to use technology safely. This includes understanding the internet, using search technologies effectively, and being discerning when evaluating digital content.

Citizenship education equips pupils with the knowledge to explore issues critically, weigh evidence, make reasoned arguments, and take informed action. Pupils are taught the role of responsible journalism in democratic society, enabling them to identify misinformation.

The RSHE curriculum includes online relationships, the implications of sharing private or personal data, including images, online, harmful content and contact, cyberbullying, overreliance on social media, and where to get help and support for issues that occur online.