41 children and parents from Denholme and St James primary schools took part in a family event at Bradford City’s Utilita Energy Stadium yesterday as part of the week-long NewsWise festival in Bradford.
NewsWise festivals are an extension of the NewsWise project, which was launched in 2018, to equip children from disadvantaged communities with the skills and knowledge to engage with, challenge and enjoy news.
At the event hosted by Bradford City FC Community Foundation students took part in a series of activities including games designed to help families develop educational skills to identify fake news and seek out reliable news sources.
The students and parents were joined by local journalists Mary Dowson and David Carpenter who showed families how a press conference works and what questions to ask as well as offering their top tips on identifying fake news.
“It was fun playing with photos and images and learning how to change them. I created a giant dinosaur which looked like it was going to eat me. I know what to look out for now when I come across news stories and how to stop and check.”
Cameron, 11, a pupil from Denholme Primary School
“It’s really important for parents to be more aware as fake news is all over social media and that is their main source of information.”
Nikki, Cameron’s Mum
The Bradford NewsWise festival was supported by our Bradford Stories initiative to improve literacy levels in the city and promote reading, writing, speaking and listening.
The NewsWise website grants access to free resources, activities and top tips for parents to support their child’s news literacy at home.