Train-the-trainer media literacy scholarship program

summary

UK media literacy charities are invited to apply for the £ 150,000 pilot train-the-trainer grant program. This program aims to help media literacy organizations tailor their teaching materials for teachers working with children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We expect bids to be between £ 5,000 and £ 75,000, however bids of all sizes will be considered under the program.

authorization

How to apply

To apply for this scholarship program, please complete the application form attached to this website and send it to medialiteracy@dcms.gov.uk. Applications are open until November 29, 2021, 23:59 GMT. We will inform applicants of the results of the scholarship program in the week beginning December 20th, but deadlines are subject to change.

If you have any questions about this scholarship program or the application process, please contact medialiteracy@dcms.gov.uk. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) will hold a number of applicant information events in the week from November 15, 2021. If you would like to participate, please register your interest via the mailbox.

Project requirements

DCMS strives to create an integrative approach to online security. This pilot grant program is designed to fund organizations already experienced in assisting teachers with media literacy to customize and tailor their teaching materials for teachers working with SEND children. The program is open to projects aimed at children of any age or with any type of SEND. We expect bids to be between £ 20,000 and £ 75,000, however bids of all sizes will be considered under the program.

Projects funded under this grant program must have the following outcomes:

• adapting media literacy class materials tailored to teachers working with SEND children
• Generating evaluation data on the effectiveness of these materials in teacher training and building media literacy in children with SEND
• Creation of an evaluation report with a presentation of the methodology and evaluation data

The funding period begins in January 2022 (subject to the deadlines for processing applications) and must be completed by the end of March 2022. However, due to time constraints, the funds received under the funding program can be used for the adaptation and testing of materials; the delivery of the materials to the teachers is not covered. Applicants should explain in their application forms how they will use and provide the customized materials beyond the end of the funding period.

Application criteria

Applicants are invited to submit a project proposal by completing the application form attached to this website and sending it to medialiteracy@dcms.gov.uk

Projects submitted under the program will be assessed based on the following key criteria:

• Applicants must have UK registered charitable status
• Applicants must have experience teaching media skills
• Applicants must submit bids for projects valued at between £ 20,000 and £ 150,000
• the development and adaptation of teaching materials must be tailored to teachers working with SEND children. This can affect children of any age with any type of SEND. focus
• Applications should show how educational materials are specifically tailored to support SEND children
• Educational materials must relate to one or more areas of media literacy, primarily with a focus on online safety
• Projects must include plans to assess the effectiveness of educational materials in teacher training and in building media literacy in children with SEND. When evaluating applications, preference will be given to projects with strong evaluation methods
• The applications should explain how the teaching materials produced in the project will be made available beyond the end of the funding period
• Applications must include plans for project execution by the end of March 2022

It is desirable that:

• Applicants already have experience in continuing education for teachers
• Applicants already have experience / expertise in working with SEND requirements
• Evaluation plans for the project go beyond self-reported data

The applications are evaluated to determine whether they offer good value for money. Projects that request large amounts of funding without showing proportionate results are unlikely to be successful. Projects suspected of fraud are not included in the funding program.

background information

In July 2021, DCMS published the Online Media Literacy Strategy, which outlines our efforts to improve national media literacy skills. The UK has a rich media literacy landscape with over 170 organizations offering educational initiatives to users. However, a recent mapping found that there were significant gaps in educational material for certain user groups, for example only 4% of initiatives were aimed at disabled users. We are committed to creating a more inclusive media literacy landscape by encouraging organizations to fill gaps in the landscape and offering more educational initiatives to vulnerable user groups.

One of the political goals of the online media literacy strategy is to provide access to age- and performance-appropriate media literacy support for these excluded user groups, such as: B. Children with SEND to improve. These children often receive support from professionals who they work with on protection and wellbeing. However, our commitment suggests that this support seldom extends to the online lives of individuals. We know that one of these key groups of professionals is teachers. The engagement has shown that teachers are struggling with this problem for a number of reasons:

• Lack of confidence to facilitate these classroom conversations
• limited media literacy
• Lack of time to discuss media literacy
• Uncertainty about which resources to use and whether they will have an impact

We want to train and empower teachers to talk to their students about media literacy and to embed consideration of online security in security practices. We have already seen that some organizations are taking steps to train teachers in media literacy.

However, this activity mainly focuses on supporting teachers working in the mainstream school. The hurdle for teachers working with SEND children is even greater, as there are only a very limited number of resources available that are tailored to the needs of these children. Teachers need access to media literacy resources specifically tailored for children with SEND. This can include:

• Lesson plans in a format that accommodates shorter attention spans
• Content that deals with age-appropriate topics but is suitable for children with a low reading age
• Content that addresses issues that children may be more prone to with SEND, such as: B. Online Abuse

This grant program was set up to support organizations that offer media literacy activities to expand their activities in support of teachers with SEND children.

Application form for the Train-the-Trainer grant for media literacy (ODT, 16.5KB)