The Commission’s first expert roundtable explored the role of current affairs education in schools, what journalism can teach us about navigating contested issues and how teachers can be supported to facilitate balanced discussion.
The panel brought together leading voices from journalism, education, youth engagement and children’s media. Members included Anna Bassi, Editorial Director of The Week Junior; Nicky Cox MBE, CEO of Children United and Founding Editor of First News; youth activist and former Youth MP Dev Sharma; Joshi Herrmann, Founder and Editor of The Mill; Josie Verghese, Creative Producer and former BBC journalist; Lexi Kirkconnell-Kawana, CEO of Impress; Robert Guest, Deputy Editor of The Economist, and Avantika Chilkoti, Global Business Writer at The Economist; Nichola Garde, Commissioning Executive for Children’s Factual at the BBC; Katie Irvin, CEO of First News, alongside Editor Ian Eddy; and Daisy English, Head of Content at the Children United channel.
Commissioners Sam Freedman, Jo Heaton OBE, Annemarie Whittle, Bryden Joy and Louise Lee also joined the discussion.
Key themes from the meeting
1. Schools offer something algorithms cannot
Participants repeatedly returned to one idea: young people want somewhere to ask questions about the world around them. While news increasingly reaches children through social media, schools can provide something different – structured opportunities to question, discuss and reflect alongside trusted adults.
Rather than shielding young people from current affairs, discussion focused on helping them engage with it thoughtfully and critically.
2. Journalism is a process worth teaching
The conversation went beyond the news itself to explore how journalism works. Participants reflected on editorial judgement, evidence, corrections, impartiality and the challenge of presenting multiple perspectives without creating false equivalence.
Several argued that helping young people understand how stories are researched, verified and constructed may be just as valuable as teaching the finished news story itself.
3. Teachers need confidence, not expertise
A recurring challenge was teachers’ confidence. Many want to discuss current affairs but worry about getting things wrong, appearing biased or lacking subject knowledge.
Participants suggested the answer is not to expect teachers to become experts, but to equip them with practical frameworks, trusted resources and approaches that make structured discussion feel manageable and safe.
4. Current affairs helps young people develop agency
Current affairs education was framed as more than news consumption. Participants described it as a way for young people to connect classroom learning to their own lives, understand different perspectives and see themselves as active participants in society.
Several highlighted the importance of local journalism and unresolved questions that invite genuine debate, rather than simply asking pupils to absorb information.
We’ll share further updates as the inquiry progresses.