On 8 September 2026, the Current Affairs Education Commission held the third of four expert roundtables.
The Commission’s third roundtable explored what teachers need to effectively deliver current affairs education in an era marked by rapid technological change, crowded curricula, and evolving digital media landscapes. Co-chaired by Flora Letanka, Chief Executive of The Economist Educational Foundation, and Elin de Zoete, Group Director at ImpactEd Group, the discussion brought together leading voices across curriculum and assessment policy, initial and ongoing teacher training, media literacy, and democratic engagement.
Contributors included: Bryden Joy, Senior Lead Practitioner for Personal Development, Ormiston Academies Trust; Bridget Clay, Executive Director of Future Programme Strategy, Teach First; Kate Harris, Founder and CEO, Votes for Schools; Natalie Perera, Chief External Affairs and Communications Officer, AQA; Pip Sanderson, Director of Teacher Development, National Institute of Teaching; Rosie Parkyn, Executive Director, The Guardian Foundation; and Tiffany Smyly, Chief Growth Officer, The Economist Educational Foundation.
Key themes from the meeting
Our co-chairs opened the session by asking: Why does current affairs education matter for young people, and what is the cost when it isn’t taught, or avoided?
During the session, experts explored several critical areas shaping the landscape of current affairs education today:
- Threats to democracy: failing to support young people to navigate today’s digital information age poses a fundamental threat to democracy. Panel members discussed how verification, deliberation, and accountability—the key pillars of democratic discourse—are being eroded by changing digital platforms.
- A widening opportunity and social cohesion gap: avoiding current affairs education damages social cohesion by reducing spaces where young people learn to disagree agreeably. Furthermore, skills needed to engage with current affairs—such as critical communication, information literacy, and creative problem-solving—are the exact skills required for academic and workplace success that AI cannot replace.
- Three overlapping system gaps: the panel highlighted a Venn diagram where current educational provision falls short: digital skills and literacy, life skills and real-world knowledge (such as financial literacy, climate change, and democracy), and critical thinking.
- AI and the risk of deepening echo chambers: media literacy training must extend beyond source-checking to cover psychological literacy—helping teachers and pupils understand the human drivers behind sharing disinformation, such as the need for belonging, certainty, and group identity.
- The missing layer of psychological literacy: high exam pressure leaves little space for PSHE, citizenship, or enrichment. Without dedicated time, current affairs content is often reduced to rushed 15-minute slots or introduced moments before a lesson starts.
Good practice and the curriculum opportunity
The discussion turned to defining and scaling good practice, as well as capitalising on the upcoming national curriculum and assessment reviews:
- Addressing infrastructure realities: A fixed curriculum agreed a year in advance struggles to respond to live news events. Current affairs needs to be brought down to topics young people already care about, provided through accessible, high-quality frameworks that teachers can pick up with confidence.
- Building confidence around controversial topics: Up to 70% of teachers may be hesitant or scared to teach controversial issues. Panellists noted that a top-down message giving permission to embrace debate, disagreement, and constructive friction in the classroom is essential.
- Capitalising on incidental moments: Key conversations often happen reactively—such as a pupil bringing up an online conspiracy theory during science or PE. Every teacher needs the training and confidence to navigate these teachable moments.
- Unlocking existing subjects & GCSE frameworks: Rather than waiting years for new subject specifications, current affairs can serve as an immediate vehicle to enhance critical thinking within existing subjects. For example, embedding non-fiction newspaper analysis into GCSE English Language papers or using live election data in maths offers a practical short-term solution.
- Dedicated time yields measurable impact: Evidence shows that structured, regular space (such as 60-minute, oracy-based discussions) leads to dramatic growth in critical thinking and communication skills.
Closing the confidence gap for teachers
Early findings from the Commission’s teacher and pupil survey research reveal that curriculum time and lack of professional development/training are the top barriers teachers face when delivering current affairs education.
To overcome these barriers, the panel highlighted several practical recommendations:
- Whole-school leadership and NPQ frameworks: Leadership buy-in is vital to reduce fear around parental complaints and to set a clear school-wide culture. Incorporating current affairs leadership into National Professional Qualification (NPQ) framework reviews would ensure every school leader is equipped to prioritise this work.
- Designated leadership roles: Similar to mandatory careers leaders, establishing a designated owner for cross-curricular current affairs strategy ensures consistency across subjects.
- Transparency with parents: Communicating proactively with parents about the school’s focus on critical thinking, media analysis, and balanced inquiry removes suspicion and builds community trust.
- Innovative training tools: Utilising AI simulations to allow trainee teachers to practice facilitating sensitive discussions in safe settings, alongside AI-assisted lesson feedback, could rapidly scale teacher confidence.
The insights gathered from roundtable 3 will directly feed into the Current Affairs Education Commission’s final report and recommendations.