English and Media Centre

ECTs: have you reached the point where you'd welcome some fresh ideas for next year?

If you're nearing the end of your ECT programme, you've already achieved a huge amount. You've developed your teaching, built relationships with students, and learned how to navigate the challenges and rewards of classroom life.

But it's also common to reach a stage where you want to deepen your subject knowledge, refresh your teaching strategies, or simply find some new inspiration for the year ahead.

The English and Media Centre's online ECT course is designed to help you build on everything you've learned so far. You'll have the opportunity to reflect with other teachers at a similar stage in their careers, develop your subject knowledge, and expand your repertoire of classroom approaches.

Best of all, you'll leave with practical, high-quality resources that you can use straight away as you plan for the next academic year.

If you're an ECT, consider investing in yourself. If you're a Head of Department, why not encourage an ECT in your team to take part?

What has been the most valuable lesson you've learned during your ECT years?

https://tinyurl.com/5yaz5wff

Announcing the shortlist for this year's MediaMagazine Production Competition 🙌

We've had a wonderful time watching all of the videos over the last few weeks, and we'd like to thank every single student who entered the competition.

It was harder than ever before to construct our shortlist this year, which is testament to the range of skills, talent and ambition on display in all of the entries. Nevertheless, we managed to whittle it down to a final 27!

All shortlisted entries will be screened before the winners are announced at our showcase event at BFI Southbank on Friday 10th July.

Thank you again to all who entered the competition and many congratulations to those shortlisted! https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/competitions/mediamag-production-competition-shortlist-2026-reflections/?utm_source=facebook_emc&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=2026_mm_comp&utm_content=shortlist

Bookings close for this on Wednesday. With the new national curriculum likely to expect a clearer delivery of media literacy in all subjects, April and Andrew offer English teachers som approaches for doing this meaningfully.
https://englishandmedia.co.uk/courses/79526fc0-4a92-48f1-860b-75ea6feef591/emc-cpd-webinar-classroom-approaches-to-media-literacy-in-english/

In the past couple of years, we’ve been contacted by a number of English teachers working in MATs where highly prescriptive ‘knowledge-rich’ curricula are shaping classroom practice in troubling ways.

One teacher, writing anonymously, described a Y9 Macbeth lesson where students were required to repeat a single, pre-determined interpretation of Shakespeare’s use of rhyme—verbatim. When the teacher briefly opened up space for independent thought, many students were uncertain, even anxious, about offering their own ideas. Read more on our blog: https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/how-a-mat-s-knowledge-curriculum-is-limiting-and-silencing-students-in-english-lessons/?utm_source=facebook_emc&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=2026_news&utm_content=may_2026

This raises significant questions. What happens to students’ confidence when there is little room for interpretation? What does this mean for the teaching of English as a discipline rooted in discussion, nuance, and multiple perspectives? And what is the impact on teacher professionalism when lessons are reduced to delivery rather than dialogue?

We are concerned that such approaches risk narrowing both experience and attainment, particularly for students who may already have limited access to rich literary discussion.
If you have encountered similar practices, we would really value hearing from you. Anonymous contributions are welcome.

How English pupils are being silenced in lessons An English teacher sets out how he is required to teach by his senior leaders - and what it is doing to students

Applications are now open for our Associate Teacher Programme!

We're looking to recruit three teachers who share EMC's vision for teaching and can inform us as to key issues in English teaching today. Click the following link to find out more and apply: https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/projects/emc-associate-teacher-posts-2026-27/?utm_source=facebook_emc&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=2026_associate_teacher&utm_content=2442026

Are your students confident tackling language discourses and topical issues?

Take something as simple as the full stop. Is it disappearing—or just taking on new meanings in digital communication? Linguists would argue the latter.

Understanding how and why language changes is at the heart of A Level English Language.

Our upcoming course will give you fresh, research-informed approaches to teaching these topics, with practical strategies you can use straight away.

Looking to refresh your teaching of language change and media discourses? Join EMC's Dan Clayton and expert linguist Christian Ilbury for a packed day.

Book by: 8am on 1st May

https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/courses/cfe8ed54-7fe2-4e32-8351-6bd2efafa0e9?utm_source=facebook_emc&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summercampaign&utm_content=2026

If you don't already, why not give us a follow over on Instagram? We're keen to build a wide network of passionate English and Media teachers and we regularly update our followers with photos, videos and other content related to everything we do here at EMC: https://www.instagram.com/engmediacentre/

The new issues of MM is online and should be in your pigeon hols by now - loads of great A level set text content for Film and Media. Some highlights include applying Steve Neale to The traitors, a graduate looking back on studying Captain Fantastic for A Level (he hated it!), an interview with Rhona Ezuma, editor pf THIIIRD Magazine, a comparison of 2 Big Issue covers with a focus on ideology - and of course... lots more!

The MediaMagazine Production Competition is now open for entries.
We're interested in any video work under 5 minutes long from any secondary school age students.
You don't have to be a subscribing school for your students to enter.
Full details and how to enter here: https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/competitions/mediamag-production-competition-2026-reflections/?utm_source=facebook_cp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hp&utm_content=spring2026

We’re having our annual teacher sharing event online for teachers considering the new Media Studies NEA briefs (for assessment in 2027). The two events take place online on Saturday 21st March. GCSE at 10am and AL at midday.

Sign up if you want to join us! There will be separate break out rooms for each of the exam boards where you can chat to other teachers to make sense of the briefs. We know its helpful to hear about how other schools and teachers are planning to approach it and each room will be chaired by an EMC staff member (April MCCarthy for Eduqas, Christian Cottingham for AQA and me for OCR) who will have gone through the briefs with a fine tooth comb to identify challenges, opportunities and approaches and give the group ideas and advice if needed.

OCR and Eduqas teachers will have the chance to speak to someone from the exam board at the end of the meeting to bring up any queries.

Obviously doing it on a Saturday isn’t great but this really is the best time to get the most people together.

Sign up for GCSE here:
https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/courses/dcaccece-ea34-47db-83d4-23a3af767a67/emc-cpd-online-gcse-media-studies-nea-group-planning-event-2026-emc-free/?utm_source=facebook_cp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=springcampaign&utm_content=2026

Sign up for A Level here:
https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/courses/d9549e5b-c606-42a7-8a62-43b1a958c0e7/emc-cpd-online-al-media-studies-nea-group-planning-event-2026-emc-free/?utm_source=facebook_cp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=springcampaign&utm_content=2026

We don’t record the events because we want to encourage people to feel comfortable turning their cameras on and joining the discussion and recording might prevent that.
We also accept that some of you will have children, dogs, football matches going on in the background but please do still try and join and listen, even if it’s tricky to fully participate.

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