Digital Literacy is Digital Infrastructure

As industry, nonprofit and government leaders work to strengthen and extend the United Kingdom's digital infrastructure, it makes sense, at first, to focus on the likes of fiber optic cables, data centers and cloud servers. These are to digital infrastructure what roads, bridges and highways are to physical infrastructure. They're essential, but not enough on their own to keep society moving.

Infrastructure isn't just what we build. It's the people who build it, as well as those who use it and trust it. If we want strong transport networks, we invest in apprenticeships, skills training and vocational schooling. Similarly, if we want resilient digital infrastructure, we must invest in education that shapes digital literacy from the ground up. As our world grows more digital by the day, some companies are stepping up to fill the digital literacy gap that has resulted, in part, from the adoption of their platforms. However, we mustn't rely solely on a handful of platforms to provide impartial, thoroughly researched digital literacy education. The public and private sectors must work together to deliver it.

At Common Sense Media, we've spent the last 15 years developing, refining and updating our Digital Citizenship Curriculum to ensure Reception-Year 13 learners leave school with a strong understanding of how to safely navigate the digital world. It's been adopted by 28,000 teachers in the UK and 1.4 million educators across the globe. Our curriculum is free, progressive, research-backed and comprehensive. And most importantly, it works.

For proof, look no further than the Borough of Islington in London.

Islington may be one of the smallest districts in England by area, but it's also one of the most densely populated, boasting a population of 220,000 and is served by 58 schools. Families and teachers alike expressed serious concerns about online harms ranging from cyberbullying to data privacy, and they were looking for a comprehensive, up-to-date approach to teaching digital literacy.

In direct response to these concerns, Common Sense Media UK and Islington Computing Lead Katy Potts worked hand-in-hand to update the borough's online safety curriculum. Together, they mapped Common Sense's Digital Citizenship Curriculum, aligning lessons with national standards and Islington classrooms' unique needs.

Today, Islington schools deliver two Digital Citizenship lessons per term in every year group. The curriculum provides teachers with clear guidance and engaging, interactive lesson material that meets learners where they are, instructing them on six core topics ranging from data privacy to media literacy and more.

Independent research by the London School of Economics found that learners who were taught Common Sense's Digital Citizenship Curriculum were better prepared to fight disinformation and other online risks.

On top of this, Common Sense Media's own survey of 5,000 teachers found that 88% of respondents said they would use our conversation guides in their classrooms, while 87% reported our work greatly increased their confidence. Learners are benefiting too, with 94% reporting confidence in their understanding of the curriculum's main objectives.

Collaboration and trust were critical to this initiative's success. Importantly, the partnership also extended beyond the classroom walls, bringing in both subject matter expertise from organisations like the NSPCC and parents' personal experiences.

For techUK members and policymakers thinking about tomorrow's digital landscape, the lesson is clear. Strengthening our digital infrastructure isn't just about the cables we lay and the code we write. It's about building human capacity among the next generation of internet users.

While Common Sense Media is a charity, we share goals with the industry leaders and SMEs that comprise much of techUK's membership. Specifically, we're committed to building a safer, more accessible online world, and we believe that digital literacy is one of our most powerful tools on that front. Just as we rely on technical protocols to ensure our data is safe, we need educational protocols to ensure internet users can thrive online.

Government can't provide that on its own, nor should the responsibility lie with charities and voluntary organisations. In today's AI-driven digital world, our online landscape changes so rapidly that trusted private-sector partners must work with policymakers to meet learners where they are and provide teachers with ready-to-go, easy-to-learn lesson plans. These resources, just as much as cloud computing and cybersecurity protections, form the foundation of our digital infrastructure.

The Digital Citizenship Curriculum's ongoing successful adoption in Islington and the independent evaluation by the London School of Economics provide clear evidence that this approach works, and schools across the globe are taking notice. The Department of Education's curriculum review interim report identifies four key areas needing improvement, including schools' ability to prepare learners to thrive in the digital world. This is precisely what Common Sense Education's digital literacy curriculum and continued professional development resources provide. As school district leaders discover that digital literacy is as essential a skill as reading and maths, educators are getting equipped to teach digital literacy to young internet users, who are in turn developing smart habits for navigating today's online world. That's something no firewall or filter can provide on its own.