A new education resource, which aims to help primary school children make sense of the media, including fake news and advertisements, has been launched by Safefood.

The resource, called MediaWise, is an eight-week programme for primary school children of all ages, which will be available online from September.

"We know from research that children are bombarded with hundreds of media messages every day, whether that's advertising, commercial sponsorships, online gaming or social media. Our own research has revealed that children as young as three see upwards of 1,000 TV ads for unhealthy foods over the course of a year.

"Safefood's remit includes the promotion of health among children, and with their exposure to so many messages, MediaWise is about helping them evaluate, interpret and critique these to make healthy choices," explained Fiona Gilligan of Safefood.

Research suggests that children are unable to distinguish between content and marketing message, so MediaWise has been designed to help young people develop a better understanding of what is being suggested, sold or promised to them.

It is hoped that as a result of this, they will be able to make more informed choices.

According to media specialist, Sheena Horgan, Ireland is a very media-centric environment, and the media has a big role in children's lives.

"Because of this ubiquity, media literacy is an important and necessary contemporary life skill for children growing up in today's information age. It's also a requirement for full social participation and active citizenship.

"As parents, educators, organisations, as a society, we have a duty of care to our children to ensure that the dominance of contemporary media culture is of benefit to our children. Mediawise is about empowering our primary school children to have an active and critical relationship with current and emerging media - a relationship that is based on understanding and self-confidence," she said.

Commenting on the new resource, Gearoid McCauley, a primary schoolteacher at St Senan's Primary School in Enniscorthy, noted that while children are very media and technology savvy these days, they are less aware of why the media is sending them these messages.

"As children believe what they see and hear, I feel it's really important we give them the opportunity to understand what's coming at them from the media and how they process that information," he commented.

Primary schools can access their free copy of MediaWise online from September 2017. They can register their interest in this resource now by visiting mediawise.ie

The resource provides 32 lesson plans with eight lessons for each of the four age groups across primary school. Lessons are suitable for each class grade, linking with a variety of curricular subjects, and using all teaching methodologies including interactive, child-friendly activities.

It was developed with the input of teachers and an expert group drawn from education, advertising, media and regulation.