“My son (9 years old) and increasingly my daughter (6 years old) absolutely love this publication. My son really does read it from cover to cover and is consistently spouting facts from the various articles that he reads. He has been lucky enough to contribute a book review and was very proud to see his picture in the paper and to have an article printed that he had written. We haven't tried the online version yet but I'm excited to see how that might also engage the kids. I also think that it does a great job at tackling some of the difficult issues that kids (and all of us) are confronted with.”
Dear Amy,
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback. It’s so great to hear that your children are enjoying First News and getting so much out of it! We loved your son's contribution to a recent book review in our newspaper and we are thankful for the time and hard work put into his review.
We hope you and the kids will get a chance to try First News Digital soon, where you can:
• Read & Interact with each weekly issue and search for past issues
• Read and listen to daily news stories
• Watch 100’s of videos including Sky Kids FYI
• Play puzzles & games
• Vote in our polls
The content on the app reflects the great, impartial, age-appropriate content in the paper (& more!) and we are confident it’s positive screen time, especially over the summer holidays when you are out and about. So, kids can still read First News wherever they are.
Do you have friends whose children might like First News? If your friends sign up, we'll add 4 weeks free to your subscription! Just click here to get your shareable link: https://subscribe.firstnews.co.uk/refer-a-friend/
Best wishes, First News Team
Hi Archan, thank you for the fantastic 5-star rating for First News! We're thrilled you and your daughter enjoy our publication. It's great she finds our mix of news and general knowledge enjoyable. We appreciate your support and aim to keep delivering engaging content for her.
Thanks again for choosing First News!
“We are grandparents and we bought our grandchild a subscription to First News when he was eight years old. He is still enjoying it at age fourteen. His knowledge and understanding of world events and politics is outstanding. We are sure this is the doing of First News and I am grateful that we have contributed to this by our gift of the subscription.”
Thank you so much for your five star review! We're thrilled to hear that your grandchild has continued to enjoy and benefit from their subscription to First News over the years. It's so rewarding to know that your gift has contributed to their knowledge and understanding of world events. We're grateful to have had the opportunity to support their growth in this way. Happy reading!
“My daughter cannot wait to receive her copy of First News each week. She is curious about the world around her and so is eager to read each issue. As a parent, I love the fact that I can trust First News to provide her with factual information which doesn’t overwhelm or confuse her. I highly recommend First News to any parent looking to provide their child with a reliable source of news.”
Thank you for your review! We are so glad to hear your daughter is enjoying her subscription and always excited to receive her copy each week! Our job in the newspaper is to provide children with factual and accurate news and information so that they can make sense of the world around them and form their own opinions as well. Thank you for your support and putting your trust in First News. Happy reading!
“My oldest grandson, now 13 loves this, and snatches it up as soon as it arrives. Strangely I got it for my middle grandson now 11 who wasn't interested at all. Henry started reading it two years ago, maybe three. I keep asking if he still wants it, because it is quite an expense, but he loves it.
I do wonder why this newsletter comes to me, because I live in Spain, so wouldn't often have the option to discuss with Henry. I think you should ask who is to get the newsletter, in our case it would be better if my daughter got it.”
Thank you for your review. We’re so happy to hear that your grandson loves First News. The newsletter is sent to the bill payer normally but if you wouldn't mind, send us an email on info@firstnews.co.uk and we can look at options for how your receive this email.
“The "simplified" Israel / Hamas on First News verges on being anti-Semitic. War is too serious a topic to ignore important facts and treat as if it's just a minor disagreement between the parties that they should settle through discussion.
Also, a minor point, referring to sub 5 year olds as "kids" is OK but is patronising and not appropriate for older children.”
Thank you for taking the time to leave us your review. First News has been reporting on the news as it happens since 2006 and remains the only national newspaper for children. We are committed to being completely impartial, with no political, cultural, or religious affiliations. Our mission is to be on the side of children, wherever they are in the world, and to give them a voice. Our job in the newspaper is to provide children with factual and accurate news and information so that they can make sense of the world around them and form their own opinions.
We are covering events as they happen with editorial balance and integrity, avoiding overly distressing details and imagery, given the age of our readers. We are responsible in our coverage, prioritising the welfare of our young readers, ensuring that they are informed, but without causing them unnecessary distress, anxiety or alarm.
We are updating First.news/IsraelGaza as new developments take place in the conflict and our hope is that there is a solution for peace in the region, for all children.
First news wants to be the voice of young people and we would never want to patronise our readers. Thank you for raising your concern, which has been shared with our editorial team.
“After years of reading first news I was incredibly disappointed to see the bias in which the Israel/Palestinian conflict and its history was represented, especially after claiming to be an unbiased view. As someone who genuinely tries to present these things from as little bias as possible, it is just plain harmful. Next time, try letting two thoughtful people from different perspectives tell their genuine stories rather than throwing a clearly biased moral authority over it.”
Thank you for taking the time to leave us your review. First News has been reporting on the news as it happens since 2006 and remains the only national newspaper for children. We are committed to being completely impartial, with no political, cultural, or religious affiliations. Our mission is to be on the side of children, wherever they are in the world, and to give them a voice. Our job in the newspaper is to provide children with factual and accurate news and information so that they can make sense of the world around them and form their own opinions.
We are covering events as they happen with editorial balance and integrity, avoiding overly distressing details and imagery, given the age of our readers. We are responsible in our coverage, prioritising the welfare of our young readers, ensuring that they are informed, but without causing them unnecessary distress, anxiety or alarm.
There are, of course, strong feelings and emotions on both sides of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Both Israelis and Palestinians believe fervently in their own narrative and telling of history, going back decades, centuries and even thousands of years. With such a complex history, it stands as probably the most difficult issue to report on in our children’s newspaper, and for many adult media organisations. Explaining such a complex background, knowing that we have readers as young as seven years old, is a continual challenge. We could fill the entire newspaper with accounts of the conflict and its history and, no doubt, both sides would still feel we have left out important details and that crucial nuances need addressing. Please know that we are doing the best we can and that we continually check, and double check, the language we use and the way we report both the developing situation and its history.
We are updating First.news/IsraelGaza as new developments take place in the conflict and our hope is that there is a solution for peace in the region, for all children.
Dear Gordon,
Thank you for your review! With everything we do here at First News, our aim is to open up children’s eyes to the world. We aim to ensure they understand the issues facing them and the news shaping the world they live in. Thank you for your continued support!
“First News is a lovely, student friendly, newspaper. It is so important for our youngsters to develop their own opinions from unbiased quality sources, rather than social media.
I send a digital copy of First News to all our students each week! We also love getting involved with the paper and I definitely recommend responding to their email about setting up a news club. Lots of opportunities for students come through on the weekly email.
Additional resources to help deliver sensitive information to students e.g. countries at war etc, or to highlight certain issues or celebrate special occasions such as the King's coronation, are top quality too.
Keep up the amazing work you are doing First News!”
Dear Debbie,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are grateful for your feedback and delighted to hear how First News is positively impacting your pupils. We're glad to know you're enjoying being part of the First News FYI News Club!
The First News FYI News Club provides pupils with an opportunity to develop their communication skills and build their confidence in a social, extra-curricular setting. Discussing the news grows pupils’ understanding of the world around them and gives them the opportunity to explore global issues. It will also increase their awareness of how misinformation is spread and how to spot it. If you are a school reading, and would like to sign up for the News Club, please follow the link here: https://schools.firstnews.co.uk/fn-education-tv/fyi/newsclub/
Many thanks, First News Team
“We are a small primary school, last year we wanted to cancel the subscription, when the invoice came in, I phoned up and was told I was too late to cancel as cancelations had to be made in writing 30 days before renewal.
That is the terms; so we paid for another year but made sure I told them I wanted it noted to cancel next year. This year an invoice arrived again so I got in touch but they had no record of my request. Same story, I messaged saying we were not paying the invoice and in fairness, they did come good in the end and 'in this instance' they would cancel our subscription.
I feel it really should not be this difficult to end a subscription, we should get notice when our contracts are to be renewed.”
We’re so sorry to hear you had issues cancelling your subscriptions and we’re happy that it has now been resolved. We do try to be clear on our payment terms and we do send our subscribing schools reminder emails from 90 days in advance of renewals to allow time for any amends. We really appreciate your feedback and will share this with the wider team. If you have any further questions please do email schools@firstnews.co.uk who will be happy to help.
Dear Spiderweb Learning,
Thank you so much for your positive feedback. It’s great to hear that you think we are an excellent paper for children. We don’t like to brag but… Over the years we have won numerous awards and accolades, including Best National Newspaper at the Plain English Campaign Media Awards (2011), Best National Weekly Newspaper of the Year (2012) and Niche Market Newspaper of the Year (2012 and 2017).
Do you have friends whose children might like First News? If your friends sign up, we'll add 4 weeks free to your subscription! Just click here to get your shareable link: https://subscribe.firstnews.co.uk/refer-a-friend/
Many thanks, First News Team
