The Beginning of Picture News
Today’s blog will take a trip down memory lane, as we cast our minds back to the early days of Picture News!
We will reveal how Picture News was formed, and what the beginning of the business was like. We will also show how Picture News resources have developed, alongside our growing team!
An idea…
Co-founder Katie Harrison was a primary school teacher before Picture News began. As an R.E and PSHE specialist, Katie enjoyed teaching philosophy and looking at global issues with the children she taught, and produced lots of resources from scratch.
It was during these years of teaching that Katie developed her passion for showing children the world around them.
Katie then became an education consultant. In this role, Katie trained and supported teachers, and completed a Master’s degree in Education. As an education consultant, Katie met lots of teachers from many different schools.
Katie realised that like her, teachers who wanted to discuss news topics with children had to produce resources on their own, which were unlikely to be used again.
Many teachers simply did not have the time or resources to deliver high quality news-based content to their pupils.
This observation sparked the idea for Picture News!
The early days
Picture News was initially developed from the attic in Katie and Rob Harrison’s home. They worked hard to create, write, package, and send the resources, all whilst growing a business!
A growing company
As time progressed and more schools joined us, the Picture News team began to grow! Jo became an Education Consultant in 2016, and now writes the primary packs each week. Jo was a primary teacher for 15 years, and is passionate about helping children learn from real events.
Since 2016, our team has continued to expand, with the arrival of Lisa, Ruth, Katie N, Nika, Nicola, Adhit, Jason, and Rachel!
A growing team led Picture News to move to an office premises in Ripon in 2018.
The resources
Our resources have always prioritised teaching children the news in an age-appropriate way, and focused on developing thought-provoking discussion questions related to current affairs.
Over the years, our resources’ appearance and features have changed, thanks to our fantastic Graphic Designer, Rachel!
We love creating new resource elements, and are constantly on the lookout to make them as useful for you and your pupils as we can! This mission remains, no matter what the resources look like.
Today!
Fast-forward to 2020, Picture News moved to office premises in Harrogate, a building which used to be a primary school – how fitting!
Our current premises mark a huge shift from Picture News’ attic beginnings.
As of 2023, Picture News is now a team of 11, who are all committed to helping children learn from the world around them.
Though the company may have grown, and our resources have developed, the care, attention, and passion put into Picture News, and teaching children the news has stayed the same!
