We think the government should strengthen Citizenship education in secondary schools including a mandatory minimum number of teaching hours, alongside increased resources and teacher training, to give students the best chance to leave school politically informed and confident to vote.
With plans to lower the voting age to 16, we believe effective political education is more urgent than ever. Research shows that knowledge increases participation but only 1 in 3 students recall learning about politics at school in the last year. Additionally, we think that as children’s risk of exposure to extremist and harmful content online increases, schools should provide regular, safe opportunities to discuss and debate political parties, ideologies, and current affairs in the classroom.