Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to encourage youth democracy in schools in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

Democracy forms a central part of the national curriculum for citizenship at key stages 3 and 4. Primary schools can choose to teach citizenship at key stages 1 and 2, following the non-statutory framework for citizenship.

Schools have considerable flexibility to organise the content and delivery of their curriculum and enrichment programme, including to suit their local context. This can include providing opportunities for pupil participation in democratic processes, subject to schools meeting their obligations to ensure political balance.

UK Parliament run educational tours for pupils, youth and community groups to see how Parliament works in action. UK Parliament also produce resources which can be downloaded or ordered for free, tailored to different age groups.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport funds the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) to support young people to engage in the democratic process. Every two years, the UKYP runs ‘Make Your Mark’, a youth vote open to all 11 to 18 year-olds in the UK, for them to be able to vote on what are the most important issues for young people.