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Ideas to engage students in the General Election

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How can we engage our students and school community in the upcoming general election while adhering to guidance on political impartiality? Tom Middlehurst offers some activity ideas and wider advice
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With a General Election likely in 2024, many schools and colleges are wondering about how best to engage students over the coming months.

As this will be the first general election since the pandemic, many of the normal leadership and democratic activities that take place in schools may have been paused and may not have restarted.

So what can leaders and teachers do this year to get students talking about politics and the issues that matter to them?

 

Why should schools care?

It is really important to engage students in the democratic process as soon as possible, provided this is done in an age-appropriate way. As well as helping them understand the balances of power and how the world works, learning about politics should teach students that they have a voice and the ability to affect change. Ultimately, decisions being made in Westminster today will have a huge bearing on their lives, if not now then in the near future.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has suggested that a future Labour government would commit to expanding the voter franchise to include 16 to 18-year-olds. If this comes to pass, then it will mean that a proportion of year 11 students would be eligible to vote in future elections.

It has therefore never been more critical that we educate young people about both the democratic process and how to make sense of political parties’ commitments and manifestos throughout their time at school.

In a world increasingly dominated by social media, where misinformation is rife, it is important, too, that students are given space to interrogate claims made by politicians while also being given access to impartial sources of information.

 

Can schools talk about politics to students?

Yes! In fact the government encourages schools to do so. However, school leaders and teachers must do so with impartiality. When planning electoral engagement it may be useful for teachers to refer to the government guidance on political impartiality in schools (DfE, 2022a; 2022b).

The foreword to the guidance states: “Teaching about political issues, the different views people have, and the ways pupils can engage in our democratic society is an essential part of a broad and balanced curriculum.

“It is an important way in which schools support pupils to become active citizens who can form their own views, while having an understanding and respect for legitimate differences of opinion.”

 

Student leadership – have you done an audit?

Before planning a programme of activities for students, it is worth doing a comprehensive audit of what provision is already in place at your school.

School councils or other student bodies can be good starting points for promoting debate and teaching students about democracy and the power of their voice. People often expect student leaders to immediately discuss big topics like the curriculum and behaviour policies. But it’s worth remembering that conversations about the canteen food or the state of the toilets are just as vital, and a necessary foundation stone for deeper student leadership work.

It is worth considering how the work of these groups can be used to generate wider interest in politics and democracy.

I have previously written for SecEd, suggesting that schools approach this analysis though two lenses:

 

The breath of your student leadership

  • How many student leadership/student voice bodies do you currently have?
  • How do these different bodies work together; is there a unifying structure?
  • Is there a student executive body/head person/team to oversee the entirety of your student leadership offer?
  • Are there student leadership teams you might not be aware of? For example, department or faculty representatives, school librarians, tour guides, and so on.

 

The depth of your student leadership

  • Do students regularly meet with senior leaders and governors or trustees?
  • How embedded is student engagement in your approach to school policies and decision-making?
  • Do all staff know about the student leadership offer and opportunities at your school?
  • Do students feel genuinely listened to? Are their suggestions taken on-board? And when a decision is made that students disagree with are the reasons for this fully communicated?

 

What about the election itself?

Once you have audited the extent of your existing depth and breadth of leadership opportunities for students, you can begin to think about how this could influence discussions around the upcoming election.

The government has specific advice covering the pre-election period (DfE, 2022c) which states that the restrictions on political activity: “Should not be seen as preventing schools and teachers from using the pre-election period to raise pupils’ awareness and understanding of the political process.”

The guidance also suggests appropriate activities including hustings events, visits by local candidates or political party representatives and mock elections involving pupils and overseen by school staff.

Here are some of the other things that we know schools are planning ahead of the next election:

  • Allow students themselves to set up party-political meeting groups to discuss ideas, policies and organise campaigning (this is fine, as long as teachers and leaders remain impartial when facilitating groups).
  • Organise mock elections, either based on party politics or a range of other issues. Some schools are planning weekly, monthly, or termly elections on specific issues decided by their students.
  • Provide factual (not partisan) summaries of each party’s key manifesto pledges related to young people and education.
  • Build opportunities into the curriculum to discuss the democratic process.
  • Be explicit about the skills used in subjects like English and history that help identify bias in sources and materials, and to interrogate claims. Ensure that the PSHE and computing curriculum cover carefully sequenced content on misinformation and navigating news and opinions online.

 

Final thoughts

Over the coming months, much will be written about the election and what an incoming government should commit to. It is important to engage students in those conversations now as, after all, the decisions made by the next government will impact them as much as anyone.

  • Tom Middlehurst is curriculum, assessment, qualification and inspection specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders. Find his previous articles and podcast appearances for SecEd via www.sec-ed.co.uk/authors/tom-middlehurst

 

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