Delivering democratic education in Northern Ireland | Primary school

Why the Democratic Engagement Framework matters in primary settings in Northern Ireland

The Democratic Education Framework complements the Northern Ireland Primary Curriculum and supports learners in developing as responsible, active citizens. The six strands align particularly well with Personal Development and Mutual Understanding (PDMU) and The World Around Us (WAU), while also supporting the development of cross-curricular skills such as communication, critical thinking, managing information, problem-solving and working with others.

Primary schools already provide many opportunities for democratic learning through everyday experiences. Activities such as school councils, eco-committees, pupil leadership roles, class decision-making, community projects and charitable fundraising help learners understand concepts such as fairness, representation, participation and active citizenship. Through these experiences, learners can develop the confidence to express their views, listen to others, make informed decisions and contribute positively to their school and wider community.

A key strength of the framework is its emphasis on active participation. Learners are encouraged to ask questions, explore different perspectives, collaborate with others and engage with real-world issues at an age-appropriate level. For example, pupils might vote on school improvement priorities, explore how local councils help communities, learn about children's rights, or take part in projects that improve their local area.

My approach

This should include exposing learners to alternative views and opinions which they may never have been exposed to outside of the classroom. Teachers should encourage reflection on how they view others, challenge them to think why ‘others’ in society hold different views and build respect for ‘them’. Whilst it may be difficult for teachers to leave their own political opinions and experiences outside of the classroom, it will support learners with opening their minds and nurturing the next generation of young people to be empowered and confident in who they are while respecting and understanding differences in a democratic society.

Build the foundations of democratic understanding

• Support learners to explore fairness, decision-making, rules and working together. Everyday experiences, such as sharing resources, taking turns and resolving disagreements, help establish early understanding of democratic values and participation.
• Introduce democracy and voting. Provide opportunities for learners to participate in voting and simple elections. Classroom decision-making, mock elections and school-wide votes can help learners understand democratic processes and the role of elections in making collective decisions.
• Promote pluralism, equality and mutual respect. Create opportunities for learners to share their experiences, listen to different perspectives and develop understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion. Encourage respectful dialogue and appreciation of differing viewpoints.
• Embed participation and pupil voice. Give learners meaningful opportunities to contribute to decisions that affect them through discussion, consultation, surveys, school councils and other democratic activities. Encourage active participation within both learning and wider school life.
• Connect learning to real issues and action. Use engaging, relevant resources that encourage learners to explore issues they care about, express their views and take action where appropriate. Learners should see themselves as active contributors rather than passive recipients of information.

If you can only do one thing…

Give learners an opportunity to practice democracy. This could be through participating in a class vote or collective decision making process, or discussion about an important issue. As you do this, be sure to build relevant vocabulary and understanding.

Where this fits into the curriculum

The Democratic Education Framework is designed to support cross-curricular implementation of high quality democratic education. This work can be accomplished by both specialists and non-specialist teachers.

• Personal Development and Mutual Understanding (PDMU): Rights and responsibilities, participation, pupil voice and active citizenship. Related strands: Engage, experience, influence.
• The Worlds Around Us: Communities, society, local issues, citizenship and change. Related strands: Navigate, understand, influence.
• Language and Literacy: Discussion, debate, persuasive writing, evaluating information and viewpoints. Related strands: Navigate, experience, influence.
• Using ICT: Digital citizenship, online information and media literacy. Related strands: Navigate.
• Mathematics and numeracy: Surveys, voting data, graphs and evidence-based decision-making. Related strands: Navigate, take part.
• The arts: Role play, campaigning, presentations and exploring perspectives. Related strands: Experience, influence.

Rather than creating an additional curriculum demand, the framework provides a coherent structure that helps schools connect existing priorities around critical thinking, communication, youth voice, participation, citizenship and active engagement in society.

Key resources

Navigate:

• Developing resilience to mis and dis information, The Electoral Commission and Shout Out UK - Deliver these sessions to develop critical thinking skills and explore the link between navigating information and voting.

Understand:

• What is the Northern Irish Assembly? Just2Easy - This set of worksheets introduces primary school learners to the Northern Irish Assembly and its buildings, members, and constituencies. Students will complete one or a series of worksheets that aim to teach them about each of these components of democracy in Northern Ireland. These worksheets can be used as individual pieces of work or combined to create a fuller scheme of work.
• How a law is made, Northern Ireland Assembly Education Services - This animation walks learners through the process of how laws are made.
• Inside parliament buildings, Northern Ireland Assembly Education Services - interactive virtual tour to explore the different structures, areas and purposes of Parliament Buildings.
• Who decides what? Northern Ireland Assembly Education Services - An interactive activity where learners explore whether MLAs, MPs or Councillors are responsible for the decisions that affect daily life.

Take Part:

• How to get involved in democracy, Northern Ireland Youth Forum - Watch this short video to learn about ways you can engage with democracy, including local campaigns, messaging a local representative to share your views, or through youth organisations like Northern Ireland Youth Forum.
• Find out about Parliament voting booklet, UK Parliament - Use this helpful guidance to introduce voting to your learners and run a class vote.
• Preparing to vote: Primary assembly, VotesForSchools - This slide deck is for a primary school assembly that introduces learners to voting in UK elections. It is centred around a true or false activity about the practical steps involved in voting.
• My vote, my voice local election guides (Easy read), United Response - A crucial part of understanding UK democracy which is often missed is local elections. Use these  guides to discuss and explore local democracy with learners.

Engage:

• Find your MP, UK Parliament - Use the UK Parliament website to identify and learn about your local MP.
• WriteToThem, mySociety - Visit mySociety to find out about the local councillors and MLAs that represent learners and talk through what they are responsible for. This website also includes information on how to contact representatives.

Experience:

• A guide to setting up and running an effective school council, VotesForSchool - Use this toolkit to help set up a school council and run an election, building in experiential elements. This same structure can be used for any class or school vote on a real issue or decision affecting the school, not just for electing school council representatives.

Influence:

• Being part of a school community, Young Citizens - Plan and carry out a small social action project — a poster campaign, a letter, an assembly — with a simple evaluation at the end.
• Learn live: How to make a petition, UK Parliament - Use this video from UK Parliament to teach learners how to start a petition, giving them the chance to see how democracy works through petition-making.

Considerations for learners with additional needs

All learners will become members of democratic society, thus it is imperative to consider the needs of all learners when designing democratic education opportunities.

• Political vocabulary: Use simple language paired with images to teach new words and concepts. When possible use a word wall, or other visual representation of new vocabulary.
• Use consistent and varied checks for understanding. Use techniques that require all learners to respond such as mini-white boards or holding up their hand and answering one to five.
• Flexible approaches: allow learners to demonstrate understanding through discussion, presentations, visual tasks or practical activities, with additional processing time where needed.
• Build cognitive routines. Use consistent questions to support understanding, building familiarity with key concepts.
• Provide opportunities to revisit and apply knowledge. Learners may benefit from returning to the same institution or process in different contexts, rather than being expected to remember all the information after one engagement.