Delivering the understand strand | Youth group

Key topics

• The history and development of democracy.
• Local, regional, devolved and UK government.
• Electoral systems and democratic processes.
• How laws and policies are made.

Delivering the Understand strand in youth settings

When people think of politics, they often think of democratic structures and institutions. Helping young people understand how they work can demystify politics and show how the things they care about are shaped by decisions made within them.

There are, however, a few challenges. Parliament and local councils can feel opaque and inaccessible, while the national government can seem all-powerful and become a focus for blame when something goes wrong. In reality, responsibility is spread across an array of institutions and political figures.

Young people do not need to know every part of the political system in detail. What matters more is helping them understand where power sits, who is responsible for the issues they care about and how they might influence those decisions.

Youth spaces are perfect for this because young people can lead the conversation: starting with the issues they care about, working out where power sits and thinking about how they would like to influence it.

My approach

If we want young people to feel that they can affect change, knowing who has the power to make that change is a crucial step. Start with an issue young people care about and ask: What needs to change? Who is responsible? Where is that decision made? How is it made? How could young people influence it? This helps demystify democratic institutions and connects them directly to the issues young people care about.

To do this well:

• Don’t expect young people to memorise who is responsible for everything. Instead, give them the skills and tools to find out where power sits when it becomes relevant. Such as researching their local MPs and councillors or looking at their candidates in elections.
• Give young people space to express their feelings about political institutions, whether positive or negative, and explore where those feelings come from.
• Focus on how they can have more influence over decisions that affect them.

Practical ways to bring this to life:

• Use games and role play: Putting young people in the shoes of decision-makers can help them understand how institutions operate. This could involve role-playing a council setting its budget or playing an online game exploring the decisions, pressures and casework an MP might manage during a typical week.
• Link it to campaigning and social action: Youth spaces are great for inspiring and facilitating youth-led action, and understanding democratic structures can make that action more effective. You will often end up discussing what young people want to change alongside how institutions operate, and this is a good thing.
• Use opportunities to meet politicians: If you invite a politician into your youth space, ask them to explain simply how the institution they are part of actually works.

Youth spaces are great places for making all of this feel purposeful.

If you can only do one thing...

Take an issue young people care about and explore where the power to change it sits, who makes the decisions, and how young people could influence them.

Where this fits into youth settings

There are lots of natural opportunities in youth work to build young people’s understanding of democratic institutions:

• Informal conversations: Establish young people’s positive or negative feelings towards institutions. This could be as simple as showing a picture of the House of Commons, seeing if they know what it is and asking what they think about it.
• Issues in the local community: When young people discuss changes they would like to see, explore who is responsible. Community safety, youth clubs, parks, leisure centres, homelessness or support for refugees can all lead to questions about who makes decisions and what young people might want to say to them.
• Youth voice: If young people already make decisions within a youth club, connect this to institutions that allow them to influence decisions more widely. If they do not feel those structures currently give them power, that itself can be a useful and engaging conversation.
• Visits to political institutions: Visiting a council, Parliament or another democratic institution can make politics feel much more real. Use the visit to explore where decisions happen, who is involved and what young people want to ask.

Key resources

If you have 30 minutes or less…

• Start by establishing what young people already know and feel about democratic institutions.
• What is the House of Commons: A guide for secondary school students and What is the House of Lords: A guide for secondary school students from UK Parliament - Watch these short introductory videos about the UK’s political system, then discuss the institutions and political figures it introduces.
• Walk this way, The Politics Project - Use this workshop to explore young people’s feelings about politics, politicians and institutions.
• WriteToThem, mySociety - Finish with this website to identify who represents the young people locally and connect the institutions discussed to real people and places.

1 hour…

• Move from identifying institutions to exploring what they are responsible for and the choices they make.
• Mapping our community, The Politics Project - Begin with this activity, asking young people what they would change locally and who might be responsible.
• Money talks - Council simulation game, The Politics Project - Then run this activity which is a local council budgeting game that explores council responsibilities, limited resources and difficult choices.
• Finish by returning to the issues young people identified and considering what they might ask their council to change.

1–3 hours…

• Build from local decision making towards a broader understanding of how institutions make decisions and represent people.
• The biscuit game, The Politics Project - Start with this activity to explore collective decision making and why we need structures for making decisions on behalf of larger communities.
• The Houses of Parliament virtual tour, UK Parliament and How it works: Parliament, government, democracy and you, UK Parliament – Use these resources to explain Parliament.
• Creating a politician, The Politics Project - Bring representation to life through this activity, perhaps paired with a mock election.

4–6 hours…

• Use the additional time to compare different levels of democratic decision making and work out where power sits.
• Begin with the Biscuit game, Walk this way or Mapping our community to identify issues young people care about.
• Run the full Money talks: Council simulation game, with young people role-playing a newly elected council, agreeing priorities, creating a budget and responding to challenges.
• MP for a week, UK Parliament - Follow the above  with this game.
• Compare the experiences: What can an MP change? What can a council change? Where would young people go if they wanted action on an issue?

6 hours plus…

• Move from learning about democratic institutions to encountering and influencing them directly.
• Focus on an issue young people care about and identify who has the power to act on it.
• Arrange a visit to Parliament or your local council so young people can see where decisions are made and speak to the people involved.
• Prepare questions beforehand, then follow up by deciding what young people want to do with what they have learned, such as contacting a representative or raising an issue with their council.

Considerations for learners with additional needs

For young people with additional needs, it can be particularly useful to make democratic structures as literal and visual as possible. Rather than starting with explanations of councils, Parliament or different layers of government, start with things young people can see and recognise in their own lives.

• Start with familiar examples: Use a map of the local area to identify things like bins, potholes, parks, buses or schools, then work out together who is responsible. Add national examples to show which decisions are made locally and which nationally.
• Make power visible: Add photos of the people, buildings or organisations responsible and physically connect them to the things they have power over. Focus on the relationship between an issue and the institution, rather than expecting young people to remember unfamiliar names and structures.
• Keep activities concrete: Matching, sorting, mapping and physically connecting issues to decision-makers can make a complicated system easier to explore without oversimplifying it.
• Prepare for visits: Use photos of the building and people young people might meet, alongside a clear outline of what will happen. Knowing what to expect can make it easier to take part confidently.