Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Harris and I'm the person who's going to guide you through today's lesson.

The lesson today is called How does the Rule of Law Help People Live together in Society?

And it's a part of a two part lesson series called The Rule of Law.

By the end of today's lesson, you are going to be able to say, "I can explain what the rule of law is and how it helps people live fairly and safely together in society.

" Some of this learning is going to be new to you.

Some of it you might find a little bit tricky, but that's all right.

'cause I'm gonna be here and I'm gonna take you and guide you all the way to the end.

First of all, it's really important to set some guide rules.

So here are some of the Oak Academy pupils to guide you through that.

"Listen to others," Laura says.

That's really important, to listen to others and what they're saying, Andeep says, "Respect privacy.

" So don't be repeating things within this lesson that you are hearing about other people.

Jacob says, "No judgment.

" We don't want judgment, we just want acceptance and listening and respecting.

And finally, "Choose your level of participation.

" If you don't feel like giving an answer at that point, or you don't want to share something in particular, that's okay.

Thank you very much.

We're going to start with some keywords first of all.

I'm going to say the keyword and I'd like you to repeat it back out loud and then I'll tell you the definition.

Are we ready?

Okay.

Laws.

Laws are important rules, which are usually made by Parliament.

Rule of law.

The rule of law is when everyone must follow the same laws.

That's including those people who are in power, the leaders.

And that's because it ensures justice and fairness for every person in a country.

It's time for our first learning cycle called, What is the rule of law?

Laws are important rules in a country.

Jun helps us further by saying, "Parliament is where people make the laws for the country.

" Where leaders come together and they decide upon the laws.

And Lucas says, "The police don't make the law.

The police help make sure people follow the law.

" Laws are really important because they help organize how people behave in a country, what they must do and must not do.

And it also helps people be safe and be treated fairly as well.

Laws are the same everywhere in the country.

So for example, whether you live in Manchester or Brighton or Stockton, any of those places, the law is going to be the same for you.

It doesn't matter who you are, everyone has to follow the law all the time.

So whether you are young, you are old, you are in the middle somewhere, you have to follow the law.

It wasn't always like this in this country.

A long time ago when kings made the laws, they weren't expected themselves to have to follow that law.

So it was one rule for everybody else, but they were exempt from it.

They didn't have to do it.

In 1215, some important people in the country called barons, they got together and made King John, the king at the time, sign a document called Magna Carta.

Now, this was quite complex in some ways, but essentially said even the king must follow the law too.

And there you've got an image of the Magna Carta on your screen.

Magna Carta was the thing that helped start the idea that everyone must follow the law.

It doesn't matter who you are.

So king, baron, peasant, as they're called at the time, everybody was subject to the same laws and everybody must follow it.

So today, when everyone must follow the law, we now call that the rule of law.

And the rule of law basically means as we've said, children, adults, businesses, and even the police and even the people who make the laws, those in Parliament, they must all follow the same laws as everyone else.

Nobody is exempt from it.

Nobody is allowed to ignore that.

In other words, no one is above the law.

The law applies to all exactly the same.

So let's have a quick checkup then.

So what does the rule of law mean?

Does it mean A: kings do not have to follow the law?

Does it mean B: that everyone has to follow the law?

Does it mean that C: just adults need to follow the law?

Take a few seconds to think and then we'll come back and discuss the answer.

Alright then.

So what does the rule of law mean?

Does it mean A: that kings don't have to follow the law?

B: everyone has to follow the law?

Or just that adults need to follow the law?

It is B, yes, everyone has to follow the law because nobody is above the law.

It's time for your first task.

Okay, so these sentences that I'm going to show you, these are incorrect, alright?

You need to rewrite each one so that it shows a correct description of the rule of law.

Alright?

So it's not showing the right thing at the moment.

So you need to be the one to rewrite it.

Let's have a look at them.

So we've got number one: Only adults have to follow the law.

It's not right.

Number two: The police can choose which laws to follow.

That's not right.

Number three: People in power do not have to follow the law.

So that might be people who make the laws, for example.

We know that's not right.

And number four: Laws are different depending on who you are.

That's not right.

So you need to rewrite each of these so that it does show a correct description of the rule of law.

It's a good idea now to pause the video to give yourself the time to do that.

And when you're ready, press play and we'll come back to it.

Okay, then let's have a look at this then.

So remember, these sentences are incorrect and you needed to rewrite each one so that it showed a correct description of the rule of law.

So your responses might look something like this.

So number one, only adults have to follow the law.

You could have changed it to something like, "Adults and children have to follow the law.

" Number two, the police can choose which laws to follow.

You could have rewritten it as, "The police cannot choose which laws to follow because they have to follow the same ones as everyone else.

" Number three, people in power do not have to follow the law.

You could have rewritten it something like, "People in power do have to follow the law.

" And finally, number four, laws are different depending on who you are.

We know that that's not right.

So you could have rewritten it as, "Laws are the same no matter who you are.

" Well done if you got something like that.

It's now time for our second learning cycle called, How does the rule of law help us live together?

Lucas says, "I know what laws are, but why do we have them?

And Jun's replying, "Well, we have laws to help people live safely and fairly together.

Laws keep people safe, stop problems before they happen and make sure everyone is treated fairly.

" Some examples of this then.

Let's have a look.

They help keep people safe.

That's things like seatbelt laws, helmet laws for motorbikes.

Having laws helps stop problems before they happen.

So things like traffic lights and speed limits, there could be a problem if people don't stop.

They don't know when to stop, or they don't know how fast to drive, how fast is safe on that stretch of road.

So having those laws there stops those problems before they even happen because everybody understands what works on that area.

They also make things fair for everyone.

So things like protecting children's rights.

Just because somebody might be younger doesn't mean they don't have the rights to certain things.

You don't have to reach a certain age before you have to be treated respectfully, for example.

And there are laws in place to make sure that happens.

The rule of law has got a really important job in protecting our rights.

And Sofia's reminding us here that, "Rights are things that everyone is allowed to do or have.

So for example, being safe, being treated fairly and being heard.

" All of those are classed as rights.

You don't have to earn that, just what you are allowed to do, just for being human.

So a quick check for understanding then.

Can you add the missing word into Jun's speech bubble?

"We have laws to help people live safely and fairly together.

Laws keep people safe, stop problems, mm they happen and make sure everyone is treated fairly.

" What would that missing word be?

Take a few seconds to think.

Okay, so the missing word in Jun's speech problem then.

So we've got laws to help people live safely and fairly together.

Laws keep people safe, stop problems before they happen and make sure everyone is treated fairly.

Well done if you got that.

So when we have laws then, everybody knows what is fair, what they are allowed or not allowed to do, and they know that they can't take away other people's rights.

They also know that they will be held responsible if they break the law.

And because people follow the laws, everyday life is just safer and fairer.

So just by following the law, you make other people's lives better and fairer and safer.

For example, some laws protect your belongings because there are laws against stealing.

So when people follow that law, that means they're not stealing things.

So that makes life fairer and safer for you.

Some laws make sure that people are thinking about what other people need and then helps them be treated equally.

For example, having a ramp into a shop is just a sign of fairness for people who might be wheelchair users or for buggies and things like that.

If you've got that ramp, that makes it fairer for everybody to be able to access that shop or that museum or that place.

Traffic laws help people travel safely.

So by following those traffic laws, every motorist, every pedestrian, by doing that, they are making the world safer for other people.

The rule of law that we have in the UK that helps people behave fairly every day and it helps stop those problems to prevent them before they've even begun.

So that means people are helping protect the rights of others every day just by following the law, they're not doing anything special, just by living by that law, other people are safer and more fairly treated because of that.

Quick check for understanding then.

True or false?

The rule of law means people only follow laws to keep themselves safe, not to help others.

Is that true or is that false?

Take a few seconds to think.

Okay, let's think of the answer then.

So the rule of law means people only follow laws to keep themselves safe, not to help others.

True or false?

Well, that's false, isn't it?

And why?

Take a few small seconds to think.

Why is that not true?

Why is that false?

Okay, so why?

Well, the rule of law means everybody has to follow the law, it requires that.

So everyone is treated fairly and people's rights are protected, just by other people following the law.

Well done if you've got that.

It's now time for Task B.

So for this task, what you need to do is read the scenarios and then decide which laws help people live safely and which laws help people live fairly.

So let's have a look at the four ones then.

So number one says: People must wear helmets on motorbikes.

Number two: A cafe has a ramp for wheelchairs and buggies.

Number three: It is against the law to take things that belong to others.

Number four: It is against the law to drop litter.

So you need to decide if they are laws to help us live safely or laws to help us live fairly.

It's a really good idea now to pause the video to give yourself the time to do the task and then when you're ready press play and we'll come back and discuss it together.

Okay, then let's go through the answers to this one.

So your answers might look something like this.

So number one: People must wear helmets on motorbikes.

That is a safety law.

Number two: A cafe has a ramp for wheelchairs and buggies.

That is a fairness law.

Number three: It is against the law to take things that belong to others.

That is a fairness law.

And number four: It is against the law to drop litter.

That is a safety law.

Well done if you've got those ones correct.

It's time now for our third lesson cycle called, What happens when laws are broken?

Lucas says, "Sometimes people do not follow the law.

" And Sofia says, "Sometimes people do this deliberately, but sometimes people don't understand or know the law, or they do it accidentally.

However, any of these ways can cause problems for other people.

" Let's look further into this then.

So when somebody deliberately breaks a law, that means somebody is doing something on purpose.

For example, a person decides to take something that isn't theirs and they do that on purpose.

An example of not understanding the law could be, for example, when a shop won't let a person come in with their guide dog, with their assistance dog because they didn't understand the law about treating people equally.

Some people require their guide or their assistance dog to be with them, in order to help them navigate life, to make their way around, to see, or perhaps they have a medical reason their dog will then support them with.

Now usually dogs aren't allowed into shops and dogs aren't allowed into cafes, and so somebody might just see it as the same thing as that, but not understanding that some dogs are allowed to go with people.

So sometimes it can be that a worker doesn't realize they're doing anything wrong by stopping that person coming in or stopping that dog for coming in.

It's just that they're not understanding actually what the law says.

An example of an accidental breaking the law could be if a driver thought the speed limit was 40 miles an hour, actually that area was a 30 mile an hour limit.

They're not deliberately trying to break the law, they're not trying to drive faster than normal, but they just made a mistake.

It was an accidental breaking the law.

However, all of these ways can have the same impact, the same effect on other people.

The law has been broken and that does affect other people.

So what happens then if somebody doesn't follow the law?

Well, it could be one of a few things, really.

One of the things is that people who have been affected could get help from trusted adults or services.

For example, the person who was refused entry into the shop because of their assistance dog, they could then get support from somebody to then make sure that that doesn't happen again.

Another thing that might happen is that the police might get involved.

They might investigate what's happened, and then they will make an arrest if needed.

So for example, in the case of the driver who was driving too quickly, accidentally, but still driving too quickly, police will get involved at that point and then that person may be arrested if it's deemed necessary, if they think that needs to happen.

There might be consequences for breaking the law.

Sometimes people are given a caution.

That means they're told, "This isn't okay, you mustn't do it again.

" But sometimes people will receive consequences.

For example, they may have to go to court, they may have jail time, they may have to pay a fine, different things like that.

Another thing that might happen if somebody doesn't follow the law is that the law is then used to make things fair again.

Now, when the law is broken, the purpose of the law isn't just to punish somebody, but to try and repair that harm that's been done.

So for example, if somebody has been hurt or had something taken from them, then the law system will then help to put that balance back in place to try and make that fairness be there again.

So that could be returning the stolen property.

It might be paying compensation, paying money to somebody who has been harmed.

It could also be things like new rules or new laws are made to help and make sure that that doesn't happen again.

The simplest way of putting it is that the law tries to fix the problem that was caused by the wrongdoing, by the thing that was done wrong, and not just to punish the person who did it.

A quick check for understanding then.

So which of these things can happen if someone breaks the law?

And you can choose all the correct answers that are there.

So we have A: people can get help from trusted adults or services.

B: there may be consequences.

C: the law helps make things fair again, and D: nothing happens.

Take a few seconds to think.

Okay then, so the correct answers are A, people can get help from trusted adults and services.

B, there might be consequences, that's also correct.

And C, the law helps to make things fair again.

Well done if you've got those ones.

Let's look now a little bit more in detail about what might happen next when the law is broken.

So here we've got the deliberate act of somebody taking something that isn't theirs and they know it isn't theirs and they've taken it anyway.

So what might happen?

Well the police might get involved and investigate what's happened.

And if they think they need to, they could make an arrest.

Another consequence might be that the stolen item gets returned to its owner.

The person who took the object that wasn't theirs, they might face consequences.

For example, it might be a fine where they have to pay money or they could even go to prison.

And both of these consequences show that taking things that don't belong to you is not allowed.

And the law will help to make things fair again by protecting everyone's rights to their belongings.

So look at what the problem was, how did the problem happen and how can we try to make sure this doesn't happen again?

And the law will try to make it fair for the person who was impacted, the person who was affected by that.

Let's look at now, if somebody doesn't understand the law and they've broken the law, but they didn't mean to, they didn't understand that they'd done that.

And let's look at the example of a person who wouldn't let somebody into the shop with their guide dog, with their assistance dog because they didn't understand the law about treating people equally.

So what might happen then?

Well, a trusted adult or organization might step in to help the person who was treated unfairly because it can really impact people.

If you are stopped from going places because you have a dog that you need for your life, but you are not allowed into the shop or you can't go into the cafe or you can't go to the pharmacy to get your medication, it can really start to affect people and make people feel like they're not equal or they're not okay to do those things, which the law actually says they are.

They are allowed to do those.

The person who was unfair, the person who broke the law, they will be expected to change their behavior and they might even face consequences like a fine.

The law helps make things fair again by showing a person and showing other companies and other businesses that you have to treat people fairly.

So things like having an assistance dog that is okay by the law.

You can take an assistance dog to places.

What might happen to somebody who breaks the law accidentally?

So with this one, it was the driver that thought it was a 40 mile an hour limit, but it wasn't, it was a 30.

So for this, the police might stop the driver or they might get a letter through the post to say you've been caught going faster than you should have done in that area.

As the consequence for driving faster than they should have done, the driver might get a warning, they might have to pay a fine, that's the money that they have to pay.

And they might have to take something like extra driving classes.

If they've done it before, so they've been fined, they've been warned before, they might get points on their license.

And sometimes people even have to go to court and sometimes people even get their license taken away from them if they've done it lots of times, even if it's accidental.

These consequences try and stop the problem happening again by making people think and trying to change their behavior.

And this ultimately keeps people safe, makes roads safer, makes pedestrians safer.

Everybody on the roads is safer if people are driving at the speed limits.

So Lucas says, "When someone breaks the law, police or other trusted adults can help.

" And Jun says, "That's right.

There might also be consequences to make things fair again.

" And Sofia says, "The rule of law protects everyone's safety and fairness by helping stop problems and keep people's rights safe.

" Another check for understanding now then.

So can you match up the example to the type of reason shown?

So the example of the shop assistant who won't let a person go into the shop with their assistance dog, with their guide dog, because they didn't think that dogs were allowed into shops.

Is this deliberately breaking the law?

Is it accidentally breaking the law, or is it not understanding the law?

Which one do you think it matches up best with?

Take a few seconds to think.

Okay then, so the shop assistant who won't let an assistance dog into the shop, that is an example of somebody not understanding the law.

The person didn't really understand the law about having to treat people equally and allowing that assistance dog in so that the person can then live their life and be supported in their life.

Well done if you've got that one.

We're on to your final task now then.

So with this one, you are going to do some more matching and you are going to match the action to what one of the consequences might be.

So here we have down the left hand side, we've got A: stealing a bike, B: driving too fast, C: being unfair to someone.

And then the consequences are, we've got number one: trusted adult helps and the unfair behavior is addressed.

Two: the police help return it and there are consequences.

Three: police may step in giving a warning or a fine.

Can you match these actions up to what the consequences might be?

Pause the video to give yourself the time to do this and then we'll come back and go through the answer.

Alright then, let's go through the answers together.

So your answers should look something like this.

So A: stealing a bike, the consequence for that could be that the police help return it, and then there are consequences for the person who took it.

B: driving too fast could be three.

The police may step in, giving a warning or a fine.

And finally being unfair to someone.

A consequence for that could be a trusted adult helps and the unfair behavior is addressed.

Well done if you got those three correct.

It's now time to summarize our learning.

And summarizing means thinking about what the most important parts of our learning are today.

The rule of law means that everyone, including people in power, must follow the law.

Laws explain what behavior is fair and acceptable, helping people understand their rights and their responsibilities.

Laws help stop problems before they happen and help people live and work together.

And people can get help if they have a problem or if a law is broken.

Well done today.

You have stuck with me from the beginning of the lesson, all the way to the end, and I am really proud of all of the effort that you've put in.

Hope to see you again soon.

Bye.