Hello, my name's Mrs. Tamasi and I'm gonna be working through review on your citizenship lesson today.

If you are all settled, you've got everything you need for the lesson and you are ready to go, then we'll get started.

So the title of today's lesson is "What role Can Citizens Play in Policy Shaping?" Now this forms part of the unit on how can politicians involve citizens in direct decision making.

Hopefully by the end of the lesson today, you're gonna be able to give examples of ways citizens can support policy shaping in the UK.

In the lesson today, we'll have two key words.

You'll see them in both throughout.

So if you ever need to, you can refer back to them here.

We're gonna go through them now together.

The first key word is policies.

Now, policies are courses of action or goals that people plan to carry out or in the process of carrying out.

The second key word is lobbying.

This is when an individual group tries to persuade someone in parliament to support a particular policy or campaign.

Lobbying can be done in person by sending letters and emails or via social media.

So, we're gonna look at two learning cycles today.

We'll make a start on the first.

So how can citizens directly shape policies? So, yes, we had the key word there, but what is a policy? Have you got any ideas really what it's to do with? What do you think of when you think of that word? So it's the course of actions taken by the government to deal with an issue.

So how does this work? They're shaped through debates, discussions, decisions made in parliament, where here elective representatives propose, examine and vote on laws.

Now you might have seen some of this process happening and maybe didn't realise that it was there to do with policies.

So there are different ways that citizens can shape policies and influence decisions in a democracy.

It's always good to remember that some give more power to citizens than others and you can start to think of which ones and why.

So some of these include things like citizens' assemblies, lobbying, petitions, referendums. Some of these shape policies directly, but others have an indirect impact by influencing the government decisions.

This is what we're gonna start to think about.

So, can you start thinking what might be the difference between directly impacting and indirectly impacting? That's what Sam's saying here.

So what is the difference between shaping policies directly and indirectly? Did you manage to get some ideas? So here, if you are shaping it directly, think of it, you're going down that direct straight line.

This means the citizens are actively involved in that decision making process.

Can you think an example? So that would be a referendum.

So citizens get to vote so they are directly impacting the result of that referendum and therefore then the result of what happens in terms of the decision made and moving forward.

Whereas indirectly, it's a bit more like that kind of that windy road.

So actually citizens might be taking steps to that decision process, but then they can't make that final decision themselves.

They're just going along the path to supporting it.

So here, citizens influence or persuade decision makers, they don't make the final decision themselves.

Yeah, that referendum is a final decision made by citizens; indirect, it's not.

They are just persuading and influencing those decision makers for them to make the decision.

Can you circle the correct word? So shaping policies directly or indirectly means citizens are actively involved in the decision making process.

Then you've got shaping policies directly or indirectly means citizens influence or persuade decision makers, but do not make the final decision themselves.

Which one is which? So, the top one is direct 'cause it is, they're involved in that decision making process; indirect, they are not making the final decision themselves.

Hopefully, you managed to get that and if you didn't, we're gonna keep working on it because it's important to remember which ones are direct because they will link specifically to direct democracy and which ones are indirect because you're showing how even when you don't have a direct democracy, the ways citizens can make a difference.

So, some examples of directly shaping policies include voting in a referendum so that's one we said earlier.

Now if you did manage to think of some other examples, maybe some of them were these: taking part in a citizens' assembly or public or citizens' initiatives.

They are all examples of direct.

So, we'll go through each of these now just in case there are some that you aren't sure of.

If you do know them, then you could start to think about the impact that each one might have.

So, what is a referendum? Referendum is a general vote by the electorate on a single political issue and it's referred to them for a direct decision.

So generally, those yes or no responses.

Now they offer that direct voice to citizens, but it is important to point out in the UK they are rare.

So in the last 50 years, only three referendums have been held.

Next, we'll look at a citizens' assembly.

Did you know what this one is? So, it is a group of citizens chosen to come together to learn about, discuss, and give recommendations on a specific issue.

So the UK Parliament has been using them since 2018.

So in 2020, to give you an example, the Climate Assembly UK was set up.

There was 108 members randomly selected through a lottery of the general public and it will go out to these people.

Now what happens is those that have accepted, they met over six weekends and it heard a balanced range of information.

So on how the UK could reach its net zero target.

Then the members discussed this and there was a secret ballot for voting, and these results were used to create the final report that had over 50 recommendations for policy measures designed to reach the goal.

However, with citizens' assemblies, the government does not have to implement the recommendations.

Sometimes they do.

So in those cases when they do, those citizens that are part of that assembly have directly shaped that policy.

To give you an example, the Climate Assembly UK recommended transitions to electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions.

And what happened here was the UK government have committed to the ban of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars after 2030 and all new cars and vans will need to be a 100% zero emission by 2035.

So this is an example of those people and those citizens that were in that assembly and came to this conclusion, which was then implemented in that way through the UK government.

True or false: the UK government must implement recommendations made by citizens' assembly? That's false.

Why is it false? The UK government can choose whether they implement the recommendations by citizens' assembly.

So yes, starting to think if you are thinking about the impact, they do have an impact if the government chooses to implement it.

However, if the government doesn't choose to implement it, maybe the impact is not as direct.

Our third example of directly shaping is a public or citizens initiative.

Do you know what this one is? Now, this is allowing citizens to propose new policies or constitutional changes by gathering a certain amount of public support.

And once they reach that amount of public support, it can lead to a referendum on that matter.

Sam says, "This is a good idea.

How does it work in the UK?" Izzy says, "It is not offered in the UK.

Instead, UK citizens influence policies through indirect methods." Now you might have noticed as we went through the UK doesn't have a lot of these direct ways of shaping policies.

Can you think why that is? Do you remember what type of democracy the UK is? It's a representative.

So, the UK picks and elects representatives whom represent and make those decisions on their behalf, but they have used some examples.

So referendums have been used, but they're rare.

Citizens' assemblies are used but don't have to be implemented and they don't use public or citizens initiatives.

So now what we'll start to look at is some of those indirect ways that citizens can get involved.

So true or false: UK citizens can propose a citizens initiative to suggest new laws? That's false.

Why is it false? This doesn't exist in the UK, only in some other countries.

So in the UK, citizens can get involved in other forms of indirect methods to help shape policies.

And now we're gonna move on to the first task.

Sam says, "My parents voted to decide on whether the UK should remain or leave the European Union." Izzy says, "My mum was randomly invited to attend some meetings." These meetings discussed the issue of climate change.

She listened, discussed, and then helped to vote on some ideas that were turned into recommendations.

Identify what direct method is being used in each example and provide a brief explanation of how it influences policy.

Take some time, work them out first and then think about your explanations and then when you're ready, unpause and we can go through the feedback together.

So how did you find that? Now, you could have included, so Sam's one was a referendum.

It is a direct method where citizens vote specific issues, in this case whether the UK should remain in or leave the EU.

The government must follow the result of the referendum.

So it directly shakes national policy.

Izzy has given an example of citizens' assembly where citizens are randomly selected to discuss specific policies.

At the end, recommendations are given and the government can choose to implement recommendations.

If they choose to implement them, then the citizens directly shape national policy.

And that brings us to the end of directly shaping.

And as I said earlier, we are gonna start to look at indirect examples as well.

So that's what we're gonna look at in this learning cycle.

So Sam says, "Are indirect methods necessary when you can impact policies directly?" But what do you think about that? So, direct methods can have an immediate effect, but in the UK they don't happen often.

And as we were talking about, it's a representative democracy.

So this is why indirect methods are essential to help shape policies.

This is because they can raise awareness, gather public support, and ensure diverse opinions are heard.

Now, indirect methods can still shape policies.

Sometimes they put pressure on the lawmakers to act.

This is what we were talking about that pressure or influence.

And other times they can inform the government's decisions.

Can you think of some examples of indirect ways of shaping policies? What could you do to get involved? Petitions to parliament is one example.

Protests or demonstrations, public consultations, lobbying MPs.

We will look at each of these and what they are.

So what is a petition? Do you already know? You might have a little hint, you might have signed one before.

So when citizens sign a petition, it serves as collective action.

It shows the government that there is public support for addressing an issue.

In the UK, if you get 10,000 signatures, the government will respond to the petition.

A hundred thousand signatures may be debated in parliament, so it can result in action.

To give you an example, so in 2022, "3 Dads Walking" started a petition to make suicide prevention a mandatory topic in the UK schools.

Now the petition received over 160,000 signatures and it was debated in parliament in March, 2023.

Now the result of this debate called for the RSHE curriculum to be reviewed with suicide prevention as a priority.

However, there was a change of government in 2024 and what that's meant is the review is still ongoing and changes are yet to be implemented.

That's another important thing to remember as well actually, that there can be changes in government and indirect methods can take time.

So although this happened, the petition did raise awareness of the issue and it's led to continued discussions about the curriculum.

It has raised awareness about suicide prevention and the discussions around it being a mandatory topic in UK schools.

In June, 2020, Esmie Jikiemi Pearson, a young advocate initiated a petition titled, "Teach Britain's colonial past as part of the UK's compulsory curriculum." Now this petition gained over 240,000 signatures and was debated in parliament.

Again, it didn't receive immediate change in policy, but it raised awareness about diversity in the curriculum, which has led to further talks and could help shape education policy in the future.

True or false: petitions that get debated in parliament lead to immediate change? This is false.

Why? Parliamentary petitions can raise awareness and prompt debate, but they do not guarantee that a law will change or that immediate action will taken.

It could happen, but it isn't a guarantee.

So our next one is lobbying.

Now what is lobbying? It is our keyword so you might have gone back and checked it and then you might know.

It's when individuals or groups try to influence politicians to support a particular cause.

So they can write or meet with their MP explaining what action they want them to take.

If enough people support it, they might raise the issue in parliament or speak about it publicly and this could help their campaign.

To give you an example here, in 2023, Marks and Spencer and WUKA launched the "Say Pants to the Tax" campaign.

Now this called for the removal of VAT on period pants.

So at that point, other period products had removed the VAT, but not yet specifically on period pants.

So their popular campaign included sending a public letter to the government and it was successful because VAT was removed on period pants in 2024.

Demonstrations are when a group of citizens gather in public to show they care strongly about an issue and want something to change.

This could look like marching through streets, holding protest signs, chanting slogans.

It might be standing together in a certain place.

To give you an example of a demonstration, so in 2020, thousands of people across the UK took part in Black Lives Matter, which now sometimes known as the BLM demonstrations.

Now demonstrators gathered in big major cities across the UK and it led to a wider national conversation about racism in the UK and also led to local councils reviewing statues and place names that were linked to the UK's colonial past.

And finally, we've got what is a public consultation.

So, this one thinking you might have heard of what a consultation is.

So, a public consultation happens when the government are looking for the public's thoughts on specific issues.

It might happen online, it could happen in person, it might happen through select committees.

To give you an example, so in 2018, the UK government launched a public consultation on banning single use plastics.

Members of the public shared their views.

Now, support from that consultation help contribute towards the government's ban of some single use plastics in 2020.

Can you tick whether the methods to influence policies are direct or indirect? So you've got there, taking part in a citizen's assembly, lobbying MPs, voting in a referendum, signing a petition, and joining in a public consultation.

If you take some time to work it out and see which is which.

So that first one, taking part in citizens' assembly is direct; lobbying MPs, indirect; voting in a referendum, direct; signing petition, indirect; and joining in a public consultation is indirect.

So now hopefully, you again, you might have those terms, direct and indirect.

You should know what directly shaping and indirectly shaping is, but also what it looks like and some examples for each.

Now this moves us on to the final set of tasks for today's lesson.

So Sam says, "A public consultation is when people protest in the streets to demand change." Now Izzy says, "Lobbying is when you create a petition and ask people to sign it online." Each pupil has described the method of influencing government incorrectly.

Identify what method the pupils are actually describing and explain why it's incorrect.

So take some time, work out what it is, what they should be describing, and then explain why they've described it incorrectly.

When you're ready, unpause and we'll go through the feedback together.

Did you manage to work it out? So Sam actually has given a description of a demonstration.

Now, you could have said a public consultation is where the government seeks to gather information from the public on a specific matter.

Now, Izzy actually gave a description of a petition.

Lobbying is when individuals or groups attempt to influence politicians directly to support a particular cause.

Now, we're gonna go onto the second part of the task.

So Sam says here, I think that some of the methods of influencing government are more influential than others because not all of them shape policies straight away.

Can you order the methods of influencing government from most to least effective and include a reason for your choices? Now remember, this is your personal opinion.

More what you wanna focus on here is the justification.

So your reasons why you've picked your choices rather than the order that you've picked.

So take some time and think about your reasons why each are gonna be in the order that you've put.

And if you're a little bit stuck on what methods, if you look back to that first task, you've got some of the ideas there that you could include and the methods to include in this section.

Once you're ready, unpause and we'll go through the feedback.

So how did you get on? Now it's important to remember, this here is an example.

Yeah, you could have had any order that you liked.

It doesn't matter what order you picked, it's just thinking about why you've put them in that specific order.

So this is an example here of what it could look like: having petitions down one end, public consultation, demonstrations and lobbying.

Now the reasons.

So the reason I picked lobbying as most effective is because it involves direct interaction with politicians.

If they're on board with a campaign, they can push for action in parliament that can help boost your campaign elsewhere and implement change.

For example, the Marks and Spencer and WUKA "Say Pants to the Tax" campaign was successful within a year of the campaign starting.

Other campaigns that began as petitions, for example, "3 Dads walking" had huge public support with over 160,000 signatures.

However, a change in government meant the campaign for change had to start again and is still ongoing.

Now again, this is just an example.

It might be the case that some campaigns will use a mixture of all of these.

So you could have even argued that they're effective when used together, that might make the difference.

So if you get public support and you are lobbying and you've got demonstrations, then that might help to make the difference.

As I said here, this one's more on what your opinion, and there also might be other examples because we could also look at this way and the example of the "3 Dads Walking", it's still ongoing.

It doesn't mean that the change isn't gonna happen.

That campaign has received a lot of public awareness and support so change still might happen, it just hasn't happened yet.

So in this case, the petition has been really effective because it's received a lot of support.

However, that change in government hasn't happened yet.

Now if that happened, then it would end up being more effective because they've managed to implement the change that they would like.

Now, we are going to summarise.

So, citizens play an important role in shaping policies in the UK using both direct and indirect methods.

Referendums are a direct method to shape policies by voting on specific issues.

While direct methods can lead to a significant policy change, they're rarely used in the UK.

Indirect methods like petitions and lobbying occur more often and provide more opportunities for citizens to influence policy.

While these methods raise awareness and pressure decision makers, they do not always result in the policy changes being implemented.

So that brings us to a close and hopefully you've got those ideas between the direct and indirectly shaping policies.

Thanks for working with me today and enjoy the rest of your day.