Lesson video

Hiya, my name's Ms. Willow and I'm going to be your teacher for today's lesson.

Today's lesson is called "Civil partnerships" and it fits into the unit "Healthy relationships: How do relationships change?" During this lesson, we are going to be talking about some sensitive content and discrimination, so for this lesson we recommend that you have an adult with you.

If at any point you do feel uncomfortable, it's really important that you stop the video and that you speak to an adult that you trust.

Okay, let's make a start.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the importance of civil partnerships and why people might choose to enter into a civil partnership.

Before we get started with today's lesson, we need to go over some ground rules.

These help to make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable during today's lesson.

Laura says that we need to listen to others.

"It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should always listen properly before we make any assumptions or before we decide how to respond.

When we disagree with someone else, it's important to challenge the statement and not the person themselves." Next, Andeep says that we need to respect each other's privacy.

"We can discuss examples and situations but we shouldn't use any names or descriptions that could identify anyone, including ourselves." If we do want to share a story or an experience, we can refer to someone as "my friend".

This means that we're not giving away any identifying information.

Next, Jacob says, "No judgment.

We can explore any of our beliefs or misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged by others." And finally, Izzy says that we can choose our level of participation.

"Everyone has the right to choose no to answer a question or to join in with discussion.

And we should never put anyone on the spot, as this can make people feel uncomfortable." We're now going to have a look at the keywords for today's lesson.

First of all, we have the words civil partnership.

A civil partnership is a legal union that gives two people similar rights and responsibilities to marriage.

Next, we have legal rights.

These are rights recognized and protected by the law.

Today's lesson is split into two learning cycles.

Our first learning cycle is called, "What are civil partnerships?" And our second learning cycle is called, "Why might someone choose a civil partnership?" Let's make a start on our first learning cycle, "What are civil partnerships?" Let's take a look at the words civil partnership.

Civil comes from the Latin word civilis, meaning of or relating to citizens.

In legal terms, civil means non-religious, relating to ordinary citizens and their rights.

Partnership.

When we say the word partner, this originally means one who shares.

And the suffix -ship indicates a state or condition, like friendship or leadership.

Therefore, a civil partnership is a legal relationship between citizens that is recognized by the state, not by religion.

A civil partnership is a legally recognized relationship.

It offers similar legal rights and responsibilities to marriage, such as inheritance rights, the legal right to receive your partner's property and money when they die.

Parental responsibilities, so these are legal duties and rights regarding children, including decisions about their care and education.

Tax benefits, so paying less tax as a couple, especially when one partner dies.

And next-of-kin status.

This means being legally recognized as the closest family member in emergencies and medical situations.

In some situations, if someone was to be ill in hospital, it might only be their next of kin that's allowed to visit them or to make decisions about their care.

While civil partnerships and marriage offer very similar legal rights, there are some key differences.

The terminology is slightly different between civil partnership and marriage.

For civil partnership, people refer to each other as partners.

And if the civil partnership needs to be ended, this happens through something called dissolution.

In a marriage, the people involved can refer to each other as spouses.

And if the marriage is ended, this is referred to as divorce.

There's also differences in terms of the ceremony requirements.

So, in a civil partnership, this must be a non-religious ceremony, even if it's held in a religious venue, whereas a marriage can either be a religious or civil ceremony.

There's also different historical origins.

For a civil partnership, this was created in 2004 originally to provide equality for same-sex couples.

Whereas marriage has existed for centuries and has both religious and cultural traditions.

But the legal rights are very similar for both civil partnerships and marriages.

Both provide almost identical legal protections.

But there are some minor technical differences in some areas of law, but these rarely affect couples in practice.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing so far.

I would like you to decide, is Laura correct? Laura says that civil partnerships are exactly the same as marriage.

What do you think? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that Laura is mostly correct about legal rights, but incorrect about terminology, ceremony requirements and historical origins.

Civil partnerships can be formed by both same-sex or opposite-sex couples.

We're now going to have a look at why civil partnership was introduced and we're going to answer the question, why was the Civil Partnership Act 2004 introduced? Before 2005, same-sex couples in the UK had no way to legally protect their relationships, so they faced problems with inheritance tax and wills, hospital visitation and medical decisions about their partner, pensions and next-of-kin status.

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 was then passed to give same-sex couples the legal rights that are similar to those of married couples.

This was seen as a step towards equality, especially at a time when same-sex marriage was not yet legal in the UK.

When the Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force in 2005, it only applied to same-sex couples.

This meant that opposite-sex couples could not have a civil partnership.

At that time, opposite-sex couples could already marry, so civil partnerships weren't available to them.

However, in 2019, the law changed to allow opposite-sex couples to form them too.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Is this statement true or false? Only same-sex couples can enter into a civil partnership.

What do you think? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that this is false, but why? You might have said that since 2019, civil partnerships can be formed by same-sex or opposite-sex couples.

Well done if you got this right.

You can enter a civil partnership if you're at least 18, if you're not already married or in another civil partnership, and you're not closely related to your partner.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Which of these are legal rights given by civil partnership? Is it A, inheritance; B, birthday presents; C, parental responsibility; or D, tax benefits? Which of these are legal rights given by civil partnership? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that A, inheritance, C, parental responsibility, and D, tax benefits, are all legal rights given by civil partnership.

Civil partnerships are legal ceremonies, but they are not religious.

This means that even if the ceremony happens in a religious building, such as a church or a synagogue, if the place agrees, the ceremony itself must not include any religious parts.

This is because civil partnerships are meant to be fair and open to everyone, no matter what they believe.

Also, a religious leader can only take part if they have special permission to do the ceremony.

The ceremony must stay civil, which means non-religious, in wording, to make sure that it is different from a religious marriage.

In this illustration, you can see a couple entering into a civil partnership.

They're signing some documents and it looks like there's someone there witnessing signing them too.

Civil partnerships can be formed in many different venues.

The ceremony can be held at a register office, an approved venue, so like a hotel or a town hall, a religious venue, but only if the venue agrees.

Civil partnerships focus on legal declaration.

There is no requirements for vows or rings, though couples may include some personal touches.

A civil partnership schedule is signed in front of a registrar, two witnesses, and once signed, the couple is legally recognized as civil partners.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Is Laura correct? Laura says, "Civil partnerships must be religious ceremonies." What do you think, is this true or false? Talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that Laura is incorrect.

Now I would like you to rewrite Laura's comment so that it is correct.

Your rewritten statement might say something like this.

"Civil partnerships are civil, which means non-religioius ceremonies, but they can take in a religious venue if the venue agrees.

The ceremony itself must not include any religious content." Well done if your statement looked anything like this.

We're now moving on to your first practice task, and well done for your hard work so far.

These Oak National Academy pupils are talking about what they have learnt about civil partnerships.

I'd like you to complete their sentences using specific examples.

So Lucas says, "Civil partnerships can take place in.

." Alex says, "The Civil Partnership Act 2004 governs.

." And Laura says, "Both opposite-sex couples and.

." Can you finish these sentences to show what you've learned about civil partnerships? Pause the video and we'll go through some potential answers in a few minutes.

Okay, let's have a look and see what you might have said.

Lucas might now say something like, "Civil partnerships can take place in a register office, an approved venue like a town hall or a religious venue, but only if the venue agrees." Alex might now say, "The Civil Partnership Act 2004 governs civil partnerships in the UK, providing legal recognition and legal rights similar to marriage, such as inheritance rights, parental responsibilities, and next-of-kin status." And Laura might now say something like, "Both opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples can enter into civil partnerships as a result of a change in the law in 2019." Well done if your answers looked anything like this.

We're now moving on to our second learning cycle, "Why might someone choose a civil partnership?" People may choose a civil partnership instead of marriage for a number of different reasons.

These include feeling that marriage is just not for them.

They might want a legal commitment without the religious elements, especially if they're not religious or if they both come from different faith backgrounds, so maybe one is a different religion than the other.

And they might prefer the more modern image of civil partnerships, which can feel a bit more equal and progressive when compared to marriage, which can have cultural and religious elements.

These reasons may also include hoping to avoid family pressure or expectations around big weddings, rituals, or expensive celebrations.

Having had negative experiences with marriage in the past and wanting to experience a different type of commitment.

They might want to make a statement about equality or to show support for LGBT rights, as civil partnerships have a strong link to LGBT history.

We're now going to have a look at Harry's experience.

Harry says, "Marriage has always felt too traditional for me.

There's a lot of cultural and religious pressure attached to it in my family.

I want something that's equal, legal, and completely non-religious.

A civil partnership gives me the commitment without all the expectations." Fatima and Mike say that "we chose a civil partnership because we come from different religious backgrounds.

It felt neutral and fair to both of our families, without favoring one tradition over another." And Kristie and Christian say, "We're both in our 50s, previously married with grown children.

A civil partnership gives us the legal security we need for our pensions and property without the emotional weight of another wedding." Let's do another check for understanding.

Why might someone choose a civil partnership instead of marriage? A, they want a large religious wedding ceremony.

B, they want a non-religious legal commitment.

Or C, they want to follow strict religious traditions.

What do you think? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that B is correct.

Someone might choose a civil partnership instead of marriage because they want a non-religious legal commitment.

Well done if you said the same thing.

There are also legal and financial reasons to choose civil partnership, which include avoiding inheritance tax after the death of a partner, accessing pension benefits, gaining next-of-kin status in hospital or emergency situations, and legal protection for property, debts, and separation.

We're now going to have a look at Siobhan's experience.

Siobhan says, "For me, a civil partnership just makes sense.

If anything happened to my partner, I want to make sure I'm recognized as next of kin, especially in hospital emergencies.

It also means that we won't lose money to inheritance tax, and we'll be protected when it comes to property and pensions.

It's about legal security and peace of mind too." Let's do another check for understanding.

I'd like you to read this scenario and identify which legal rights or benefits of civil partnership applies in this situation.

Jacob is rushed to hospital unconscious.

Their civil partner, Zarah, needs to make urgent medical decisions.

Can you decide which legal right or benefit of civil partnership applies in this situation? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said next-of-kin status.

In this situation, Zarah would be considered Jacob's next of kin, which could mean that they're able to make medical deicisions for them and support them whilst they're in hospital.

Well done if you said the same thing.

Let's have a look at this scenario, and I'd like you to identify which legal rights or benefits of civil partnership applies.

When Chen dies suddenly, their civil partner inherits their house without paying additional tax.

Which legal rights or benefit of civil partnership applies here? You might want to pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said inheritance tax benefits.

In this situation, because Chen had a civil partner, this means that they would inherit their house without paying any additional tax, which may not be the case if they didn't have a civil partnership or a marriage.

Well done if you got these correct.

A civil partnership ends through a process called dissolution, which is similar to divorce.

Since 2022, a no-fault system has been introduced in England and Wales.

This means that couples no longer need to prove that one partner did something wrong for the relationship to end, such as being unfaithful or behaving unreasonably.

Instead, they only need to state that the relationship has irretrievably broken down, meaning it cannot be repaired.

Dissolution is handled by the family court.

As part of this process, the court can help decide how to divide money, property, and make arrangements for any children if the couple can't agree on their own.

There is also a waiting period built into the process to allow time for reflection.

This means that even after applying, couples must wait several months before the dissolution is finalized.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Is this statement true or false? A civil partnership can be ended through a process called dissolution.

Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that this is true.

Dissolution is how a civil partnership can be ended, and it's a process similar to divorce.

Let's move on to your final practice task.

Well done for your hard work already.

I'd like you to read this scenario and answer the questions below.

Max and Gina are both 29.

They've lived together for six years and are thinking about their future together.

They don't feel comfortable with the idea of a traditional marriage.

They want to make sure that they have legal rights to each other's property and health decisions.

Question number one is, should should Max and Gina consider a civil partnership? Why or why not? And question number two is, what legal rights would a civil partnership give them that cohabitation, which means living together, does not? Pause the video and we'll go through some potential answers in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what your answers could have been.

For the first question, should Max and Gina consider a civil partnership? Why or why not? You might have said that Max and Gina should consider a civil partnership because they want legal protection but they aren't comfortable with traditional marriage.

For the second question, what legal rights would a civil partnership give them that cohabitation does not? You might have said something like cohabiting won't give moment the same legal rights, such as inheritance and next-of-kin status, as a civil partnership would.

Well done if your answers were similar to this.

We're now going to summarize the key learning from today's lesson.

In today's lesson we've learned that a civil partnership is a legally recognized union with similar rights to marriage.

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 is the law that governs civil partnerships in the UK, and since 2019, civil partnerships are available to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples in the UK.

People may choose civil partnership for legal, personal, or financial reasons.

For instance, a civil partnership grants couples legal rights that they would not otherwise have if they were just cohabiting, which means living together.

And a civil partnership can end through dissolution, which is a process similar to divorce.

In today's lesson you might have found that you've got some worries or some questions.

And if you do, it's really important that you speak to a trusted adult.

There's also some resources on the screen that are there to help you too.

Well done for your hard work in today's lesson.

I hope to see you in another lesson soon.