How does the law apply to young people?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe how the law applies to young people and evaluate its effectiveness.
Key learning points
- The justice system does not treat young people the same as adults.
- In the justice system, police interact with young offenders but also have broader responsibilities for all young people.
- All citizens, including young people, have the right to share their opinions on laws and issues and push for change.
- There are various arguments for and against the effectiveness of the legal system.
Keywords
Justice - fairness as a result of the application of a law, usually by a judge, in society
Law - rules, usually made by Parliament, that are used to order the way in which a society behaves
Campaign - actions or events organised by an individual or a group of people to achieve an aim
Common misconception
Young people are treated the same as adults in the justice system.
Young people are treated differently in the justice system. Youth courts focus on rehabilitation with alternative sentences to prison, like community service or rehabilitation orders, to help young people learn from mistakes and avoid re-offending.
Teacher tip
Encourage pupils to consider both sides of the argument when discussing the effectiveness of the legal system. Use real-life examples, such as youth court cases, to highlight how the system treats young people differently and why those differences matter.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is not one of the five purposes of sentencing?
Q2.What age range does the legal system classify a young person as?
Q3.True or False? The justice system is the same across all the states of the UK.
Q4.Fill in the gap: One type of sentence is a , where an offender is required to pay a certain amount of money as a punishment.
Q5.Match the sentence type with its description.
offender is let off with no punishment as long as they don't reoffend
offender is required to serve time in prison
offender is required to do unpaid work or attend rehabilitation
Q6.Which of the following are true about how judges and magistrates decide sentences?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the word to the correct definition.
fairness as a result of the application of a law, usually by a judge
rules, usually made by Parliament, to order society
actions or events organised by individuals to achieve an aim
Q2.What is the main focus of youth courts in the justice system?
Q3.Fill in the gap: Young people have the right to have an adult with them when they are questioned by the police.
Q4.Do young people get treated the same as adults in the justice system?
Q5.Which of the following is a responsibility of the police in relation to young people?
Q6.Fill in the gap: Young people have the right to for changes in laws or issues they care about.
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: How does the law apply to young people?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: How does the law apply to young people?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 citizenship lessons from the What are the strengths and weaknesses of the legal system? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.