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Year 10 - Citizenship

What roles can citizens play in policy shaping?

How can politicians involve citizens in direct decision making?

Unit Summary

Through a series of case studies from across the globe pupils explore different methods of direct democracy and consider how UK citizens can play a part in shaping national policy.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to give examples of ways citizens can support policy shaping in the UK.

Key Notes

  • Policies are aimed to address issues such as healthcare.
  • Policies are shaped through proposals, debates and consultations.
  • Citizens shape policies directly by voting and protesting.
  • Citizens shape policies indirectly by petitions and participating in consultations.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • policies: courses of action or goals that people plan to carry out or are in the process of carrying out
  • lobbying: when an individual or a 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

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • If a petition gets over 100,000 signatures and is debated in Parliament, it means the law will definitely change.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

Policies are aimed to address issues such as healthcare. Policies are shaped through proposals, debates and consultations.

2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'policies'

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

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: If a petition gets over 100,000 signatures and is debated in Parliament, it means the law will definitely change. Correction: In the UK, Parliament agrees to debate any petition that gets over 100,000 signatures, but the decision to change a policy or create a new law is still up to the Government.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 10 Citizenship guide library.