Executive Summary

At the 2024 UK parliamentary general election, young people aged 18-25 were less likely to be registered to vote, to know what is needed to vote, and to turn out to vote than any other age group. The Electoral Commission's post poll public opinion research (July 2024) identified substantial inequalities in young people’s democratic participation, dependent upon socio-economic status, ethnicity and disability.

Given the UK Government commitment to extending the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds, it is important that we collaborate to ensure our young people have access to democratic education.

The Electoral Commission has convened 40 education partners and academics to provide on the ground experience of how democratic education is being taught in classrooms across England. We have included all responses received to contribute to a substantial evidence base of what works well when delivering democratic education and what will prepare leaners to become informed voters. This includes:

  • Research, projects and programmes delivered in education settings that can demonstrate impact  
  • Welcome to Your Vote Week 2025, the Electoral Commission’s annual awareness raising week focused on celebrating democracy
  • Teacher training and support  
  • Suggested curriculum content to support all young people to engage in democratic education
  • The views of young people on their experiences of democratic education  

The Electoral Commission works with young people, teachers and youth leaders to deliver democratic education resources and training which support young people to participate in democracy.

The Electoral Commission is committed to supporting the Department for Education and schools to enhance the citizenship curriculum. The Electoral Commission and the many organisations working in this field can provide meaningful opportunities for young people to learn about democracy, voting and elections.  

Alongside the sector, the Electoral Commission will support the effective implementation of votes at 16, and train teachers and share resources to help schools prepare young people to cast their first vote confidently. The data shows that voting is habit forming. The democratic education sector makes the following recommendations as part of the Department of Education’s curriculum and assessment review. 

1.1 Provide opportunities for democratic education for all in Key Stages 1 and 2

1.2 Support schools and colleges to deliver high quality citizenship education to all in Key Stages 3 and 4  

1.3 Support educational settings to deliver citizenship as a discrete programme of study in the curriculum  

1.4 Provide opportunities for all learners in 16-19 settings to access citizenship and democratic education

2.1 Provide opportunities for educators, particularly in 16-19 settings, to participate in more teacher training in democratic education and access training opportunities from democratic education partners, including the Electoral Commission  

2.2 Provide educators with access to age appropriate, impartial, accurate and up to date information and resources from the Electoral Commission and others about upcoming elections, to support the delivery of democratic education in all schools and 16-19 settings. These resources should include bespoke content which is, or can be, tailored to support learners with disabilities and SEND (special educational needs and disabilities). 

 3.1 Strengthen content on media literacy and mis- and dis-information, oracy and debating, candidates and how to engage with them, and local government  

3.2 Introduce new content on grassroot, social action and movement building (initiatives driven by local communities to create lasting change), and preparing to vote for the first time  

  • Electoral Commission
  • I Have a Voice CIC
  • Partnership for Young London  
  • SOS-UK  
  • Naked Politics
  • RECLAIM
  • London Borough of Newham Youth Empowerment Service
  • Generation Rent
  • NCS Trust
  • National Literacy Trust
  • Votes for Schools  
  • The Association for Citizenship Teaching
  • The Politics Project
  • Coalition of Latin Americans in the UK  
  • The Democracy Box and The Talking Shop (Omidaze Productions)
  • #iwill Movement
  • UK Youth
  • Volunteering Matters
  • Elect Her
  • mySociety
  • National Union of Students
  • Public Interest News Foundation
  • Operation Black Vote
  • Shout Out UK
  • Partnership for Young London
  • People’s History Museum
  • Yorkshire and Humberside Youth Work Unit
  • Association of Colleges
  • Purpose Union
  • Young Citizens
  • Citizens UK
  • Youth Focus North West 

  • Kaat Smets, Reader in Politics (Quantitative Methods), Royal Holloway, University of London  
  • Lee Jerome, Professor of Citizenship & Children’s Rights Education, Department of Education, Middlesex University
  • James Sloam, Professor of Politics, Royal Holloway, University of London
  • Jan Eichhorn, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy, University of Edinburgh
  • Bryony Hoskins, Professor of Comparative Social Science, University of RoeHampton
  • James Weinberg, Senior Lecturer in Political Science, University of Sheffield  

  • Boys and Girls Club Cymru
  • Politics in Action

Section 2 - General views on curriculum, assessment, and qualifications pathways

10. What aspects of the current a) curriculum, b) assessment system and c) qualification pathways are working well to support and recognise educational progress for children and young people?

What works well

By democratic education, we mean “all those curricular and non-curricular modes of education or political learning activities that are geared towards improving young people’s political literacy” (Weinberg, 2021). Political literacy is “the intended learning outcomes of democratic and citizenship education - extending to and including democratic knowledge…, democratic skills…, and democratic values” (Weinberg, 2021). By citizenship education, we refer to a subject introduced in 2002, encompassing a range of topics including democratic education, voluntary at Key Stages 1 and 2 and statutory at Key Stages 3 and 4 in the English national curriculum.

Evidence shows that effective democratic education can increase a young person’s likelihood of voting - initially and over time (Quintelier and Hooghe, 2013). It can also pave the way for a range of other civic and political outcomes, including increasing the likelihood of young people helping in their local community, change making, (for example through petitions or social action), and increasing their sense of self-efficacy to deliver political change (Knowles et al, 2018). Democratic education helps young people take their first step onto the ladder of political participation – and once that happens, we know people are more likely to vote and participate thereafter. Voting is habit forming.

Combining the democratic education sector’s experience in classrooms, non-traditional youth centres and a collective wider evidence base, it is their view that democratic education works well to prepare young people for their first opportunity to vote when: 

It is delivered by trained teachers as a discrete regular lesson

The final Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study (CELS) report in 2010 (Kerr et al), which studied more than 40,000 students in England found that young people were more likely to vote and to report a range of other positive civic, political and self-efficacy outcomes if they attended schools where citizenship education was: 

  • Delivered as a discrete slot in the timetable of over 45 minutes per week
  • Developed and delivered by teachers responsible for delivering citizenship  
  • Offered at GCSE

It is delivered in a deliberative and discursive format 

Openly and actively discussing political issues in class - also known as an ‘open classroom climate’ - has consistently been found to improve young people’s likelihood of voting and other positive civic outcomes (Torney-Purta, 2002; Torney-Purta & Lopez, 2006; Eichhorn et al, 2014; Dassonneville et al., 2012; Eichhorn, 2018; Eichhorn and Hubner, 2023; ACT and Middlesex University, unpublished).

This style of teaching has been found to disproportionately improve outcomes amongst young people from ethnic minority and lower socio-economic backgrounds, so it can be used to overcome political participation gaps between different groups of young people (Weinberg, 2022). Feedback from young people supported by RECLAIM, a charity aimed at supporting working class young people, shared that good political education should include facilitated discussions, reflections on core questions and play based learning.  

It is supported by a wider culture of democracy 

Students learn best when it is embedded in both how their school or college operates, and they are offered opportunities to engage in democracy through extra-curricular activities (ICCS, 2016). Some examples of this in practice include: 

  • Participatory learning gives young people the chance to practise their democratic skills for example by voting for school councils.  

Research shows that experiencing democracy in their school environment prepares young people to become active citizens confident to engage with the political process (Eichhorn and Hubner, 2023). However, this good practice is still not commonplace. Weinberg’s 2022 study found that 32% of students had never been given the chance to participate in decision-making about how their school is run. 

Research shows schools typically only involve a small percentage of more advantaged students in school councils, perpetuating rather than challenging democratic inequality (Kempner, 2023).

Smart School Councils is a charity helping schools to support a wider range of students to experience democracy. It uses an inclusive approach to involve every young person in active democracy, giving them the ability to speak up through weekly democratic, pupil-led discussions.  

Used in 600 schools, evidence shows that pupils who participate improve their speaking and listening skills. 

VotesforSchools exists to bring meaningful political education to the whole school community and is designed to be easy for all teaching staff to implement. It wants children to be informed, be curious and be heard.

Each week, it creates age differentiated resources for teachers to facilitate a discussion and debate with their classes. Vote topics range from mental health to climate change, AI to vaping, fake news to food accessibility. VotesforSchools gives teachers the confidence to approach these topics in a balanced informed way.  

At the end of the debate the children and young people get an opportunity to vote and leave comments on their unique voting platform. With about 60,000 votes each week, this creates some powerful data. VotesforSchools is committed to ensuring children’s voices are being heard and having real impact. It works with a huge range of third and public sector bodies to ensure that the voice of children influences practice and policy.  

Most importantly, VotesforSchools feeds back to the class to let them know how their voice is being used. This is crucial for engagement.

Week in, week out, children aged 5-18 are discussing, debating and voting on key political issues of the day. They are building the skills and habit of democratic participation and learning that their voice matters. 

Experiential learning introduces young people to democracy by enabling them to volunteer or participate in social action or active citizenship projects.  

Neundorf, Niemi and Smets (2016) found that this can have a positive impact on initial levels of young people’s political engagement at age 18, and that the frequency of such group work has a positive and significant effect on the development of engagement as participants age.

London Young Ambassadors (LYA), a Volunteering Matters programme funded by the Greater London Authority, empowered young people across London to lead social action projects. Since 2020, LYA has engaged over 850 young people and 150 teachers from 78 schools, exceeding its targets and making an impact across all London boroughs. Through LYA, students from SEND and Alternative Provision schools designed and implemented projects reflecting their passions, supported by Volunteering Matters staff, volunteers, and small grants. In the 2023-24 academic year alone, 372 young people from 41 schools received grants for initiatives that addressed social isolation, health and community connection.

Examples of Social Action:

  • Tulip Care School students created care packages for homeless individuals.  
  • Shaftesbury School produced a video to promote mental health through park engagement.  
  • - Anstee Bridge students organised an art exhibition to address knife crime.
  • Impact Highlights:
  • Equitable Access: LYA prioritised accessibility for young people with additional needs, with hyperlocal, adaptive, and trauma-informed projects that fostered community engagement.  
  • Community Building: LYA strengthened community ties by promoting volunteering, collective problem-solving, and skill-building. Schools benefitted from a diversified curriculum and additional resources.
  • Reports from Dartington Service Lab and Alma Economics confirmed LYA’s positive impact on young people’s agency, purpose, and well-being. LYA inspired young people to make a positive impact in their communities, equipping them with skills and confidence for the future. 

Young Citizens, originally the Citizenship Foundation, helped pioneer the citizenship curriculum in the UK. Young Citizens reaches thousands of schools each year with its resources and programmes. This includes the Make a Difference youth-led social action projects delivered by primary school classes with the help of their teacher. It is framed in active citizenship, and citizenship curriculum, to understand how to influence the world and their community. Their 2023 evaluation with the Institute of Community Studies particularly looked at the impact of this project-based real-world approach for Year 6 students and how it impacted them ahead of going to secondary school.

71% of Year 6 teachers felt that taking part in social action gave children more of a voice, and inspired self-belief that they can be part of decision-making processes. Taking part in social action impacted children’s motivation to act: 74% of children who expressed an opinion said that in the future, if they saw something that needed changing in their community, they felt like that was something they should help with. 100% of Year 7 educators also felt that ‘feeling able to be part of decision-making processes’ is important civic learning for year 7 pupils to arrive at secondary with. 

"I think it is important to take part in social action because it makes us feel we have a duty or a purpose" Sara, Year 6.

Political contact is when young people meet with politicians or government officials, either in class or through visits to institutions

Research suggests that political contact between young people and politicians increases satisfaction and improves trust in politics (Weinberg, 2022). However, only between 5% (Hubner and Andrews, forthcoming) and 16% (IPPR, 2023) of schools offer such opportunities.  Many MPs and candidates are vocal that they welcome visiting schools. The Electoral Commission’s experience is that this is engaging and useful for young people, helpful and enjoyable for politicians, and can be done in an appropriate non-partisan way. 

Schools, colleges, universities and youth groups across the UK join the Electoral Commission to celebrate democracy and deliver democratic education during Welcome to Your Vote Week.  Over 400 organisations and 500,000 young people have participated. The Electoral Commission found that 76.5% of participants stated that participation in Welcome to Your Vote Week increased their young people’s knowledge of democracy; 53% stated that their young people’s understanding of the UK political system had increased; 59% stated their young people’s confidence to engage in democracy had improved; 82% stated that the likelihood of their young people registering to vote had increased.

The annual GLA-led London Voter Registration Week, and the wider Greater London Authority (GLA) Civic and Democratic Participation programme were designed by Dr. Elisabeth Pop to be co-designed and co-delivered with under-registered and under-represented communities and to include political and media literacy resources. As the successful delivery partner since 2020, Shout Out UK has co-designed and co-delivered with the GLA and Londoners an array of political and media literacy resources that have been used by the GLA coalition of support, made up of education institutions, civil society organisations, borough councils and funders. All the resources can be found on the GLA Democracy Hub.

Some contributors noted that additional, non-curricular activities are beneficial for young people who may harbour mistrust or apprehension about the education system (for example, care experienced young people or those who experience multiple education settings in one year).  Wraparound support can provide these young people with consistent, high-quality support across their educational career. 

What students and parents tell us 

Support for more democratic education is widespread among young people, their parents and the wider public: 

  • 63% of the public support increased citizenship education in schools (IPPR, 2023).
  • Around three quarters of parents think it is important for children to be taught about politics in school and to learn the basics about voting and democracy (Weinberg 2021; Electoral Commission, Annual Tracker, 2023). 

Young people at a focus group with one of our contributors, Politics in Action, said: 

  • “I think it’s absolutely necessary to educate all young people on politics and their civic responsibilities. If we don’t teach people these skills when they’re young, how can we ever expect them to learn?”  
  • “Learning about politics in school will ensure all people have a solid understanding of government and how society is managed. Some adults don’t even understand these things - we need to set everyone on an equal footing if we want them to engage. People who don’t understand the system won’t engage with it.” 

Conclusion

In summary, democratic education in the curriculum works well at preparing young people for their first vote, and for ongoing active citizenship later in life, where it is: 

  • Delivered by trained teachers in discrete lessons
  • Delivered in a discursive, deliberative format
  • Supported by a wider culture of democracy such as participatory and experiential learning, political contact, and annual projects or pushes to engage with democracy 

What aspects of the current a) curriculum, b) assessment system and c) qualification pathways should be targeted for improvements to better support and recognise educational progress for children and young people?

Young people are leaving education unprepared to participate in democracy and cast their first vote.  

The Electoral Commission found young people were:

  • Less likely to be registered to vote than any other age group.  60% of young people were registered, compared to 96% of 65+ in 2022 vote (Electoral Commission, research looking at the accuracy and completeness of electoral registers, 2022).
  • Less aware of the voter ID requirement. 71% of young people were aware of the requirement, compared to 91% for those aged 45 and over (Electoral Commission, post poll public opinion research, July 2024).

There are stark variations among the population’s preparedness to vote, depending upon their socio-economic status and ethnicity:

  • 76% of people of all ages from ethnic minority backgrounds were aware of the voter ID requirement, compared to 90% of white people (Electoral Commission, post poll public opinion research, July 2024).
  • 86% of those in social grades C2DE were aware of the voter ID requirement, compared to 88% of those in ABC1 (Electoral Commission, post poll public opinion research, July 2024).

Widening the franchise presents a unique opportunity to enhance the curriculum ensuring that all young people, regardless of background, have the knowledge, skills and confidence to cast their first vote.

The democratic education sector has identified the following barriers to delivering good democratic education and recommended improvements.

Primary education

Citizenship education, the main forum in which democratic education is delivered in schools, is an optional part of the curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2 in England. Due to the age of students, there is very limited research that we are aware of into the prevalence and/or quality of citizenship education delivered at this level.  

The sector is acutely aware of the positive impact of introducing key learning objectives early in education.  For example, careers education in primary schools can play a crucial role in helping pupils to raise aspirations, broaden horizons, challenge stereotypes and develop the skills and sense of self to help reach their full potential (Careers and Enterprise Company, 2024).  Therefore, providing more opportunities for primary aged students to learn about democracy and voting will enhance their democratic education.

In its submission for the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the Association of Colleges recommends that citizenship education, and therefore, democratic education as part of that, should be made statutory at Key Stages 1 and 2. Evidence shows us that the earlier a young person starts democratic education, the more positive the civic and political participation outcomes they experience (Keating and Janmaat, 2016). The democratic education sector’s experience also has found that primary schools are well set up for learning about democracy, for example through political contact, and could play a key role in improving young people’s democratic capabilities.

  • Recommendation 1.1 Provide opportunities for democratic education for all in Key Stages 1 and 2.

Secondary education

Numerous studies since 2002 have found that some schools are not delivering citizenship education (CELS, 2010; Ofsted, 2013; Weinberg, 2020) and as a result, some students will not be receiving any democratic education.  Maintained schools serving more affluent student populations were more likely to offer democratic education than those with higher levels of deprivation (Weinberg, 2021).

This data is further supported by qualitative feedback from the Electoral Commission's Youth Voice Network. The Electoral Commission partners with four youth voice groups, totalling 60-70 11-18 year olds across the UK. These young people share their experience, ideas and feedback to support the Electoral Commission to ensure its education work is meaningful and impactful. Participants consistently emphasised that they wanted more democratic education to support them to develop the knowledge and confidence to vote. One young person shared that “there is a lack of information in the education system, people aren't taught about the political system in schools, young people don't know how to vote or register to vote.” Additionally, during focus groups led by Politics in Action with a diverse range of young people, the majority of participants reported that they did not experience democratic education as part of the curriculum.  

Weinberg (2021) found just 30% of parents agreed that “their child gets a rich and engaging democratic education in school”.  According to research from the Electoral Commission (Annual Tracker, 2023), more parents are dissatisfied (35%) than satisfied (26%) with the information that their children aged 14-18 receive about politics and democracy.

Citizenship education is delivered through being ‘embedded’ in other parts of the curriculum, instead of being delivered as a separate subject in the national curriculum (Ofsted, 2006; Kerr et al, 2007; Ofsted, 2013). This is supported by Weinberg’s more recent reports (2020 and 2021) which found that less than a third of secondary schools offer weekly lessons in politics or curricular citizenship education. The democratic education sector finds citizenship education is regularly combined with SMSC and PSHE lessons, delivered in form time or occasionally as a drop-down day.  Democratic education has maximum impact when it is delivered as a coherent programme of study, in a discrete lesson which students can recognise. The democratic education sector has proposed issuing guidance and support to schools that enables educators to deliver citizenship education as a separate programme of study.  Ofsted inspections should take these changes into account.

  • Recommendation 1.2 Support schools and colleges to deliver high quality citizenship education to all in Key Stages 3 and 4
  • Recommendation 1.3 Support educational settings to deliver citizenship education as a discrete programme of study in the curriculum 

Educators report that the second biggest barrier to delivering democratic education is teacher expertise (Weinberg, 2021). Conversely, we know democratic education has maximum impact when delivered by specialist teachers who are trained in how to deliver the content most effectively through an ‘open classroom climate’ (Eichhorn, 2018).

In schools

Teachers report feeling unprepared to deliver the content and to handle the political and potentially controversial conversations that effective democratic education entails. In Weinberg’s (2021) survey of more than 3,000 teachers, just 1% felt fully prepared to deliver citizenship education and 79% of teachers felt that their initial teacher training, or CPD, had not prepared them at all (Weinberg, 2021).

One of the most important factors in democratic education is the method in which the subject is taught. An ‘open classroom climate’ in which political issues are actively and openly discussed is most consistently linked to higher voter turnout and other pro-civic outcomes. This is, however, consistently the area where teachers, especially non-specialist staff, feel most vulnerable, potentially due to fears of breaching impartiality (Farrar et al, 2023).  

Therefore the democratic education sector recommends that all teachers receive training and support that focuses on democratic education. This will ensure effective pedagogies are included in initial teacher training and support more bespoke democratic education CPD to maintain teachers’ confidence and competence in delivering effective democratic education.  The Electoral Commission, in partnership with The Association of Citizenship Teaching and The Politics Projects, has developed CPD courses to support teachers to deliver effective democratic education.  We aim to expand our training provision ahead of widening the franchise, by supporting more schools to participate and increase the knowledge and confidence of educators delivering democratic education.

  • Recommendation 2.1 Provide opportunities for educators, particularly in 16-19 settings, to participate in more teacher training in democratic education and access training opportunities from democratic education partners, including the Electoral Commission

Lastly, recognising the need to support educators to deliver more effective democratic education, the Electoral Commission will provide free, impartial, accurate and age-appropriate resources for educators to use across all phases of education.  Welcome to Your Vote Week, the Electoral Commission’s annual awareness raising week provides an opportunity to deliver quality and consistent democratic education across all settings. This will involve working in partnerships with the democratic education sector, including those supporting this submission. 

  • Recommendation 2.2: Provide educators access to age appropriate, impartial, accurate and up–to date information and resources from the Electoral Commission and others about upcoming elections, to support the delivery of democratic education in all schools and 16-19 settings. These resources should include bespoke content which is, or can be, tailored to support learners with disabilities and SEND.