Citizenship, democracy & politics are issues that can engage young people if they're taught well, says Simon Hughes MP.

This is a timely reminder of how important Citizenship teachers are. Watch now

Michael Gove MP said today during the Education Select Committee interview that teachers will benefit from aligning themselves with professional associations.

"They produce material on the curriculum and professional development, they have educational journals...they [all phases of educators] should be part of one fused profession." Said Gove.

The theme for 2012 asks us all to Speak Up, Speak Out to create a safer, better future.

The theme asks us to think about the rights, responsibility and duty we all have to speak up when we see or hear something which we believe to be wrong. It challenges us to learn about what happens when we don’t speak out and what can happen when we do use our voice.

HMD 2012 looks at how we make a choice when to speak up and considers the dangers in both choosing to speak out and not speaking up and asks us all to speak up against injustice and hatred today.

At a time of change in education, your voice is critical to shape how schools can support students to engage with and meet the challenges of the 21st century world. Click here to have your say in the Oxfam Schools Engagement research project.

Citizenship Foundation’s Chance to be Chancellor competition gives 14-18 year olds a chance to create and defend their own budget for the nation!

Young people take the challenge of stepping into the shoes of the Chancellor by making decisions on spending and taxation. Their decisions will form the Youth Budget 2012.

For a chance to win, entrants must make a case for their decisions. They could win an iPad, visit the Treasury and make the news!

The deadline for entries to the competition is 20th February 2012

There is an opportunity to as michael Gove a question via Twitter. On 31 January the Education Committee holds an oral evidence session with Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove. MPs on the Committee want to ensure that their questions reflect the most pressing concerns in the world of education and want to hear what questions you would put to the Minister.

Submit your question via Twitter, by adding the hashtag #AskGove to your tweet, by 11am on Friday 27 January. Twitter consists of messages not longer than 140 characters.

Alternatively you can email a question to the Education Select Committee. You should send the email to the Chair of the committee, Graham Stuart MP. Email Graham Stuart at graham.stuart.mp@parliament.uk or send a letter to Graham Stuart MP, Chair Education Select Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA. ACT will be submitting a question based around the following:

Whilst it is heartening to see that the Government is not seeking to devalue Citizenship education as a subject, the Government omits to confirm that the subject is not predicated on the history of our parliamentary democracy. Citizenship education may include historical references but it is concerned uniquely in the curriculum with ensuring that young people understand and learn about our system of civil and criminal justice and rights, how laws are created and enforced and how parliamentary democracy and other forms of government function; essentially legal and political literacy. It also fosters the development of skills of active participation on civil society. Can the Mr Gove confirm that he accepts the above definition of Citizenship education and that is a reason for maintaining its current status in schools?