Curriculum Briefing: The Political System and Constitution
Key stage 3 (ages 11-14) • Politics, Parliament & Government • Assemblies & fact sheets
The Political System and Constitution
This guidance supports the national curriculum for Citizenship. The topic of the political system and constitution addresses the following requirements in the programmes of study:
- the development of the political system of democratic government in the United Kingdom, including the roles of citizens, Parliament and the monarch (KS3)
- the operation of Parliament, including voting and elections, and the role of political parties (KS3)
- parliamentary democracy and the key elements of the constitution of the United Kingdom, including the power of government, the role of citizens and Parliament in holding those in power to account, and the different roles of the executive, legislature and judiciary and a free press (KS4)
- the different electoral systems used in and beyond the United Kingdom and actions citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions locally, nationally and beyond (KS4)
- local, regional and international governance and the United Kingdom’s relations with the rest of Europe, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the wider world.
