What are my legal rights and responsibilities? Lesson 4 of 6
Key stage 4 • Law and the justice system • Model curriculum
What are my legal rights and responsibilities?
This lesson is part 4 of a sequence of 6 lessons addressing the key enquiry: Does our legal system protect citizens’ rights?
This lesson introduces students to key aspects of the justice system, focusing on police powers, individual rights, and the youth court process. Through a combination of discussion, video resources, and interactive activities, students gain an understanding of stop-and-search procedures, police interviews, and the differences between youth and adult courts. The lesson emphasises critical thinking, encouraging students to connect these topics to broader principles of rights, justice, and the law, with reference to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Activities include creating a comic strip about stop-and-search procedures, analysing the roles of key figures in police interviews, and labelling a youth court diagram. Discussions focus on why youth courts differ from adult courts, exploring how they account for age and understanding to protect children’s rights. The lesson concludes with a reflective task where students articulate a defense for the youth court system, emphasising its alignment with principles of fairness and child protection. Throughout, sensitivity to students’ experiences and adherence to school policies on controversial issues are highlighted.
Students will work towards answering the following learning questions:
- What happens if you are stopped and searched by the Police?
- What happens if you are interviewed by the Police?
- What is a Youth Court?
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