Roundtable with Shadow Minister for Schools
Citizenship Studies students met with the Shadow Minister for Schools, Stephen Morgan MP to ask questions on a number of pressing topical issues.
Citizenship students put their questions to the Shadow Minister for Schools
On 18 January 2023, GCSE Citizenship Studies students and their teachers from schools across England met with the Shadow Minister for Schools, Stephen Morgan MP for a round table discussion facilitated by ACT.
The result was a lively discussion that provided the opportunity for students from Our Lady Queen of Peace (Skelmersdale), Priory School (Portsmouth), Addey & Stanhope School (London), Leeds City Academy (Leeds), Heanor Gate Spencer Academy (Heanor), and Frederick Gough School (Scunthorpe) to ask the Shadow Minister some challenging and thoughtful questions on a range of topics and pressing issues.
The questions and topics ranged from what the age of criminal responsibility should be, to the cost of living crisis, inequality, the fairness of the current voting system and whether parliament is diverse and representative enough of the country as a whole. The students also gave a clear sense of their passion for citizenship education by giving personal expressions of the value they felt from being able to study the subject as a GCSE. The Shadow Minister responded by stating:
‘We absolutely believe that citizenship education is vital for preparing young people for adult life and should be reinvested and expanded upon. We think that Ofsted should draw a clear distinction between citizenship education and PSHE, treating them as equally important, and we want to see new investment to expand teacher training and Continuing Professional Development in citizenship education.’
Stephen Morgan MP
Shadow Minister for Schools
The Portsmouth South MP and Shadow Minister brought the hour long discussion to a close by thanking all the students for their informed and inspiring questions and ended by saying ‘I look forward to seeing all the young people on this call in parliament one day’.
The round table with the Shadow Minister for Schools is our second round table discussion following our first event in March 2022 where we welcomed the then Minister of State for School Standards, Robin Walker.
