How does Parliament make laws?
Activities • Give the children some background information about Parliament, drawing comparisons with decision-making in the class or school. This could cover the following points: • every area in the country sends a representative to Parliament (a Member of Parliament or MP) • MPs belong to a political party • before an election, each political party publishes what they stand for in a manifesto • an election is held about every five years for the people to vote for the party they want in government • the leader of the party that wins an election becomes the Prime Minister • changing the law is an important part of the work of Parliament • changes are debated and discussed in Parliament before being agreed, as they are in class or school councils • Using scenarios or stories, explore a law that affects children, eg legal ages at which children can open a National Savings account (7), own a pet (12), vote in an election (18). Through class discussion, explore why the law is needed. What
