they gathered to discuss school curriculum. this is about 30 minutes. >> please take your seats. well, i hope you're refreshed, revitalized and reinvigorated for this afternoon's debates and if they're as good as those this morning i think that everybody listening is in for a treat. colleagues, we shall now consider the fourth motion of the day, a curriculum to prepare us for life as printed on the order paper, to move the motion from the southeast of england i call hamzeh ahmed. [ applause ] >> thank you, mr. speaker. when almost 132,000 make your mark respondents chose it to be their top issue, when 92% of students believe that p sat should be a mandatory subject taught in schools it is our responsibility as elected representatives of young people to listen. sure, we have chosen a curriculum for life as our campaigns in the past. sure there are other groups campaigning for quality psat, sre and financial education. but this does not mean that we should abandon the campaign and all we have achieved because we have made some ground. on the contrary, mr. speaker, we must persevere. unemployment in the uk is drastically falling but the same cannot be said for youth unemployment. with us as young people being three times as likely to be unemployed than our seasoned counterparts. this shouldn't be an issue though. young people don't need to work. we just need to spend prolonged hours in an education system which is there to equip us with the skills required to tackle the greater world. right? sadly, mr. speaker, the truth cannot be further from what i just said. make no mistake, it's wonderful learning the value of x but why do we not teach young people how to prepare a cv or finding a job which would assist them in progressing in the job of their choice. why do schools cover topics such as reproduction and puberty but leave out vital issues such as the importance of consent or the influence of pornography in our society. why do we expect young people to be politically engaged when we learn more about politics from watching "game of thrones" than we do from learning our classrooms. these skills are paramount. in the transition to adulthood. the campaign itself should not be difficult. i'm not saying we need to reinvent the wheel, the infrastructure is there in place for us. it's an issue that has cross party support. engage with our mps and tell them that this is what young people want. write to nick and morgan saying it would not only benefit us but society as a whole. tell our party leaders there needs to be a youth-led overhaul of the education system because our collective voices carry more weight than is necessary for this campaign to be successful. i agree racism poses a huge threat to the fabric of our society. i agree that the stigma attached to mental health is degrading but these are not issues of that one year of campaigning would solve. we must start from the ground up, we must have a curriculum for life. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> to oppose the motion i call from london and ask you with equal enthusiasm to welcome bridgette okiopi. >> thank you, mr. speaker. a curriculum for life. think. think of how you envisioned its success. well, two years ago our uk youth parliament campaign was the curriculum for life. the youth select committee made a 37-page report on what the campaign involved. fact: i've stood on support and have deemed it appropriate to keep bettering psat education. fact, we live in a society where citizenship is compulsory. fact, we young people have made a change. fact, so what now? where do we go from here. we have pushed our voices from mps to head teachers, schools to the streets, other organizations like that psat association use our reports to form -- to find out what we as young people want in this education. it is so deep but it is one of us. a young person from uk youth parliament to be involved and represent us. we did this. so what more can we do? we can't lobby our mps again. they've heard it all before. another year where young people don't witness change. we need to show them our diversity and representation of all. we as the people need to see stats before assumptions. the amount of young people unemployed down by 35% in two years. teenage pregnancy at a record low. yes, we have the support of nickie morgan who is as passionate about this as we are but we as the people once again need to see to make statutory doesn't guarantee practical success. what else? get head teachers to sign for psat again? all well and good but how do we judge that. make students do an end-of-year exam? rate teachers on their work or even get stats from each syllabus. wait, sounds familiar? that's because it's already done and we get information. can't you see what i'm trying to say? they heard us. we don't need this as a campaign because we were successful the first time. psat, sre and citizenship are past the points of national tackling. this is a local situation. we have fought through this campaign and we gotten a outcome. why repeat the exact same thing when the stats show you that success of this campaign has gotten lower we are the voices of change, we are the voices of power. we were successful in one area so let's preview in the the next. now, a new campaign, that can only mean one thing. so let's see. focus on the new rather than the improved because whether you learn how to pay your bills or to vote you'll still do things your way even with the help. because only from experience, life and lessons can go hand in hand. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you, bridgette. do we have a would be contributor from northern ireland? the gentleman gesticulating, the nearer of the two. please, sir, let me hear in you. >> jack logue, northern ireland. >> i think we should support the motion of a curriculum for life, a curriculum for life will take into consideration the first two motions. a curriculum for life will help us, make us aware of the effects of racism as well as the effects of stigma and association with mental health. [ applause ] >> wonderfully succinct. what about scotland? is there an intending contributor? i think you've been seeking to catch my eye. let's hear from you. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. my name is lucy duffy. i live in edinburgh and i think we need to know in order to progress in our later lives and to fulfill our ambitions as much as we can. within the scottish youth parliament we have 27 policies. 27. that must mean something. it must mean we want a change. the survey i did recently with some 14-year-olds, i found out 18% of time hadn't been taught about things such as genital mutilation or how to do with rape which are really, really important issues. in many places, the curriculum hadn't been updated for 15 years. that means it hasn't been updated since 2000 and it doesn't include modern aspects of the curriculum that it should. as well as the political education. i think we need this because i have just turned 16 so i am eligible to vote in scotland yet i have no idea how to go out and register to vote. sorry, i don't know how to register for a vote and i don't know how the system works so i think we really need this education. thank you. [ applause ] >> i probably should have said at the start -- and don't take this personally, it's not intended to be directed to any one person -- if you have already spoken obviously don't try to contribute again because there are a lot of people who haven't spoken at all. let's hear somebody from wales. who have we got from wales wanting to speak? the young woman in the red dress second in. thank you. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm sophie jones. some of us are going to talk about what skills we're not taught, like how the manage politics and money. i want to focus on one area that's already in pse. the youth select committee last year looked at curriculum for life in 2013. in the report, janet palmer spoke about her report not yet good enough and gave evidence in the oral evidence session and said young people talk about puberty and safe sex but there's less emphasizing sexual consent and the influence of pornography. why is this the case? we need our education to cover relevant topics. for example, revenge porn was brought into legislation in february this year yet young people don't know what this is and how this can be a criminal offense. something like doing this in the spur of the moment could affect the rest of their lives. our education needs to be relevant and kept up to date so young people are prepared for today's society and as malala said to her speech in the u.n., pen and paper are the greatest weapon. [ applause ] >> thank you. what about a voice from the west midlands? the gentleman holding two hands up demonstrating an ambition that is very worthy. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm jamie gray. before you go into the stats and the statistics, ask yourself, do you feel ready? do you feel ready to go out into that world, to face its problems, its highs, its lows? do you feel that our education right now is prepareing us for that? i don't. and i know a lot of people don't. this is our chance to give them the chance that in the past no one had. to understand how it worked, how to vote, sex and relationships and having this will also have an impact on these other issues. that's why i feel strongly for this. as the member of the front bench very elaborately put, education is a driving force for these issues. that's why i feel strongly against it. sorry -- [ laughter ] there's no coming back from that one, is there? [ laughter ] that's why i'm strongly for this and why i urge other members to support this. [ cheers and applause ] >> as you just proved, your found your own salvation, a key technique in politics. northwest, what about the northwest. yes, the young woman with the black and white dress, indeed. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm ebony crocker from balsom. how many of us have come into our education and are clueless about the adult world. clueless about finances, mortgages, clueless about other areas other than your local one, where you want to go to university. so it's pivotal that during high school we need to be taught life skills, we need to be taught about diversity in politics and about things that will affect us in our adult lives. we need to be taught about healthy relationships and relations. but it's all great knowing about the pythagoras theorem, but we need some help with other parts of our education. >> what about somebody from the east midlands? who have we got seeking to contribute? the gentleman here with the spiky hair. [ laughter ] >> thank you. thank you for the compliment. [ laughter ] in the school we learn about obvious things yet i'm sure we love doing algebra and maths and i'm sure we love learning about english, however, the schools are missing these important things. yes we learned the rights and wrongs in sexual education and yes we know the basic of politics like who is the prime minister. we need to do more, much more in-depth, much more in-depth. i'm sure we love trigonometry but let's learn about something that's beneficial to young people such as preparing for interviews and financial advice. let's be honest. do we know what is out there? the rights and the wrongs in the big world? this is a curriculum in life and i really think you should vote for this. thank you. [ applause ] >> what about somebody from london. there's a chap at the back who might be worried might expire if not called. he's holding a little red book and i think his time has arrived? >> thank you mr. speaker. i'm an myp for brent. mr. speaker, after 12 years of education, i've been taught to calculate the area of a circle but i've not been taught to calculate the money i have to live on. i've been taught how many organs are in my body but i've not been taught how to feed or maintain them. mr. speaker, i've been taught the importance of education and living a balanced life-style but when i leave for university i will not have the skills to live independently. youth are often portrayed as a negative light in this society. the 2011 riots, high levels of crime and teenage pregnancy make us look in a bad light. maybe this is because we haven't been taught to live on our own. in the education system we have now, we're asked to make life-changing decisions while we still have to put our hand up and ask permission to use the toilet. before we can help everyone else, we need to learn to help ourselves and that's why i believe we should support the curriculum for life. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> just before we proceed can i mention as i've been doing throughout the day another colleague who's joined us and i'm most grateful. julian smith, the honorable conservative member of parliament for skipton and ripon who is accompanied by mini smith. thank you very much for lending your support. okay, let's hear somebody from yorkshire and humberside. the young woman gesticulating furiously at me with the dark hair. and the gray jacket. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm celine mctomb from northeast lincolnshire. a curriculum to prepare us for life, what does that include? drug, financial, political, citizenship, sex and relationship education and the -- and community cohesion all collectively the framework of our development. however this has taken a backseat in parliament as of september, 2013. when ps 8 was made a nonstatutory subject. as a favor to our young people, the parents of tomorrow who will be able to pass on their imagine the, myps, let's bring back the curriculum for life to help empower or young people and encourage them to speak and have the confidence to be able to turn their words into action, to become leaders and that's why i urge you to pass this motion. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> i'm about to call a speaker from the southeast of england but before i do so let me take this opportunity to welcome to minister for civil society rob wilson from whom we'll be hearing in due course. rob, thank you for joining us. we look forward to hearing from you ere long. somebody from the southeast. who is it to be? ah, now, this is a most dexterous device, somebody who has got a book entitled "how to be a successful politician." she's in danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy and i call her. i want to hear what she has to say. please. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm amber saunders. my first point is somewhat against the curriculum for life but my second which is bigger is for it. firstly, there's a stigma around pshe. we have learning for life days. i think i had my third on monday. it's only november and already we're having this. and we feel there's so much else we could be doing. but a point for. if we start making these lessons more beneficial and we make citizenship compulsory and give ourselves a qualification for doing pshe, we don't get anything for it, we just turn up. remember being given a coloring sheet to learn about hinduism which really helped me out. we feel it's a waste of our time when we have so much else we could be doing. but my point four, if we start making these lessons more beneficial, and we also make citizenship compulsory, and at the moment we don't get anything for it, we just turn up. so it's clearly not good enough. even if it's compulsory, what do we get for it. it if young people are still voting for it, still clearly it's not good enough. thank you. >> what about the southwest of england? the fellow waving a red handkerchief. he's obviously refereeing a motor race of some sort. we're grateful to him. >> i will pop it back in my pocket, mr. speaker. thank you again for the opportunity to speak, mr. speaker. my name is jack. ladies and gentlemen, more than one million 18-year-olds in the uk are signed up to facebook. which compares with only 520,000 18-year-olds on the electoral roll. this is a shocking statistic. and this is a further emphasis of why we need political education this our systems. politics should be a compulsory and should teach young people the value of political engagement. if time were now and this were done, not only would our young people be aiding the principles of democracy, but it would also allow them to make strong well informed decisions in their future. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you very much indeed. what about the east of england, who have we got trying to contribute from the east of england. the young woman with the pink top. thank you. >> i represent mid norfolk in the east of england. this campaign or -- well, yeah. it was in the top three in norfolk, so we know that this shows that this satisfaction within the education system, so we know that it needs to be changed. it covers all the other major topics, so it's completely relevant to young people. we also need the finance goals because who knows, they might go to university, but they don't know how to pay for university fees. they don't know how to manage and this really needs to be solved. if people are taught about mental health, as well, ten maybe there wouldn't be a stigma around mental health anymore. i have been taught about these issues, but many people haven't. and we really need to. if we are being asked to do things like pay tax when we are older, we should know what it is going towards. if i go to uni in the future, maybe i don't know about the finance. and there are other things i don't know. and that isn't going to be helpful to us. so these skills can be lifesavers, especially learning first aid. if we don't know first aid, then we don't know how to stop someone choking, someone having a heart the attack. and that means we can't save lives. thank you. >> thank you. it's the northeast's turn. who is trying from the northeast? yes. please. >> i'm danny from the northeast and you learn some interesting stuff. t gives you that foundation. you got to think as well who is going to teach it. so it could be a math teacher, history teacher, teachers, i have been in a class, i'm now an expert in it. i'm an expert in it. you have to think about, we passed it, who is going to teach it. you can't just go to one level and then say hang on, we forgot to do the big step here. that's what we need to be considering. [applause] mr. speaker: thank you. now i want to hear from somebody from london. you have been trying for a long, long time. i'll do my best to get more in, please. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i think that the curriculum of life is essential. we go into the world not knowing the right skills we they'd to survive. i'm going uni, but do i know how i am going to pay my fees, make a personal statement. these are essential especially for people who want to go to further education that we lack. the political skills, some people don't know who the prime minister is. it's shocking that people of 18 don't know. it's important to have this education to empower young people so we don't go into the world not knowing enough. we can make decisions on our own and independently without having to rely on the internet for instance. not everyone has access to that. it's important that we pass this motion. also incorporates all of the things that we represent as youth. we could talk about religious discrimination, racial discrimination, we can bring it in. that's something i feel passionate about. we can talk about mental health and that is taught as well. this covers a broad spectrum of issues and i think we should thank you.otion, [applause] mr. speaker: thank you, i would like to hear the voice of school land, a scottish person. >> thank you, mr. speaker. thank you for the support of the youth parliament and for us being in this chamber here today. [applause] i'm personally going to begin on personal experience that i had a couple of months back i took a first aid course. it struck me how important but yet quite simple of a skill that i learned that needs to be introduced to save lives. shouldn't school as much as provide the qualifications we need to get to university and further education also provide the skills we need for life. too long have i sat in classes coming into the classroom and walking out and not learning anything new. need to create a better ucated generation and away from academic issues. it might have been mentioned before, there are 27 policies issue and they might be opposed to this motion spoke about how we have had it before and how it's been successful. look at the debate right now. is it really successful? i think that examples should be taken away to scotland and spread across the u.k. we understand importance and we need to get the message across to the u.k. thank you. [applause] mr. speaker: thank you. what about wales, do we have a would-be contributor from wales? this chap here, please, thank you, sir, your time has arrived. >> i'm from north wales. i'm a student who decided to take the international baccalaureate. the curriculum would not provide it. i want to make a point that this is a campaign is fantasticcally achievable. last year professor donaldson conducted a review on the curriculum in wales. and influencing that presentation last year, he came out with his results and the government said they would have a massive, massive overall of the curriculum at large. this is a completely necessary campaign and one in which we can easily achieve, thank you, mr. speaker. [applause] mr. speaker: i'm so sorry, had is always the most disspiriting part. every debate has to be concluded. this one has to be concluded. there is an opportunity for others to do so. jess maclin, army welfare services, germany, will wind up the debate. i know you'll give her an enthusiastic welcome. jess maclin. [applause] jess: thank you, mr. speaker. as young people eventually we have to grow up and get older. with that comes responsibility. confronted with daily life, most of us think we have the common sense to get by. are we prepared for the life ahead of us? we would put pressure on the government to give this status. there is an uninterested teacher putting on an old video about the importance of conception for more a more important class than to benefit your future in any way. no, it's not. but insuring they also understand that good quality will only be achieved if teachers are trained and that locally you can see which schools have trained teachers time in ating adequate their curriculum to have an impact on our futures. i went over my bank account. my mom went with me. it was embarrassing. i felt childish. we shouldn't have to feel this way like we're too naive or immature to make our way in life. it could have been something i had been done myself, but in reality i didn't know the type of account. i was grateful i did have my mum there. going to teach us the difference between an i.s.a. and a.p.r. if change is constant, if this campaign is successful, the relevance in the environment we're growing up in. young people cannot rely on songs by hip-hop artists about the importance of bills they have to pay. our knowledge should be gained during our school years. would a curriculum for life have the power to provide young people the resilience they need to thrive in our changing world. our voice is already heard through other organizations solely dedicated to campaigning for curriculum for life. we have campaigned under to this before and made progress in this area. does it ranking second highest suggests there is more yet to be done for this campaign raising the question, are the campaign actions enough to achieve real change and can we justify another year by campaigning for curriculum for life or is it time we turn our focus on conquering a new issue. thank you.

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