Learning about the judiciary and the rule of law should be an essential part of educating every young person in the UK so that they can become a responsible and responsible citizen. The Great Legal Lesson, which takes place during Justice Week, aims to introduce as many young people as possible to the law. We work with students from elementary school to university and give them access to quality educational opportunities such as literacy and numeracy programs and legal workshops. Legal Experts in Schools works with law firms, law firms and in-house legal teams with a local school to give lawyers the opportunity to volunteer in the classroom. Use your expertise and experience to create new and update existing resources and teaching activities that support the advancement of public legal education. Promoting public legal education in schools in Wales Our Public Legal Education (PLE) programmes are supported by 2,400 legal volunteers who have collectively dedicated over 25,000 hours of their time to our projects. We offer a range of volunteer opportunities, from experiential learning to one-off thematic activities and discussions. The program has already organized a series of legal sessions aimed at raising awareness and understanding the law among young people, developing listening and communication skills, and building aspirations and self-confidence. For young people to become active and engaged citizens, they need to understand the power structures and institutions that make up our society. We believe that professionals working in these industries are uniquely positioned to teach these topics to young people, which is why we created Experts in Schools – our employee volunteer program. Young Citizens works with more than 50 international law firms, FTSE 100 firms and law chambers to provide opportunities to support public legal education in schools – from our established and fully delivered in-school legal expert program to bespoke classroom workshops. We want a democracy where everyone has the knowledge, skills and confidence to participate as effective citizens. The Social Mobility Business Partnership (SMBP) is dedicated to expanding access to the legal and accountancy professions by providing professional knowledge and professional training, as well as ongoing coaching support to students from low-income backgrounds in the UK.
We have been involved with SMBP since its inception and work with our clients in the programme in London, Reading and Glasgow. A member of the CMS team is a director of the charity and we run an SMBP cluster in Reading. As the programme continues to grow, we are also working with a number of organisations to recruit students from each of the SMBP regions: Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester Norwich and Reading. “Citizens has partnered with CMS to deliver impactful educational programmes across the UK. We offer lawyers from different sectors of the business the opportunity to use their professional skills and knowledge to volunteer with youth to help them understand their rights and responsibilities. CMS is a fantastic organization to work with, and its dedicated corporate responsibility team has helped us develop new delivery models that have helped us expand our reach and achieve our business goals. Therri Tait, Partnership Manager, Young Citizens The workshop will take place on March 6 and will focus on “Juvenile Justice,” which outlines some of the simplest aspects of the law as it relates to juveniles and criminal behaviour, and “Law Enforcement,” which addresses law enforcement in practice. The lawyer will meet with government lawyers to discuss general procedures related to the arrest and questioning of youth by police. He will also attend a group session with youth aged 13 to 14 to discuss how youth should be treated by police and courts for a crime in which they have both been involved. The session ends with a look at the types of punishment.
I first participated in a pre-recorded video conversation with other colleagues during which Young Citizens presented us with a number of current scenarios focused on legal debates on issues such as human rights and privacy. The program shows them to schools in advance to give students the opportunity to discuss scenarios and how they interact with the law. The debate was framed by our pre-recorded videos in which we discussed how legal issues are often ambiguous and the difficulties of making general statements such as “killing is wrong”. (What about war? Self-defense?) The work of young citizens ranges from projects where young people learn about the legal justice system to empowering children to engage in the social issues that matter most to them. They also provide teachers and volunteer professionals with specialized training and resources on classroom deployment. Young Citizens (Citizenship Foundation) inspires young people to participate equally in society. The aim of the project is to measurably improve young people`s understanding of the law in Northern Ireland and their ability to use it by: We may be small, but we have a big impact. 80% of UK secondary schools and 50% of primary schools. This dedicated and interactive volunteer program has proven to be beneficial for all participants.
For young people, this programme provides valuable knowledge, helps them develop important employability skills such as communication and critical thinking, and increases their aspirations. Young Citizens helps young people become active, engaged and motivated citizens who are able to make a positive contribution to their communities – whether local, national or global. This project aims to build on the work of the Citizenship Foundation over the past six months to improve the legal capacity of young people in Wales. It responds to needs identified by the Welsh Government and academic institutions within and outside schools within the legal profession. Find up-to-date, proven, high-quality resources that inspire and help youth become legally self-reliant. Currently, there are three strands for experts in schools: law, media and economics. If you are a company operating in one of these sectors, or if you have departmental teams with expertise in these areas, please contact us. The overall aim of this project is to bring about a measurable improvement in the legal skills of young people in Wales.
A feasibility study on the provision of PLE to young people outside the formal education sector, including youth groups, Roma and student placements, will also be carried out. Experts in Schools works with companies with a local school to give professionals the opportunity to work with small groups of young people. The sessions stimulate discussion and debate on some of the most current and relevant topics of the day – from fake news to social media laws to the impact of a changing economic climate. Legal workshops are a perfect volunteer opportunity for busy lawyers. Work with local schoolchildren, yours. We help them understand law, politics and democratic life. We encourage participation, we help teachers teach citizenship, and we work with young people on issues that affect them. “The best thing about Experts in Schools is that we believe we are making a difference, and it is a program that meets a real need of young people.” We bring the right to life for students through the educational organization Young Citizens Experts in schools and legal workshops. Through experts in schools, our lawyers teach students about their legal rights and duties in six sessions, focusing on a range of legal topics.
Legal workshop sessions bring students from our community partner schools to our offices, where our lawyers and students participate in an interactive workshop that delves deeper into a specific area of law. We work with clients in both programmes and they are of real benefit to students by measurably expanding their legal knowledge and improving key employability skills. I volunteered to participate in the Legal Experts program, which is supported by Young Citizens. The program provides us with an opportunity to exchange ideas with local schoolchildren about the legal system and the profession. Legal Experts in Schools has been around for over 20 years, offering students rare access to the legal profession and a unique opportunity to learn about law from those who practice it.