As conversation topics to avoid go, politics is right up there, especially in schools, where staff are explicitly advised by the Department for Education not to express political views.

But ignoring the topic altogether does our students an enormous disservice, says maths teacher Nathan Burns, and leaves them unprepared for a fundamental part of life. He explains how he explores politics in a balanced way with his classes.

What made you decide to explore political literacy with students?

We’re always drumming into our students the importance of English and maths, of a modern foreign language for job opportunities, or history and geography to build the critical thinking skills required for future study and careers. These arguments are all true, but politics is unavoidable for everyone, regardless of career. And when students leave education, every one of them will be eligible to vote.

But are they really prepared for this? Most students I speak to aren’t aware of who our most senior politicians are, let alone how and why we vote. I want my students to understand that politics isn’t that once a year or so trip to the ballot box but rather a continual engagement with the society around you. Politics is an unavoidable part of life and so we must prepare our students for that.

How do you begin to engage students who may feel that politics isn’t of interest?

Whenever I teach students about politics, we play the game “I can prove it’s political”, to which students suggest inane things that politics doesn’t impact and I then explain to them how it does. Students continue to come back to me weeks later claiming that they have found something non-political, but they still haven’t.

How do you fit teaching about politics into the timetable?

In both schools I have worked in, I have taken drop-down days and co-curricular sessions (or whatever you wish to call them) as opportunities to provide students with a political education. We’re always looking to provide a broad education to our students, and the offer of these political literacy sessions has always been gratefully accepted by senior leadership.

What do your political education sessions look like?

I typically begin with a very open session; a starter task of “who is the politician?” or something similar. Building from this, we move on to discussions about current political matters: the impacts of Brexit, the US election or other topical subjects.

Then I like to dive into the mechanism of British politics. Who are the political leaders, their parties and logos? How does voting work, who gets elected, what are MPs and who forms a government?

You’d be surprised to find just how engaged students are with this.

From there, students begin to apply these principles themselves. I typically split classes into smaller groups, each forming their own “political party”.

Students then decide upon a leader, a cabinet (depending on group size), a party name and a logo. I never allow students to focus on school or local issues but rather imagine that they are aiming to win a general election and must appeal to the majority of the electorate.

This forces them to consider “grown-up” issues - taxes, immigration, NHS funding and so on - again, areas in which you’d be surprised by their knowledge and interest.

These political parties then write their own manifestos (scaffolded through providing students with knowledge of different departments) from agriculture to sport and culture through to justice.

After several lessons of manifesto planning (and internal party squabbles, of course), students then debate these policies, as if they were in the House of Commons (though much better behaved). A clip of John Bercow shouting “orderrr!” doesn’t go amiss here, either. Finally, students then set aside their political allegiances and vote for the party that they believe in.

How do you avoid bias when teaching these sessions?

I know this is the scariest element for a lot of teachers and, of course, we cannot sway student opinion or provide them with evidence supporting one chosen viewpoint. But is that really so difficult?

I must confess, here, that I studied politics at university and worked within politics throughout my studies. I was deeply involved but I am able to put my personal feelings aside to better inform my students - and I’m sure others can, too.

At the end of the day, increased turnout and engagement, and reduced political apathy, are things we would all want - even at the expense of “our” party winning - so why wouldn’t we want students to have a clear set of facts upon which to form their own opinions?

What benefits have you seen in your students?

Not only have they learned a lot but they have also enjoyed the sessions and been intrigued to know more.

The skills that they develop - critical thinking, team working, debating, clear communication and many more - are the ones we’re always trying to desperately develop in them.

Have you had any pushback?

Fortunately, I have never had any pushback from members of staff, students or parents. In fact, the only feedback I’ve had is from students upset that they aren’t getting more of my political sessions, so I must be doing something right.

What advice would you offer to colleagues wanting to do something similar?

Students are probably greater novices in politics than any other subject, so you don’t need to be some sort of obsessive political anorak in order to deliver sessions like these.

Ensure that there are clear scaffolds to each session and that ground rules are laid out for students at the start, so that students know what is expected of them in each session.

Furthermore, if you’re concerned about bias, consider sitting down with other members of staff and running through your sources with them.

At the end of the day, these sessions are just about presenting the facts of how the political system works in the UK in order to allow our students to become politically aware citizens.

Do you think politics should be compulsory in the curriculum?

I do. The newly formed All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Political Literacy recently held its first meeting, arguing for increased and improved political education in order to ensure that future generations are politically literate.

It may sound like just another thing that schools have to do - yet another government initiative that really isn’t our responsibility or something that we don’t have time to do properly - but I disagree.

If the APPG on Political Literacy is serious about this working, a simple, well-resourced scheme of learning, and good continuing professional development opportunities for staff who desire it, are crucial.

Nathan Burns is a maths teacher and pastoral leader in North Derbyshire

This article originally appeared in the 9 April 2021 issue under the headline “How I...Teach political literacy in a balanced way”