The Little Democracy Survey | Young Citizens

Your chance to shape children's democratic education

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on democracy teaching in primary schools.

This multiple-choice survey should only take approximately 7 minutes to complete.

Your responses will help us shape the future of children’s democratic education by directly influencing the tools and resources we develop.

As a thank you, we’ll enter the first 50 respondents into our early bird draw for a £50 Amazon voucher, and every respondent into our main draw for the chance to win a £150 Amazon voucher. (See the competition terms and conditions below).

Thank you for your time and good luck!

Democracy education - what does it look like in your school? (5 questions)

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* 1. In the past year, approximately what proportion of your pupils have done the following:

	None	Very few (under 10%)	Some (10-39%)	Many (40-69%)	Most (70-99%)	All (100%)	Unsure/hard to tell
Voted for any kind of decision (from which story to read in class to who sits on the school council)	Voted for any kind of decision (from which story to read in class to who sits on the school council) None	Voted for any kind of decision (from which story to read in class to who sits on the school council) Very few (under 10%)	Voted for any kind of decision (from which story to read in class to who sits on the school council) Some (10-39%)	Voted for any kind of decision (from which story to read in class to who sits on the school council) Many (40-69%)	Voted for any kind of decision (from which story to read in class to who sits on the school council) Most (70-99%)	Voted for any kind of decision (from which story to read in class to who sits on the school council) All (100%)	Voted for any kind of decision (from which story to read in class to who sits on the school council) Unsure/hard to tell
Participated in a pupil leadership/pupil voice activity	Participated in a pupil leadership/pupil voice activity None	Participated in a pupil leadership/pupil voice activity Very few (under 10%)	Participated in a pupil leadership/pupil voice activity Some (10-39%)	Participated in a pupil leadership/pupil voice activity Many (40-69%)	Participated in a pupil leadership/pupil voice activity Most (70-99%)	Participated in a pupil leadership/pupil voice activity All (100%)	Participated in a pupil leadership/pupil voice activity Unsure/hard to tell
Participated in a social action project	Participated in a social action project None	Participated in a social action project Very few (under 10%)	Participated in a social action project Some (10-39%)	Participated in a social action project Many (40-69%)	Participated in a social action project Most (70-99%)	Participated in a social action project All (100%)	Participated in a social action project Unsure/hard to tell
Learnt about some aspect of rights and responsibilities, democracy or voting	Learnt about some aspect of rights and responsibilities, democracy or voting None	Learnt about some aspect of rights and responsibilities, democracy or voting Very few (under 10%)	Learnt about some aspect of rights and responsibilities, democracy or voting Some (10-39%)	Learnt about some aspect of rights and responsibilities, democracy or voting Many (40-69%)	Learnt about some aspect of rights and responsibilities, democracy or voting Most (70-99%)	Learnt about some aspect of rights and responsibilities, democracy or voting All (100%)	Learnt about some aspect of rights and responsibilities, democracy or voting Unsure/hard to tell
Talked to or took part in a visit from an MP/local councillor	Talked to or took part in a visit from an MP/local councillor None	Talked to or took part in a visit from an MP/local councillor Very few (under 10%)	Talked to or took part in a visit from an MP/local councillor Some (10-39%)	Talked to or took part in a visit from an MP/local councillor Many (40-69%)	Talked to or took part in a visit from an MP/local councillor Most (70-99%)	Talked to or took part in a visit from an MP/local councillor All (100%)	Talked to or took part in a visit from an MP/local councillor Unsure/hard to tell
Talked to or took part in a visit from a local community leader/charity/community organisation	Talked to or took part in a visit from a local community leader/charity/community organisation None	Talked to or took part in a visit from a local community leader/charity/community organisation Very few (under 10%)	Talked to or took part in a visit from a local community leader/charity/community organisation Some (10-39%)	Talked to or took part in a visit from a local community leader/charity/community organisation Many (40-69%)	Talked to or took part in a visit from a local community leader/charity/community organisation Most (70-99%)	Talked to or took part in a visit from a local community leader/charity/community organisation All (100%)	Talked to or took part in a visit from a local community leader/charity/community organisation Unsure/hard to tell

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* 2. Currently in your school, how is democracy education championed?

By designated lead teacher

By a designated group of teachers

No particular teacher(s)

Tell us more (optional)

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* 3. Currently in your school, how is democracy education mostly taught?

As a standalone subject

It is integrated across the curriculum

As part of a specific drop-down

As part of enrichment days

As a theme in assemblies

In specific projects or groups e.g. school council

We don't offer democratic education

Tell us more (optional)

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* 4. Currently in your school, which pupils are offered democracy education?

All pupils

Specific year groups only

Those who volunteer or express interest

Those chosen by staff (e.g. for leadership roles)

We don't offer democratic education

Tell us more (optional)

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* 5. Which of these factors have been most influential in developing your democracy offer?

Individual teacher interest

Situational response to pupil attitudes/behaviours

Support and/or guidance from a Multi Academy Trust or Local Authority

Resources and/or support from other organisations

Not applicable

Other (please specify)

Help us design resources that best support your work (3 questions)

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* 6. Please indicate your confidence in teaching the following topics

	Not confident	Somewhat confident	Very confident
How democracy impacts my pupils’ lives	How democracy impacts my pupils’ lives Not confident	How democracy impacts my pupils’ lives Somewhat confident	How democracy impacts my pupils’ lives Very confident
How local government can help our community	How local government can help our community Not confident	How local government can help our community Somewhat confident	How local government can help our community Very confident
How laws are made and changed	How laws are made and changed Not confident	How laws are made and changed Somewhat confident	How laws are made and changed Very confident
What a citizen is and what their rights and responsibilities are	What a citizen is and what their rights and responsibilities are Not confident	What a citizen is and what their rights and responsibilities are Somewhat confident	What a citizen is and what their rights and responsibilities are Very confident
Why voting and elections are important	Why voting and elections are important Not confident	Why voting and elections are important Somewhat confident	Why voting and elections are important Very confident
How to choose political parties or causes that align with pupils' values	How to choose political parties or causes that align with pupils' values Not confident	How to choose political parties or causes that align with pupils' values Somewhat confident	How to choose political parties or causes that align with pupils' values Very confident
Media literacy and evaluating information	Media literacy and evaluating information Not confident	Media literacy and evaluating information Somewhat confident	Media literacy and evaluating information Very confident
Debating and respectful disagreement	Debating and respectful disagreement Not confident	Debating and respectful disagreement Somewhat confident	Debating and respectful disagreement Very confident
Teaching controversial topics with impartiality	Teaching controversial topics with impartiality Not confident	Teaching controversial topics with impartiality Somewhat confident	Teaching controversial topics with impartiality Very confident
Campaigning and taking social action	Campaigning and taking social action Not confident	Campaigning and taking social action Somewhat confident	Campaigning and taking social action Very confident

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* 7. Which of these statements best describes the role of democracy learning in your school culture?

Strong
There are significant opportunities for pupil voice, leadership opportunities, and our pupils have a strong awareness of democratic processes and age-appropriate ways to engage

Moderate
There are some opportunities for pupil voice and leadership; some awareness of democratic processes and age-appropriate ways to engage

Limited
We have some opportunities for pupil voice and leadership but can’t do more than that at the moment

Not currently provided
There are too many competing priorities

Not currently provided
Other reasons

Tell us more (optional)

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* 8. Can you rank how important these factors would be for increasing the quality of democracy education in your school?

Finally, tell us a bit about you

To enter the prize draw, please fill in your details below!

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* 9. Full name

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* 10. Email address

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* 11. Job title

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* 12. School name

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* 13. School postcode

Terms & Conditions: There will be a maximum of one entry into each prize draw per school; in cases where multiple surveys are submitted by the same school, the earliest entry received will be selected for entry to the draw; participants must be aged 18 or over; entry into the draws is through survey completion and there is no charge for entry; the draw will close at 23.59 on Friday 30th January 2026 and prizes will be allocated randomly to qualifying entries on Tuesday 3rd February 2026 with the winners being notified by email. Information about Young Citizens policy around personal data is available here.