Sheffield pupils debate in Town Hall for UK Parliament Week

The pupils from Valley Park Primary School, in Gleadless, spent two days Sheffield Town Hall on November 7 and 8 in which they debated with their classmates on topics related to their current curriculum

All children from Year 1 through to Year 6 took part in the debates in the council’s main chamber, delving into subjects including our criminal justice system.

They were also joined by Louise Haigh, the Labour candidate seeking re-election as MP for Sheffield Heeley who spoke to students about the importance of debate.

Speaking at the Year 6 debate, assistant headteacher Lisa Lock said: “The Year 6s are currently studying crime and punishment, so we are debating around whether our current crime and punishment system is too lenient.

“The Year 5s are doing about World War Two, the Year 1s have been doing about the Suffragette movement and the Year 4s have been doing about pollution – there are lots of themes. All of us are doing debate and democracy as our overarching topic but then we are focusing on things very specifically.”

Prior to the Town Hall visit the students spent some time in the classroom building knowledge around their given topic.

It is hoped the debates will enable the pupils to develop their debating and oracy skills as they progress through the school.

“We want our children to be really confident speakers and intelligent talkers,” Ms Lock added. “So, we spend a lot of time making sure they’re prepared for this debate and making sure that they have something to say and they’ve got the knowledge and they know how to share it – the more they know the more they talk.

“This is the second year doing it as well so the current Year 6s did this in Year 5. We want our children to go out into the world and be good speakers but to also understand Parliament and know that it is not just where Big Ben is, but that all the important decisions happen there too.”

UK Parliament Week, which took place between November 4 and 8, is an annual event organised to engage young people from across the UK with their parliament, inviting them to explore what it is and ways in which they can get involved.