Education: Citizenship Studies

Debate between Lord Flight and Lord Nash

Monday 30th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I do not agree with the noble Baroness on that.

[Lord Flight (Con)]

My Lords, do citizenship classes include the proper teaching and understanding of not only how Westminster works but how local government, the United Nations and the EU work? In my time at school that was a part of it.

[Lord Nash]

They are supposed to include democracy, the electoral system, government, human rights and international law.

Education: Vocational Education

Debate between Lord Flight and Lord Nash

Monday 3rd March 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I agree that they are extremely helpful, but my noble friend will have heard me say before that the technology has moved on from the careers adviser being the gold standard. The gold standard must be the active involvement of all schools with business so that all their pupils have a clear, direct line of sight to the workplace.

[Lord Flight (Con)]

My Lords, have the Government looked at the Swiss model of higher education? Of the order of only 20% of young people attend universities, which are essentially academic, but virtually everybody else gets seven years of sandwich training. Moreover, Switzerland is assessed to have the highest general level of education for its citizens in the world.

[Lord Nash]

I am aware that the Swiss have a very successful education model. We have studied models around the world and happen to have taken note of this, although Switzerland is a specific country. I shall look at this in more detail and would welcome a discussion with my noble friend about it.

Young People: Personal Finances

Debate between Lord Flight and Lord Nash

Thursday 7th February 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

Specifically on online matters, child safeguarding and internet safety are both areas that the Government take very seriously. Schools will provide a grounding in that, but I will agree to meet the noble Lord and discuss this further.

[Lord Flight]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, for raising this matter and for the Minister’s reply. This is territory on which I have sought to campaign. Within the two territories to which he referred—mathematics and citizenship—will the territory of understanding concepts be covered? One of the key problems is that unless people have actually had it explained to them, they do not know what a pension or a mortgage is. It is not just about mathematics.

[Lord Nash]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. The draft programme for study states that pupils will be equipped with the financial skills to enable them to manage their money on a day-to-day basis as well as to plan for future financial needs, and that they understand the concept of wages, taxes, credit, debt, financial risk and a range of more sophisticated financial products. I should hope that any proper education on that front would cover those points.