With the country shortly to go to the polls Laleham school teacher Paul Ursell has come up with a novel way of teaching his pupils about being a good citizen and participating in the democratic process.
After a class election one of them is going to take his job for a lesson, while he will do theirs!
Mr Ursell, whose Panthers class are 6-8 years old, says children are “never too young” to think about their part in society and expressing their views.
On Monday, June 5 the children in his class who wish to stand will give a hustings speech. The victorious pupil will then have a couple of days to plan a lesson, which they will deliver on General Election day, June 8.
Mr Ursell chose the idea of being teacher, rather than voting for parties, because it will be “something really meaningful for my children.”
The pupil will have to deliver a Maths or English lesson on their own. They will agree their lesson with one of Mr Ursell’s teaching assistants to check it is well planned and appropriate.
Mr Ursell said: “The children have enthusiastically embraced the idea and I can tell it will be a fun learning experience for the pupil and the class. I also think I will learn some things too – both about my pupils and perhaps even how hard being a pupil can be!”
At Laleham, now based in Ramsgate, it has not only been the youngsters of Mr Ursell’s primary class using the election as a valuable learning experience. For the entirety of the campaign Laleham secondary school has had its own campaign – with all the main parties represented.