Lesson video

Hello, I'm Ms. Kennedy.

Thanks for joining me for today's lesson.

We've got lots of content to get through today, and I'll be here throughout the lesson guiding you through it.

So, let's get started.

Today's lesson comes from the unit: How Does Identity Affect Rights? And our lesson today is called What Freedoms and Obligations Come with Citizenship? By the end of today's lesson, we expect you to be able to explain the freedoms, and obligations that come with being a citizen in the UK today.

We've got some keywords today.

So, our keywords for today are freedom, the power to think, act, or do as you want.

Obligation, an act that a person is morally or legally required to do.

And citizen, a person who was born in a particular country and has certain rights or has been given certain rights because of having lived in that country.

We've got two more keywords, and they are citizenship and right.

So, citizenship is being a citizen of a country and being vested with the rights and responsibilities of that state or that country.

And finally, we have right.

A right is something we entitled to by law.

So, have a look out for those five keywords throughout today's lesson.

And our lesson today has three parts.

And in the first part of the lesson, we're going to look at what does it mean to be a citizen in the UK? So, citizenship means being a citizen of a country and being vested with the rights, and responsibilities of that state.

Now, normally, when a person is born in a country, they are automatically given citizenship within that country.

And again, normally our passports will indicate what country we are citizens of.

When a person wants to remain in a country they have moved to, so maybe somewhere they've migrated to, they can make a request to become a citizen of that country.

So, you might have started life as a citizen of a different country, moved or migrated to a new country, and you can then make a request to become a citizen of that new country.

Now, when they're applying, they are often going to be asked to prove certain things like how much they earn, for example, or how long they have lived in that new country.

In the UK, we also ask people who are applying to become a citizen of the UK to take a test called Life in the UK.

And that test aims to prove that they understand our history and our customs here.

True or false? You can only be a citizen if you are born in the country you want to have citizenship in.

Is that statement true or is it false? So hopefully you said that one was false.

Because as we've just heard, people can apply for citizenship from a country that they live in, but may need to meet certain eligibility criteria.

So, for example, in the UK, a person is asked to, as one of their things, is asked to complete the Life in the UK citizenship test.

Now, citizenship does not grant you the same rights and freedoms in every country.

So, your rights and freedoms won't necessarily look identical in different countries around the world.

So, Izzy says, as a citizen of the UK, I have the right to travel without restrictions.

I receive free NHS care, and I'm allowed to vote in elections once I've turned 18.

And Alex says, a citizen of Afghanistan doesn't have the right to travel freely.

And actually, women over there have very few rights, and there are no free elections.

And health care is very expensive.

So, Izzy has given us lots of examples of rights that we might have as citizens of the UK, that if you were a citizen in Afghanistan, you wouldn't have.

So, as you can see, rights and freedoms can be quite different around the world.

Now, citizenship also requires you to understand and undertake certain obligations, or responsibilities in exchange for your rights, and freedoms. So, again, Izzy just told us about some of the rights we get as UK citizens.

But she also says, well, in the UK, our citizenship requires us to take part in certain obligations.

And she's listed just two there, but there's many more.

So, one of the things we are obligated to do in the UK is take part in jury service if we're called for it.

And another thing we're obligated to do is pay taxes if we're eligible to.

Now, Alex is going to compare that to China for us.

So, he says in China, citizens must pay their taxes, but they should also keep state secrets and ensure they do not question the government.

Now, Izzy is explaining some of the rights and obligations her family has experienced as citizens of the UK.

So, let's take a look at those together.

So, Izzy says, as citizens go through life, they gain more rights and responsibilities or obligations.

For example, my mum gave birth in an NHS hospital, and that was free of charge.

She works and pays taxes like income tax and national insurance.

And these taxes fund things like my school and the NHS, which I can attend or use for free.

When mum retires, the government will provide her with a state pension, which is a weekly payment to support her.

True or false? The obligations for citizens are universal.

It does not matter what country they live in.

Is that true or false? So that one is false.

So, we know that citizenship means different things in different countries.

And as such, the obligations or the responsibilities on citizens are different depending on what country you are in.

So, I've got a task for you.

Imagine you are meeting a group of people at a UK citizenship service.

Before they become UK citizens, you have been asked to explain the rights they will be given and the obligations they must follow.

You might want to organise your explanation into a table like the one below.

So, you could have two columns on your table, the first one being the rights you will enjoy are, and the second one being the obligations you must follow are.

And I've put a couple of examples in there to get you started.

Pause the video now to have a go at that.

So, I asked you to imagine you were meeting a group of people at a UK citizenship service.

Before they become UK citizens, you've been asked to explain the rights they will be given and the obligations that they must follow.

So, I wonder if you've got any of the same ideas that I did in your table.

So in the rights you will enjoy are column, I've got things like carrying a UK passport which will allow you to travel, free healthcare through the NHS, free education from the ages of 5 to 18 years old, and a state pension to help you when you retire.

On the obligations column, I've got things like taking part in jury service, paying taxes, following the laws of the UK, voting in elections, be they local or national, and living in and supporting your local community.

I wonder if you've got any similar ideas to the ideas I've popped in my table.

So, during the next part of the lesson, we're going to be thinking in a little bit more depth about what freedoms come with citizenship.

Citizens are granted freedoms as a result of their citizenship, and these freedoms are often referred to as rights.

So sometimes you'll hear the word freedoms and other times you might hear the word rights, and often they mean the same thing.

And in the UK, we have the Human Rights Act 1998, which created 18 legal rights which all UK citizens are entitled to.

I wonder if you can think what any of those rights might be before we take a look at the examples we've got here on the slides.

So, Izzy tells us one of those rights is the right to a fair trial.

And this ensures that you are treated as though you are innocent until a jury finds you guilty of a crime.

And this means the police must act fairly too.

So, that's one of the human rights in the Human Rights Act in the UK.

And Alex gives us another example.

He says the right to freedom of expression.

And this means you can express yourself as long as it is within the law, and you must act responsibly with this right.

So, the Human Rights Act means that citizens can take an organisation, or the government to court if they believe that their human rights, as outlined in that act, have been interfered with.

So, one example of that might be the right to marry and start a family.

And this right was a key argument in the push for marriage equality, advocating for the right of LGBT people to marry, just like heterosexual couples can.

And in 2013, the Marriage Same-Sex Couples Act was actually passed in the UK, and the first marriages of same-sex couples took place in March of the following year.

So, let's check that you've understood what we've talked about so far.

The Human Rights Act meant that, for the first time, A.

citizens were granted basic fundamental human rights, B.

citizens could take the government to court if they interfered with their human rights, or C.

citizens were able to go to court if a person committed a crime against them.

So, what did the Human Rights Act mean for the first time? So, well done if you selected B.

The Human Rights Act meant that, for the first time, citizens could take the government to court if they interfered with their human rights.

Now, not all freedoms or rights, and obligations are automatically given to citizens from birth.

Let's look at some examples of that.

So, for example, at the age of 18, most citizens become eligible to vote in elections.

So, that's not a right that you have from birth.

It's a right that you gain when you turn 18.

And at the age of 10, a person in England is considered criminally responsible for their actions.

And so, if they committed a crime, they could be prosecuted for it from the age of 10 onwards.

And that's here in England.

Another example would be, at the age of 18, a citizen is considered to be an adult and can usually make decisions without a parent or a carer.

And this is known as the age of majority.

So here in the UK, the age of majority is 18.

So, when you're considered to be an adult, you can make all of your decisions without a parent or carer.

And what does that look like in practise? Well, for example, it means that you don't need to ask permission to do things such as join the army, and you have all the rights and freedoms that come with being an adult.

At what age is a person considered old enough to join the army without having to have their parents or carer's permission? Is it 10, 16, or 18? So, the correct answer here is 18.

You can join certain areas of the army at 16, but you would need your parent's permission.

If you wanted to join without parental or carer's permission, you would have to wait until you were 18.

So, for our next task, I'd like you to answer the following questions.

And when you're answering those questions, I would like you to give at least one argument for and one argument against.

So, our two questions are, explain two ways in which freedoms change as you become older.

And do you think 18 is the correct age to be considered an adult? So have a think about those questions.

Remember to give me an argument for and against both.

Pause the video now to have a go at that.

So, I asked you to explain two ways in which freedoms change as you become older.

And you might have said something like, in England, a child who is aged 10 has reached the age of criminal responsibility.

This means the court considers them able to understand right and wrong, and therefore they can stand trial for their actions.

And another example is, at 16, you can do certain things.

For example, you could join the army, but not without parental permission.

At the age of 18, you are legally considered an adult, and this comes with rights and obligations.

For example, you can get married, vote in elections, and join the army.

And for our next question, I asked you to think, do you think 18 is the correct age to be considered an adult? So pupils were asked their opinions for this question, and these are the answers that some pupils might have had.

So, you might have said, well, yeah, I agree, 18 is the correct age to be considered an adult, because you need time to mature and learn about the world.

By 18, you are ready to leave education and take full responsibility for your actions.

On the other side, you might have said, I disagree that 18 is the correct age to be considered an adult.

At 16, you are able to make some life-changing decisions, like joining the army.

Many 16-year-olds are very mature.

I wonder which of those you agree with.

So, for the final part of today's lesson, we're going to look at what are the obligations on UK citizens.

So as citizens in the UK, we all have obligations or responsibilities.

And an obligation is an act that a person is either morally or legally required to do.

And we're going to look at examples of both of those today.

So, a moral obligation is something we should do because we know it is the right thing to do.

So, the law might not tell us that, but we know that it's the right thing to do.

It's a moral obligation.

Whereas a legal obligation is something that the law says we must do.

It's something that the law requires of us.

So, we have both moral and legal obligations in society.

So, Lucas says, as a citizen in the UK, I have a moral obligation to keep myself informed of current events so I can make good choices.

And Alex says, as a citizen in the UK, I have a moral obligation to keep myself and others safe.

And Izzy says, as a citizen in the UK, I have a moral obligation to report crimes that I witness.

So, all of those are moral obligations.

They're things that these people from Oak Academy know that they have to do because they are the right thing to do.

So true or false? Moral obligations are the same as legal obligations.

Do you think that statement is true or false? So that one is false.

So, a moral obligation is an obligation that we do because we think it is the right thing to do.

But they don't always have status in law.

So, have a think back to those examples we just had from some of the Oak National Academy pupils.

Those might not have been legal obligations, but those Oak pupils believed that they were moral obligations for them.

So, another example of that might be treating people fairly or being a good neighbour.

These are moral obligations, but there is no specific law about how we should do those things.

So, Lucas is now going to give us an example of a legal obligation.

So, he says, as a citizen in the UK, I have a legal obligation to pay my taxes.

And Alex gives us another one.

As a citizen in the UK, I have a legal obligation to attend jury duty if I am called.

And Izzy has a third one for us.

So as a citizen in the UK, I have a legal obligation to follow the law at all times.

So, they're three really good examples of legal obligations.

The law tells us we have to do these things.

And citizens accept these obligations, both moral and legal, as a result of the rights and freedoms granted to them by the government for being a citizen of that country.

And citizens' obligations can change at different times.

And a really good example of that, which we've had recently, is during the COVID-19 pandemic, where citizens were required to stay home to protect the NHS.

And this became both a legal and a moral obligation that we haven't had to do before.

So, which of these do you think is an example of a legal obligation for UK citizens? Is it A, stand for election, B, not to steal from shops, or C, visit the sick in hospital? Which one of those is a legal obligation, an obligation you are required to do by law? So hopefully you selected B, not to steal from shops.

That is the only one of those that is an actual legal obligation.

The law says that we cannot steal.

So, for our final task today, I would like you to have a think about whether you agree with this statement or not.

All obligations should be legal ones, otherwise people won't do them.

So, I would like you to discuss that with a partner, or in a small group.

And when you've had your discussions, I would like you to be prepared to share at least one reason for and one reason against that statement.

So, I'd like you to really consider both sides of the argument.

Pause the video now to have a go at that.

So, I gave you a statement to discuss with a partner or in a group.

And the statement was, all obligations should be legal ones, otherwise people won't do them.

And I asked you to have a discussion and think about both sides of the argument.

And I wanted you to be ready to give reasons both for and against the statement.

So, I'm sure you came up with all sorts of different reasons.

And I couldn't possibly list them all on this slide.

But you might have come up with an argument something like this.

So, in terms of agreeing with that statement, you might have said, well, I agree that people will ignore obligations which aren't covered by the law because they won't see the point in them.

For example, we should keep up to date with the news.

But lots of young people don't know who the prime minister is even.

If we made something like citizenship education compulsory, then people would be much better informed.

On the other hand, you might have said, well, I disagree with that statement.

Legal obligations should be kept for the really important things that are required to keep our country functioning.

If we did not make paying taxes a legal obligation, then we'd not be able to afford certain rights such as free health care.

So, I wonder if you had any similar arguments to those or any different ones.

And I wonder where you'd come, whether you agree with that statement or disagree, or perhaps fall somewhere in the middle.

So, that brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

Let's have a quick look at some of the things we've covered.

So, we learned that citizens can be born in a country, or people can apply to be a citizen of the country.

And citizenship grants a person certain rights or freedoms. In the UK, the Human Rights Act 1998 grants people rights which are protected by law.

As a citizen grows up and gets older, they are given additional rights that match their age.

And for example, the age of majority is 18, so the age when we become an adult and get all of our rights is at 18.

These rights also come with obligations or responsibilities.

These obligations might be legal, or they might be moral.

Thanks so much for joining me for today's lesson, and I look forward to seeing you at another lesson soon.