Lesson video

Hi everybody.

And welcome back to another citizenship lesson with myself, Miss Elmi.

Before we get started, I just want to make sure that you are ready to learn.

So, make sure you're in a quiet space where you can focus and concentrate, make sure that you have a pen, notepad where you can just jot down some notes and complete task and that you are free from any distractions.

If you've got your phone with you, just switch it off.

Okay, so let's get started.

In today's lesson we're going to be exploring how the UK population is changing, okay.

Now, in previous lessons, we've looked at identity.

How does this link to our overarching question? So our big topic question that we're looking at is how the UK society is diverse and changing.

So we looked at how diversity exists within the UK based on the different nations' jurisdictions and their cultural and traditions and that national identity and how that is shaped.

We looked at the personal identity and how that is shaped in terms of what that looks like, how it can change and how it can evolve.

And in today's lesson, we're going to look more specifically and broadly around the UK population.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to explain how communities develop in the UK and how the composition of the population has changed over time.

You should also be able to explain the impact of the changing UK population.

So, how is the UK population changing? Well, I'll still read out this text aloud and I want you just to make some notes and we'll look at each of these areas in a little bit more detail.

So, communities develop in the UK, as the composition of the population constantly changes in terms of age, ethnicity, religion and disability.

Now those are the four categories we're going to be focused on in today's lesson, but there are a multitude of ways that the UK population changes.

But for this lesson and the purpose of our outcomes today, we're going to just be looking at those four key elements.

So, the changes in these areas have a profound impact.

And the government has a responsibility to keep this in mind when developing policy and to consider the changing needs of the population as this will impact on plans and voting decisions.

So what that essentially means is, as the UK population changes, the government too have to think about the impact that's going to have on their spending, the impact that's going to have in terms of community relations and the impact that's going to have on all the of public services.

So let's look at age in a little bit more detail.

How has age changed? Have look at this pyramid graph.

And I want you to just analyse this graph.

Okay.

So in the middle I'm going to ask you to pause the video.

This is also available on your worksheet.

So, what do wee see from this graph? What does it make you think of? And what questions come to mind? So, I just want you to pause this video now.

What is it that you're seeing? What does it make you think ? And what questions come to mind? Okay.

So, let's talk through what we're seeing here.

This is a pyramid graph which shows UK population and how that population is changing.

And as we can see that the older you get, especially above the age of 90 onwards, that graph, that pyramid becomes a little bit more narrow.

So it comes to a point.

Now, we can see that the high of the population is in the age range of 60s, 70s plus.

If you go lower down, we can see it's relatively level to middle ages, such as those 20 to 30 range.

What do we learn from this? What does it tell us? Well, key thing that this graph is telling us is that we have an ageing population, meaning we have a population that is getting older and we have a younger generation in that population that is getting smaller.

So why is this? Why is it that we have an ageing population and what could be the impact? So why do we have an ageing population? There are four key reasons.

The first is that we have an improved healthcare.

We have a National Health Service, which has improved the quality of healthcare in the UK.

We have better nutrition.

So we have a better understanding of what we should eat to improve our health and also we have a better standard of living, which means that we live for longer.

But also there are lower birth rates.

And there are many reasons why that is.

Some could be that people are waiting longer to have children.

So what is the impact of having an ageing population? There are several impacts to an ageing population.

So feel free to note some of these impacts down.

So, one of the impacts is that there are increased demands on the National Health Service.

So for example, if we have more people in the population, that are getting older, they are more likely to have certain health needs and this to put a lot of pressure on National Health Service.

It also increase costs on social care and the provisions are needed to look after those that are elderly.

There are also costs in regards to pensions.

Which means that actually when we give out pensions, it may mean that we have to give pensions for a longer period of time.

But there are also some positives, okay.

There are positive impacts to have an ageing population.

One of the biggest benefits is the contributions that they give towards the economy.

And how does that happen? It's through the family structure.

Elderly individuals are able to support the family structure especially where there are working adults.

There are also benefits within the volunteer sector and where we have older generation volunteering and supporting that volunteer sector a little bit more.

So whilst there are some impacts, both economically and socially in regards to an ageing population, there are also some benefits to having an ageing population.

Okay.

I'm going to pause here and I want you to now, using your worksheet complete the following task, okay.

So we've looked at how the population is changing.

I now want you to explain that in your own words and talk about and note down the impact.

So in this graphic organiser, I just want you to note down the reasons which has caused the population to change.

And then the impact of that.

Okay, welcome back.

What about religion? How has religion changed in the UK? Well, we know that the main religion in the UK is Christianity, but the landscape of religion has changed.

Statistics that exist, from 2001 to 2004.

And these are official national statistics that were taken.

We can see that there have been some changes in regards to religious belief and also non-belief.

Religion is a protected characteristic.

Meaning every individual has the right to believe and practise a religion of their choice and also have the right not to believe.

Up to 71% of individuals identify with Christianity in 2001, but ten years down the line, we saw that number decrease, that percentage decrease.

And we can now see that 59.

5% of the population identify as Christian.

But there have been slight changes in other religions.

For example, as you can see from this.

So, what has changed and why? Like I mentioned, we've seen a decrease in those identified as Christian and an increase in those identifying as Muslim, Hindu, Sikhism and others.

So why, why is this, why have these changes occurred? Now, there are two reasons that can explain this.

One could be conversions.

Some people may have converted to those religions and identify with those religions.

Similarly, some people may have unidentified with the Catholic religion and be, and do not adhere to any religions at all.

So as you can see from the official statistics we see that there has been an increase in those that do not identify with every religious belief.

Another reason for these changes can be attributed to also migration.

When people from diverse backgrounds come into UK, that also brings in new cultures and new religions.

What about ethnicity? Now, if you look at your worksheet one, you to see this graph in a little bit more detail, okay.

Okay.

So let's have a look at ethnicity.

The UK has become more diverse to some extent.

This is because there is a growth in dual heritage and multiple identities with parents of different ethnic background.

If you look at this pie chart you can see that 86% of the UK population is White.

Whereas 14% identify with an ethnic group.

8% identify as Asian British, 3% identify as Black British.

2% identify as mixed or having multiple ethnic backgrounds and 1% identify with other ethnic groups.

So what has been the impact? With the increase in racial and religious diversity, there have been both challenges and also benefits.

In 2013, the Home Office reported that there had been an increase in reported hate crime and discrimination.

And over 100,000 recorded hate crimes in 2018 and 2019 were recorded by the police.

This showed a 10% increase on the previous year.

Similarly, ethnic minorities can be disproportionately impacted on issues such as education, health and crime.

For example, according to the Runnymede Trust and government statistics, Black and ethnic minorities are disproportionately stopped and searched in comparison to their White counterparts.

In 2018 and 2019, there were four stop and searches for every 1000 White people compared with 38 for every 1000 Black people.

In more recent times we've seen that in regards to health Black and ethnic minorities have been disproportionately affected by coronavirus.

And whilst government are looking into these statistics and trying to understand why this has occurred.

This does show some glaring disparities.

With that being said, there are also benefits.

Diversity has brought about innovation and creativity as well as a better cultural understanding needed to create protection of minority rights.

Now although we have looked at religion and ethnicity, and how the UK population in this regard is changing, I just want you to complete your graphic organiser and note down some of the key points.

So, how has the population changed in regards to religion and ethnicity and has been the impact? Okay.

Both positive and negative.

Just note those two points down and pause the video now, and when you're ready come back and we'll look at the fourth category.

Okay and welcome back.

The last and final category that we want to look at is disability.

How has the UK population changed in regards to disability? So we know that over 11 million people live with a disability, impairment or limited longterm illness in the UK.

This increases with age, with over 45% of those that are disabled over the retirement age.

So, what is the impact? Well, there are two impacts that have an increase in number of disabled individuals can have.

The first in regards to benefits and social care.

Benefits and social care costs is dependent on public funding.

This can vary with different governments.

Sometimes cuts can have a negative impact on those that require additional support.

However, the UK Equality Act 2010 has enhanced protection for minority groups and those with disabilities.

There is a culture of inclusivity that has developed and is continually evolving in the UK.

So, a lot of this is because of the Equality Act.

So we've seen that in the workplace, there have been provisions that have been put in place to support accessibility and achievement for those with disability.

And so there has been some progress.

Okay, I want you to pause the video here now, and I want you to complete the final section on your graphic organiser around disability.

So how has population changed in regards to disability? And what has been the impact? And when you're done, come back and we'll go through all the answers, all the points that you could have mentioned.

Okay and welcome back.

Let's just go through some of the points that could have been mentioned.

So, when we looked at age, we talked about the fact that there is a higher life expectancy leading to an ageing population.

So that is a point you could have mentioned.

Two, impacts you could have mentioned.

Well, the demands of the public sector and a positive impact is that there is better social support networks for families and we've got especially working families.

The next aspect we looked at was the religion.

Increase in other faiths and decrease in Christianity was a key point that could have been mentioned here.

So, what has been the impact? Well, there's a greater religious diversity across the UK.

That is a positive thing because people can build mutual understanding and tolerance.

Negative impact would be, increase in hate related incidences, such as Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

Okay.

Ethnicity, one of the key things we noted from the pie chart is that over 86% of the UK are ethnically White and other minorities make up a small but increasing part of the population.

One of the impacts that we talked about was that ethnic minorities can be disproportionately impacted on issues such as education, health, crime, according to the Runnymede Trust.

Disability was the final aspect that we looked at and we know that over 11 million people in the UK are disabled or live with an impairment.

And those that are affected are more likely to be in retirement age.

And the key mpact here was the introduction of the UK Equality Act which has enhanced certain protection for minority groups and those with disabilities.

Okay so, I want you to think about this question.

What is the impact of a changing UK population? Why does it matter? There are three key reasons to think about when you talk about the impact of a changing UK population.

Reason number one is wealth distribution.

Okay.

The changing composition of the UK in particular, disability, age, impacts on the distribution of wealth.

Okay.

And so this correlate to, in terms of increased spending in regards to benefits and also inequalities in terms of income inequalities.

The second aspect is there could lead to a resource scarcity.

What that means is that if the population is increasing, this could have an impact on key public services such as housing, healthcare and education.

It can also increase demands for charity services that meet those needs of citizens.

So where the government or public sector may not be able to fully support that population, charities may have to step in to meet those needs.

And that could really limit the resources that exist.

And, the final impact is in regards to the diversity that exists within the UK.

We know that the UK is very diverse in terms of its different jurisdictions and increased diversity has brought about new ideas and innovation, contributing positively to the workplace and society.

Okay.

Now I want you to apply what you have learned in today's lesson and answer the following question.

Give an example and explain how the UK population has changed and its impact.

And in your answer, I want you to make sure you give an example and use the question within your answer.

Okay.

Pause the video now and answer the question.

And welcome back and let's go through what a good answer would look like.

So you've got two potential answers here, the correct answer and even better answer.

So, question number one was, to give an example and explain how the UK population has changed and its impact.

One way the UK population has changed is through age.

The UK has an ageing population, for example, data suggests that by 2041, 3.

2 million people will be aged 85 and over.

This will have an impact on public services.

Better answer to this would be, one way the UK population has changed is through age.

The UK has an ageing population which means that average life expectancy has increased.

For example, data suggests that by 2041, 3.

2 million people will be eight 85 and over.

This could be attributed to better living standards and healthcare.

Whilst having an ageing population can bring about a great benefit to family structure and social support, could also have an impact on public services like the NHS, and raise the cost of pensions for longer periods.

Okay.

I want you to check your answer next to those and make any corrections you see fit.

So, what have we learned today? Okay.

So what have we learned today? So in this, in today's lesson, we have gone through how communities develop in the UK and how the composition of the UK population has changed.

We've also explored the impact of the change in the UK population.

So, now that we have come to the end of this lesson, all I want you to do now is just go ahead and complete your quiz and come back next lesson where also will look at how the UK has become so diversed and some of the benefits and challenges of a diverse society.

Okay, take care and I'll see you next lesson.

Bye.