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I have been the Labour Member of Parliament for North East Derbyshire since May 2005. I hope you find this website useful and that you will use it to keep yourself updated on my activities, but also to keep in touch with me on any issues that matter to you. I would be grateful for any feedback on the content and the structure of the website.
Resources for Schools
The role of Parliament and its Members is to represent the people of the United Kingdom. That means everyone, no matter what their age.
In order for Parliament to be able to represent you, we, the Members of Parliament, need to know your views and opinions on the issues that are most important to you.
Please let me know how useful (or not) you find this page. I'd be grateful for any suggestions on how to improve the information I can provide students and teachers. Please write to me at engeln@parliament.uk
Please click on the links below to be taken to the relevent sections.
Your Parliament is a booklet which you can download by clicking here and it explains how the country is run and how
you can make your voice heard.
The Department for Education and Skills is the home of schools and youth policy. It provides information on issues ranging from beating bullying to financial support and volunteering: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/youngpeople/
MPs In Schools The Hansard Society www.hansardsociety.org.uk has produced a helpful resource pack for teachers called MPs In Schools which you can obtain by contacting the Hansard Society on 020 7438 1222 or hansard@hansard.lse.ac.uk
The pack is designed to help children and young people understand
How we are governed
How we can influence decisions
Why it’s not so easy to make a decision which affects tens, hundreds, thousands, millions of people in different ways
The role of the media and how ‘spin’ can play to inform us or sometimes confuse us
That many decisions affect young people’s lives, and their views and voices need to be heard
The role of MPs and the importance of representing people in Parliament
Mock Elections www.mockelections.co.uk aims to engage students with the political, social and moral issues of the world around them by giving them the opportunity to stand as party candidates, speech writers and canvassers in a mock election.
It gives students the opportunity to engage in an active citizenship exercise and provides an excellent introduction to the mechanics and issues involved in an election.
Mock elections provides teachers with a ready-made, accessible downloadable Y Vote Resource Pack alongside a simple registration process. It also gives teachers and students information on every type of election held in the UK.
Amnesty International School Group
Amnesty International is a world-wide movement that supports and fights for the protection of human rights. Its purpose is to protect individuals wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied.
Much of Amnesty International’s campaigning has focused on prisoners, people who are tortured and people facing the death penalty.
Amnesty International is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. It does not support any government or political system, nor does it support or oppose the views of the victims whose rights it seeks to protect. It is concerned solely with the impartial protection of human rights.
There are more than 1.8 million members of Amnesty International in over 150 countries. Some of these groups are based at schools. To set up an Amnesty International School Group you will need to publicise that you are thinking of setting up a group in your school and arrange an opening meeting of interested students.
At the meeting, give a brief description of Amnesty International, their work, aims, and membership.
From the Amnesty International website www.amnesty.org.uk download the Youth and Student Group Affiliation Form and send it to Amnesty. You will be sent a membership pack which includes everything you need to start up, monthly mailings and an invitation to the annual youth conference. They will also provide a list of speakers to can come to your school and talk about their experiences.
Surgeries at Schools If your School Council would like Natascha to come to your school and hold a surgery, please contact her engeln@parliament.uk or call her on 01246 439018.
Surgeries at Schools have to be held on a Friday (it's the only school day that Natascha is in the constituency). It will give all the children and young people at your school the chance to tell Natascha their views or ask her to help them out with any issue that concerns them.
Some examples of issues that have been raised:
• I can’t use my local playground because it’s covered in broken glass
• I can’t sleep at night because our neighbour plays his music very loudly
till really late
• I’m being bullied on the school bus
• What is the government doing to encourage more recycling?
Derbyshire County Council is responsible for Youth Services in North East Derbyshire. The County Councillor responsible for all youth issues is Cllr Bob Janes.
They support several youth centres throughout the constituency
Derbyshire Youth Forum was formed to give a voice to the views of young people in Derbyshire. It is organised and run by the Youth Service on behalf of Derbyshire County Council. Local councillors and MPs listen to the Forum’s views and take them into account when they’re forming new policies and plans for young people’s services.
The Youth Forum is made up of 16 young people from each of the districts. North East Derbyshire has two members.
The youth service organises the Big Vote which is the election to the Derbyshire Youth Forum. In 2006, more than 20,395 votes were cast.
UK Youth Parliament For more information, click here.
The UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) aims to give young people in the UK between the ages of 11 and 18 a voice which will be heard by local and national government, providers of services for young people and anyone who has an interest in the needs of young people.
It was set up in July 1999 and held its first Sitting in 2001. There are over 300 elected Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs).
Natascha has recently become a trustee of the UK Youth Parliament.
HeadsUp The website HeadsUp is a place where young people can debate political issues and current affairs. It’s not about talking – it’s about getting things done.
The debates involve the UK’s top decision-makers from parliament and government who want to understand the views and experiences of young people in Britain. Every debate is supported by background information, quizzes, online polls and can be used inside or outside school.
So, if you want to take part in some political debate, click here.
The portrayal of young people in the media – local, regional and national, newspapers, radio and television – is very often negative and frequently stereotyped. If you believed the press, all young people are hoodies and yobs who should be ASBOd.
In fact, a recent MORI poll commissioned by Young People Now magazine showed that 71 per cent of stories about young people were negative and one in three focus on crime.
The majority of young people are not criminals. Just seven per cent of young people in school have committed crimes where the police have been involved.
The media needs to take responsibility and find ways of giving young people a voice on issues that affect them, or risk alienating them as both consumers and members of society.
Young People Now magazine holds annual awards (presented at the House of Commons) for news organisations, local councils, young people and youth groups that promote a positive image of young people.
Categories include:
• Best involvement by a young person in promoting positive media portrayal
• Best publicity campaign by a youth group
• Most youth-friendly local council
• Best magazine produced by young people for young people
• Best local press coverage
• Best national press coverage
• Best radio coverage of young people
• Best TV coverage of young people
• Best online coverage of young people
Have a look at the Young People Now website for current events at www.ypnmagazine.com. Nominations for next year’s awards can be made from August 2007.
Young People and the Media – some shocking facts:
• One in three articles about young people are about crime. 26 per cent of young people
in school have admitted to committing a crime but only seven per cent have involved
the police.
• 71 per cent of press stories about young people are negative and only 14 per cent
are positive.
• Young people are only quoted in eight per cent of stories about them.
• Two-thirds of 11-18 year-olds would not trust a journalist to tell them the truth
Young people were referred to as thugs 26 times and yobs 21 times in a survey of 74 tabloid and broadsheet articles about young people and crime. Other words used to describe young people included evil, lout, monsters, brutes, scum, menace, heartless, sick, and inhumane.
Gives teachers the inside scoop on what goes on in Westminster so they can approach the teaching of political literacy with real confidence. Developed by the Hansard Society and the Association for Citizenship Teaching, this resource has bite sized interviews with MPs, Lords, teachers & students on a range of topics as well as other interactive functions.
If you live in the constituency and you would like to receive monthly eBulletins from Natascha detailing her work and diary then please subscribe here.
