Good Learning Co.
SavannahYear 8
← Citizenship
CitizenshipPower, law and money in Year 830 min★★★ difficulty

Courts, police and young people

Two people describe the same night differently. The justice system exists to decide, fairly and in public, whose account the evidence supports.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand the nature of rules and laws and the justice system, including the role of the police and the operation of courts and tribunals

Key learning points

  • • What the police can and cannot do
  • • Charging and the burden of proof
  • • Which court, and why
  • • Young people in the system

This lesson at a glance

  • 30 minutes
  • 19 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

naturejusticesystempoliceoperation

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 19 · Discover5%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 19

Watch first

Courts, police and young people

An English teaching video on this topic from Miss Morris Manc. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Understand the nature of rules and laws and the justice system, including the role of the police and the operation of courts and tribunals

2

What you already know

Part 2 of 19

Before we start

What you already know

You should already know that laws are made by Parliament and that the police investigate crime.

3

Key words

Part 3 of 19

Key words

Words you'll need today

Magistrates' court
The court where most criminal cases begin and finish.
Crown Court
Where serious criminal cases are tried before a judge and jury.
Burden of proof
The duty to prove a case — in criminal law, on the prosecution.
Tribunal
A specialist panel that decides disputes such as employment or benefits.
Youth court
A magistrates' court adapted for defendants aged 10 to 17.
4

Learning cycle

Part 4 of 19

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Investigation and charge

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

5

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 19

Learn

What the police can and cannot do

Police powers are limited by law: stop and search needs reasonable grounds, arrest needs suspicion of an offence, and detention has time limits. Those limits are not obstacles to justice — they are what stops the state acting on suspicion alone.

6

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 19

Learn

Charging and the burden of proof

Prosecutors decide whether there is enough evidence and whether prosecution is in the public interest. In a criminal trial the prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; the defendant does not have to prove innocence.

7

Quick check

Part 7 of 19

Quick check

In a criminal trial the burden of proof is on...

8

Quick check

Part 8 of 19

Quick check

Juries decide facts in the...

9

Reset break

Part 9 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
10

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 19

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Courts, tribunals and young defendants

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

11

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 19

Learn

Which court, and why

Around nine in ten criminal cases are handled by magistrates, who are unpaid volunteers advised on law by a legal adviser. Serious cases go to the Crown Court, where a jury of twelve decides the facts and the judge rules on law and sentence. Civil disputes are separate, and tribunals handle specialist areas like employment.

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 19

Learn

Young people in the system

The age of criminal responsibility in England is ten. Youth courts sit without a public gallery, avoid legal wigs and formal language, and focus on preventing reoffending. Sentences favour referral orders and rehabilitation over custody.

13

Quick check

Part 13 of 19

Quick check

Youth courts differ because they...

14

Quick check

Part 14 of 19

Quick check

A tribunal typically handles...

15

Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 19

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

  • The police do not decide guilt; courts do.
  • Juries sit in the Crown Court, not in magistrates' or youth courts.
  • Civil cases use the balance of probabilities, not 'beyond reasonable doubt'.
16

Challenge round

Part 16 of 19

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

17

Challenge round

Part 17 of 19

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

____ powers are limited by law: stop and search needs reasonable grounds, arrest needs suspicion of an offence, and detention has time limits.

Those limits are not obstacles to ____ — they are what stops the state acting on suspicion alone.

18

Mastery quiz

Part 18 of 19

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Courts, police and young people

6 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Stop and search requires...

  2. 2. Most criminal cases are dealt with by...

  3. 3. Age of criminal responsibility in England is...

  4. 4. Civil cases are decided on...

  5. 5. Magistrates are...

  6. 6. Prosecutors consider evidence and...

19

Lesson round-up

Part 19 of 19

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Case study

Should the town centre have a curfew for under-16s?

After a rise in reported vandalism, Harbrook council proposed that under-16s should not be in the town centre after 9 pm without an adult. Police recorded 62 incidents last year, most between 9 pm and midnight. Shopkeepers signed a petition supporting the plan.

A youth council objected. They pointed out that most young people in town at night were going home from sports clubs or work, that the plan punishes a whole group for the acts of a few, and that the library and the bus interchange are in the town centre. They asked instead for a late bus and a youth space.

The council voted to trial the curfew for six months and to publish the crime figures at the end.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Give the strongest point on each side of the argument, using a fact from the case.
  2. Whose rights and whose responsibilities are involved here? Explain both.
  3. Write your own view on the curfew with reasons and one example.

  • Reading and response

    Reading

    Read the case in the lesson again and write what you think should happen, and why it is fair. Use one fact from the case as evidence.

    2 paragraphs (PEE)

  • Extended writing

    Writing

    Write your answer to the lesson's big question in full: the strongest point on each side, then your own view with reasons and an example.

    250–350 words

  • Reading log

    Reading

    Find one news story this week that links to this lesson. Note the headline, where you read it, and how it connects.

    1 story, 4–5 sentences

  • Two sides of the argument

    Writing

    Write the strongest point for, the strongest point against, and then your own view with a reason.

    3 paragraphs

  • Poster or leaflet plan

    Diagram

    Plan a leaflet that explains this right or responsibility to someone your age, then photograph it.

    1 planned page

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 19 · Watch & discover

Good Learning Co. — personalised UK curriculum learning, built around what each learner loves.