This is a fabulous teaching resource from the National Portrait Gallery!

Pupils are asked to look at a portrait of the House of Commons from 1833, then asked to prepare an artists' brief for a painting of today's House of Commons to illustrate today's democracy.

The resource is online. It links Citizenship to art and to history so is brilliant as a cross-curricular activity, but you don't need to be an artist or historian to use it.

It examines democratic freedoms, the role of the monarch, the role of the electorate, women in parliament, the role of MPs, the role of protest and what the Parliament of the future should be like.

WebQuest - The road to democracy

Michael Gove MP said today during the Education Select Committee interview that teachers will benefit from aligning themselves with professional associations.

"They produce material on the curriculum and professional development, they have educational journals...they [all phases of educators] should be part of one fused profession." Said Gove.

Citizenship, democracy & politics are issues that can engage young people if they're taught well, says Simon Hughes MP.

This is a timely reminder of how important Citizenship teachers are. Watch now

The theme for 2012 asks us all to Speak Up, Speak Out to create a safer, better future.

The theme asks us to think about the rights, responsibility and duty we all have to speak up when we see or hear something which we believe to be wrong. It challenges us to learn about what happens when we don’t speak out and what can happen when we do use our voice.

HMD 2012 looks at how we make a choice when to speak up and considers the dangers in both choosing to speak out and not speaking up and asks us all to speak up against injustice and hatred today.

At a time of change in education, your voice is critical to shape how schools can support students to engage with and meet the challenges of the 21st century world. Click here to have your say in the Oxfam Schools Engagement research project.

Citizenship Foundation’s Chance to be Chancellor competition gives 14-18 year olds a chance to create and defend their own budget for the nation!

Young people take the challenge of stepping into the shoes of the Chancellor by making decisions on spending and taxation. Their decisions will form the Youth Budget 2012.

For a chance to win, entrants must make a case for their decisions. They could win an iPad, visit the Treasury and make the news!

The deadline for entries to the competition is 20th February 2012