Child's play?

Should law be taught in our schools, and if so, how? That was the subject of an entertaining debate hosted by the Society at this year’s Festival of Politics in the Scottish Parliament.

Panelists Austin Lafferty, Patrick Gaffney (teacher and founder of the Schools Law Project), and Gavin Henderson (Office of the Scottish Parliamentary Counsel, involved in schools liaison), sparked a lively discussion chaired by the Society’s Liz Campbell, which took as its starting point children’s awareness of rules and their sense of fair play as the cue that they can be taught a basic appreciation of the role of law in society.

Where law might fit into an already pressured curriculum was canvassed – there was some support for it being social education rather than an SQA subject, which would also permit more flexible ways of working with children – as was who should do the teaching, with a split of views in the audience whether teachers or lawyers would be more effective.

The key question of how the lessons can be carried into adult life proved a little harder to answer. The panel thought the aim should be to try and instil confidence in dealing with the law; suggestions ranged from going to see the courts in action to making use of the CABx – “less formal” than lawyers – or consulting a firm that offers an initial free interview.

A diversity of views in the audience had not changed much when the closing straw polls were taken, but it was a thought-provoking event.

• Peter Nicholson