School/College Application Form - House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee: Youth Engagement Panel 2023/2024

The House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee is a cross party group of Members of the House of Lords appointed to consider the environment and climate change. 
 
The Committee is offering schools and colleges the opportunity to work with the Environment and Climate Change Committee and advise on the issues the Committee should look at and the questions it might ask, as part of a youth engagement panel. 
 
This opportunity is idealy suited for schools/colleges that teach 14-18 year olds. 
 
A small number of schools/colleges will be selected for the programme. Successful schools/colleges will be expected to commit to the youth engagement programme for a period of one academic year, running from September 2023 to July 2024.  
 
A full list of ground rules and expectations can be found below, but if you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please contact us via selcomengagement@parliament.uk 
 
The deadline for applications to be received is 22nd of June 2023. Schools and colleges will be selected before the summer holiday, and the programme will begin in September 2023. 
  
If your school/college is selected to participate in the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee Youth Engagement Programme, you agree to: 

1. Commit yourself and your school/college to the panel for a minimum of one year. 
2. Attend an induction session to learn more about the Committee and the engagement panel. It is likely this session will be virtual. 
3. Attend, with students, virtual sessions with Members of the Committee to discuss Committee work and inquiries. There is expected to be one of this type of virtual session per inquiry. The Committee may be expected to hold around three inquiries per year (one at a time), though this is subject to the Committee's upcoming decisions about future work. We aim to keep the level of engagement manageable for schools. 
4. .Run lessons with your students to gather their views and experiences to help inform the Committee’s work. 
5. You will not bring the Committee and its work into disrepute. 

 
What you can expect from us 
 

1. We will provide packs to support lessons about the Committee’s work. 
2. The Committee will consider written feedback from the schools/colleges on the inquiry topics and evidence from witnesses, and what questions the students think need to be asked (particularly of Government) as a result. 
3. Towards the end of an inquiry, three student representatives from each school/college will have the opportunity to meet online with members of the Committee to discuss their views on the evidence session with the Minister and other key stakeholders, and what they’d like the Committee to consider as it prepares the inquiry's final report. 
4. The Chair will visit each of the schools/colleges once over the course of the year, COVID-permitting. 
5. Written acknowledgement from us thanking you for your participation.

 
Behaviour code 
 
The UK Parliament complies with a behaviour code. This outlines how everybody who visits and works at Parliament should be treated. We invite all those participating to observe it too. 
Abuse or harassment of our staff or participants is unacceptable. 
Harassment is any unwanted behaviour of a physical, verbal or non-verbal nature that violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. It may be directed against someone because of their sex, gender identity, race, age, religion or belief, disability, or because of their sexual orientation. 
If we believe staff or participants are being abused or harassed during an event, we will remove them immediately which may result in the termination of the event. 
We encourage and support staff and participants to report all incidents of harassment and abuse. 
 
Safeguarding 
 
Within the Houses of Parliament, we take seriously our responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, both during visits to the Parliamentary Estate, and when our staff engage with them in the community. We are committed to providing a safe environment and ensuring that we can confidently and competently fulfil our safeguarding responsibilities. 
 
You can read more about Parliaments Safeguarding policy on our website.