Why choose VotesforSchools
Every week, pupils explore a real-life issue, discuss different perspectives and cast their vote. Teachers get curriculum-mapped resources, leaders get clear evidence of what's being covered, and pupils get opportunities for their views to reach organisations working on the issues they've discussed.
Understand how VotesforSchools can help you in your role, and how it can support your staff.
We cover PSHE, yes. The same subscription also covers British Values, SMSC, Personal Development, Character Education and Citizenship - the whole PD picture, not one slice of it. That's six frameworks on one budget line, not six separate ones.
Curriculum Coverage
The world moves faster than a scheme written years ago. Two years ago, nobody was asking whether they'd trust advice from an AI chatbot - now it's a question pupils are actually living with. That's why we create a new lesson every single week, so pupils are talking about what's happening right now, not whatever was current the last time a scheme got updated.
And with over 200 lessons already created, you're sure to find something that your class (or you!) want to talk about each week.
How we make them
Plenty of providers say pupils get a voice. Few can show pupils where it went.
This year, a vote pupils cast helped shape a government committee's recommendation. Another saw pupils just like them appear in a national documentary. At the heart of VotesforSchools is engagement pupils can actually see the results of.
Pupil Voice
Every time your pupils vote at the end of a lesson, their answers feed straight back to your school's dashboard. Ask something like "Do you know what a healthy relationship looks like?" and you don't need to wait for a report - you can see straight away where the gaps are, year group by year group.
That's what one school found: Year 5 pupils were nearly twice as likely to say they didn't know what a healthy relationship looked like, compared with the average of every other year group. Nobody flagged it, nobody went looking for it. It just showed up, because the data's broken down by year, class and gender, not left as one school-wide average.
Data & Reporting
Talking about issues like knife crime, county lines and nicotine pouches gives pupils a safe space to discuss risks, ask questions and understand when and how to speak up. These conversations support key areas of KCSIE, including student voice, contextual safeguarding, online safety and prevention, while relevant lessons can also support your school’s work around the Prevent Duty.
And when something happens in your local area, you can edit our lessons to reflect it, helping your PSHE respond to the needs of the pupils in front of you. Our platform doesn’t rely on pupils using personal devices, so it’s already compatible with the 2026 phone-free classroom duty, without you needing to change a thing.
Safeguarding
As well as a new lesson each week, we also create a new assembly, bringing your school together to celebrate pupil voice and see what happened after pupils cast their votes, including responses from organisations and decision-makers.
This is alongside our library of assemblies for awareness days, from World Book Day through to Black History Month, ensuring you're always covered.
AssembliesStart your two-week free trial today to see what we're talking about this week
Trial
Schools
Pupils
Votes
| SCHOOLS COME FOR... | WHAT THEY GET | WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR SCHOOL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curriculum evidence | Termly overview reports and curriculum maps showing exactly what's been covered, and when | Show breadth and intent to a governor or inspector, without extra workload | |
| Data they can act on | Results broken down by year group, class and gender, set against the national picture | Spot a gap before it becomes a bigger problem, and know exactly where to focus | |
| Less planning, more teaching | A zero-prep lesson every week, plus 200+ more already built in the library | Free up staff time, and let non-specialists teach with confidence | |
| A safeguarding paper trail | Every comment reviewed weekly by our own qualified teachers, mapped to KCSIE and Prevent Duty | A second pair of eyes on your school, and evidence ready for your DSL | |
| Inspection-ready, not inspection-adjacent | A genuine track record of sessions run during live Ofsted inspections | Walk into inspection with the paper trail already written | |
| One subscription, several logins | Separate accounts for every staff member | Everyone sees what they need, without one person forwarding lessons & screenshots around |
Headteacher
Caldmore Primary Academy
Deputy Head
Bebington High School
Senior Leader
Thomas’s Clapham Secondary School
Head of Welfare
EPSOM College
Deputy Head
Parkgate Primary School
Assistant Principal
Reigate College
Head of Learner Support Services
Guernsey College of Further Education
Headteacher
St Chad's Catholic Primary School
Head of SMSC
UTC Plymouth
Class Teacher
Coton C of E Primary School
ARP Phase Leader and Teacher of the Deaf
Five Elms Primary School
Year 11 Teacher
Gryphon School
Upper School Class Teacher
Small Haven School
The questions we get the most about using VotesforSchools in your school or College.
There are three ways in which we choose our topics:
1. Based on current affairs and what is currently being spoken about in the news or in classrooms.
2. Based on the diverse society in which we live and the events or Awareness Days that celebrate different communities.
3. Based on suggestions from voters and teachers on what they would like to see us cover. These are some of our favourite topics to cover as we know we are reflecting issues they find most important back to them!
We always provide voters with further information of who they can talk to or raise any concerns with for any particularly challenging topics, and we always recommend the government's Safeguarding best practice policy is followed.
At the beginning of each week the team sits down with the proposed VoteTopic question and maps out the most compelling arguments for and against. These form the foundation upon which each lesson is built, with all the activities offering scope to explore both the “Yes” and “No” sides.
When covering specialised topics, we consult experts wherever possible to ensure the information we are providing is from a trusted source and is giving our voters accurate advice and guidance.
Each lesson is carefully checked prior to publication to ensure that it not only takes an objective view of the topic but also offers arguments from a range of sources to reflect press coverage. Where possible we also like to give young people the opportunity to explore any “fake news” surrounding the topic, and all our lessons encourage critical thinking and seek to improve digital literacy.
VotesforSchools can be delivered during tutor time, assemblies, or as part of PSHE or Citizenship lessons. Some schools also have a dedicated VotesforSchools slot in their timetable.
All of these are mapped every week and overviews are provided in coverage reports each half term.
The platform also includes comprehensive guidance on how VotesforSchools supports Ofsted and ISI inspections.
Yes!
There is a simple log in process and we provide clear, easy-to-follow guidance. Our support team is available during school hours with friendly advice and help if you have any problems: info@votesforschools.com
We understand that all schools have different approaches and access to technology. We have built maximum flexibility into the platform meaning that students can vote on laptops, tablets, smartphones or in the school computer suite. Teachers can also register their class' votes on the platform and, if tech is not your thing, we provide a ballot box if a school prefers to vote manually rather than online.
Schools can access the anonymised data specific to their school and also see the data relating to other schools across the UK directly from the VotesforSchools platform. A full report on the weekly results as well as user-friendly infographics are also uploaded to our website and social media platforms each week.
The voting process is anonymous by design: voters have an individualised user login so that all votes remain anonymous.
Head to the “Free Downloads” page on our website here to get hold of some outstanding free lessons or sign up now to our 14-day free trial.
The VotesforSchools platform runs for a whole year, regardless of sign-up date with VotePacks for every week of the academic year.
If you would like access to any past topics, please get in touch at info@votesforschools.com.
That's great news! You can sign up directly here or email us at info@votesforschools.com, and we'll help you get set up.
If you've already had a free trial with us just pop us an email and let us know so that we can reactivate your account - no need to sign up again.