General Contact
Phone: (08) 8946 1512
Int: +61 8 8946 1512
Fax: (08) 8941 2558
Int: +61 (08) 8941 2558
Email: LA TABLE OFFICE
Parliamentary Education Services
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School Programs
In addition to our school tours, Parliamentary Education Services has several programs that we run free of charge for school students. For further information about any of our school programs please contact Karen Parker, Community Engagement
Co-ordinator, by email at karen.parker@nt.gov.au or by phone on 8946 1414.
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Democracy at Work - for middle, senior and tertiary students, also available for community groups (trial stage only)
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Regional Sittings - 29 – 31 March 2011 available to all school students in and around the Alice Springs area
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Outreach Programs - available to all NT school students
For school resources please see Publications
Tours of Parliament House
Schools are invited to visit Parliament House for an informative tour that explains parliamentary procedures, physical aspects of the building, the history of parliament in the Northern Territory, as well as some information and background about the site on which Parliament House sits. Visits are encouraged
during parliamentary sitting days so schools can spend part of their tour witnessing Parliament in action in a special glassed section of the public gallery of the Parliamentary Chamber. When available, Members often leave the chamber to address students in the gallery.
In addition to a tour, Parliamentary Education Services can organise for the Northern Territory Electoral Commission to run one of their educational sessions. Conducted in a room at Parliament House, NTEC provide information about elections and voting and the students take part in a voting exercise to see how preferential voting really works.
Tours are one hour and NTEC sessions are 45 minutes.
Parliamentary Role Plays
Our staff are available to visit schools on request and conduct interactive parliamentary role play sessions in Darwin, Palmerston and surrounding areas. Role plays are usually run from morning until lunch time for primary and lower middle school students and over double periods for upper middle school and senior students. However, we are flexible and can modify all sessions to suit the age and needs of the students, and requirements of the teachers.
During the role plays students decide on the bills they would like to debate, write their own persuasive speeches and take on a role in parliament. We provide parliamentary robes and the use of props and scripts to accurately portray the running of parliamentary sessions.
If available, local Members are invited to also address the class, and we can organise for the Northern Territory Electoral Commission to run a session about voting and elections during the role play.
Click here for sample role play scripts Click here for sample role play bills
Step Up Be Heard
Aimed specifically at political studies and legal studies students, this new initiative has two parts: Step Up focuses on becoming a political candidate, with students forming political parties, developing policies and running an election campaign. With the Northern Territory Electoral Commission, students will then conduct an election to learn how votes are counted and preferences distributed. Be Heard allows students to form a government and opposition, develop a bill and then research and write a speech to be presented during a mock parliamentary debate held in the Chamber of Parliament House. In 2011 a pilot of Step Up Be Heard was run with a Year 11 Legal Studies class from Darwin High School over 4 weeks in April and May.
Democracy at Work
The Department of the Legislative Assembly in conjunction with the Supreme Court and Northern Territory Electoral Commission have developed Democracy at Work as an educational program that promotes an understanding of the Northern Territory parliamentary, electoral and justice systems.
It is designed to target a wide range of people including students at secondary and tertiary levels, community groups, and new immigrants and refugees who are unfamiliar with our systems.
Participants are taken on a tour of Parliament House, which includes a role play in the Chamber to show how a law is made, and if available, also have a question and answer session with a current Member. The Northern Territory Electoral Commission do a presentation on the 3 levels of government, voting systems and elections and then run a mock election to show how votes are counted and how preferences are distributed. At the Supreme Court participants do a short tour of the building, take part in a role play of a trial and have a question and answer session with a judge.
Each focus areas has a 90 minute session with a half hour break in between. Parliamentary Education Services coordinate the program and it can be run on request.
For further information please contact Karen Parker on 8946 1414or by email at karen.parker@nt.gov.au
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Commonwealth Week ~ 14 – 18 March 2011
To celebrate Commonwealth Day, flags of Commonwealth member countries are hung in the Main Hall and information about the Commonwealth, the CPA and all 54 of the member countries is on display. Schools are invited to take part in a tour of Parliament House and an interactive quiz activity to help students learn more about the Commonwealth and its member countries.
Careers in Parliament Forum ~ 16 – 20 May 2011
As part of the National Careers Development Week, students can listen to presentations by various Members of Parliament about their work. They can also engage in a question and answer session with the presenters and a morning tea.
Regional Sittings ~ 29 – 31 March 2011
Every two years the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory holds a regional sitting in Alice Springs, transforming the Convention Centre into a parliamentary chamber. Schools from the region (all schools south of Tennant Creek) are invited take part in a one hour parliamentary education program which involves viewing the sittings, participating in a short role play and touring an information display.
In the month prior to the sittings we visits various primary and middle schools in Alice Springs to conduct parliamentary role play sessions as preparation for the sittings..
Outreach Programs
Parliamentary Education Services visit schools in regional and remote parts of the Northern Territory. We have two Outreach programs:
- A two hour version of our parliamentary role play program which includes an informative PowerPoint presentation about Parliament, re-arranging the classroom into a Chamber (including props and costumes), assigning every student a role, deciding on a bill to debate, writing persuasive speeches, and performing a mock parliamentary debate to see if the bill passes or not.
- A Remote Schools Outreach Program specifically designed for Indigenous students who are ESL learners, and for who Parliament concepts may be new. There is less focus on literacy and speaking in front of a group, and more visuals and hands on activities to explain the basics of parliament. This finishes with an abridged version of the parliamentary role play. This can be 1.5 hours or we can include an art/drawing activity half way for a two hour program.
We are often accompained by the local Member, and sometimes the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and can organise for the Northern Territory Electoral Commission to run a session about voting and elections during the visit.
So far in 2011, Parliamentary Education Services has visited schools in Alice Springs and Nhulunbuy, and remote schools in Minjilang, Barunga, Wugularr, Mataranka and Jilkminggan. We would love to visit more regional and remote schools on request to this program can assist teachers and their teaching of civics topics.
For more information, please contact Karen Parker by email at karen.parker@nt.gov.au or by phone on 8946 1414.