When

What

Kidocracy is an engaging, hands-on workshop that introduces children to democratic principles through storytelling, role-play, and group challenges. The aim is to help pupils understand leadership, teamwork, and civic responsibility in a fun and age-appropriate way.

Session Structure:

• Children are grouped into “islands” on gym mats, promoting collaboration with peers they may not usually work with.

• The workshop begins with a dramatic story featuring Eve Ell, leader of Tyrantocracy, and Brehon, an Irish lawmaker. Children explore how power can be abused and how democracy can protect fairness and equality.

• Pupils learn five key leadership qualities: Bravery, Trust, Kindness, Communication, and Listening, which guide all subsequent activities.

• Children nominate and elect island leaders through a secret ballot, experiencing fairness, confidentiality, and equality in practice.

• Island governments tackle decision-making challenges, including allocating a fictional £10 million budget across sectors such as Education, Health, and the Environment.

• The workshop ends with a tug-of-war finale demonstrating the importance of teamwork, unity, and shared leadership.

Teacher Support and Follow-Up:

• Schools receive a pre-workshop guide for teachers and TAs to assist with administration.
• Children complete pre- and post-workshop questions to measure learning and impact.
• A series of discussion prompts are provided for teachers to explore democracy and British Values with students after the session.

“It was a brilliant workshop that cleverly blended very important political themes with great fun. The children were engaged the entire time and learnt so much along the way. We would absolutely love for Kidocracy to return and work with us again. All of the organisation was clear and we felt prepared for their visit. What a brilliant initiative!” - St. Mary Magdalena Academy Primary School

We've worked with the following schools