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ELECTION ‘26 ELECTION ‘26 ELECTION ‘26 ELECTION ‘26 ELECTION ‘26 electoralcommission.org.uk/learning Session plan educator notes 2026 Senedd Election - How to Vote<br>
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2026 Senedd Election – How to Vote 2026 Senedd Election – How to Vote 2 01. Lesson plan Session plan for students aged 11-16+ Learning outcomes Learners will understand:
Why voting is important
What the Senedd election is and what they are voting for
How to register and cast their vote at a Senedd election
The session is aimed at young people who will be 16 and eligible to vote in the 2026 Senedd Election but can be adapted to support younger students aged 11+ to learn about the Senedd election.
Resources required
Session PowerPoint slides – includes videos
Paper and pens
Mini-white boards (optional)
Time needed 60 minutes.
Timings for each activity are approximate, and we encourage you to run the session at a pace that suits the needs of your group. Supporting notes
PowerPoint slides include facilitation notes to support you and can be downloaded and adapted to suit your needs. Curriculum links
These resources contribute to the Curriculum for Wales purpose of supporting learners to become “ethical, informed citizens who understand and exercise their human and democratic responsibilities and rights”.
Find out more about how to support effective democracy education by embedding it into the Humanities AOLE of the Curriculum for Wales.
Resources are designed to be used in a range of settings with young people including colleges, schools, and youth groups.<br>
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02. 2026 Senedd Election – How to Vote 2026 Senedd Election – How to Vote 3 LESSON PLAN Introduce what you will cover in today's session.
Why voting is important (10 minutes)
Introduction to election
Explain that there is a Senedd election taking place in 2026 and emphasise why it matters.
This is an opportunity for young people to have their say on decisions that affect them.
You could also invite learners to share their ideas.
Starter – everyday politics
Ask students to write down the timeline of their typical day, highlighting activities that are impacted by politics.
Challenge learners to identify who is responsible for each area at hey have labelled: local councils, the Senedd or UK Parliament.
Feedback as a class, highlighting areas of their lives impacted by the Senedd. Remind learners that to have their say on these issues, they can vote in elections. What is a Senedd election and what are we voting for? (20 minutes)
Introduce what the Senedd is.
Show the video about the Senedd and ask students to list as many responsibilities of the Senedd as they can think of.
Talk through the different Senedd powers, these are called devolved powers.
Then show responsibilities of the UK Parliament, these are called reserved powers.
Impact of the Senedd
Share examples of laws the Senedd have passed. This shows the impact of the Senedd on life in Wales.
Ask learners to discuss two questions in pairs or small groups:
What law do you think has impacted you and your community the most and why?
What is one law would you like the Senedd to pass in the future?
Emphasise that learners can have their say on these issues by voting in Senedd elections.<br>
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03. 2026 Senedd Election – How to Vote 2026 Senedd Election – How to Vote 4 LESSON PLAN How to vote (15 minutes)
Show the video about how to vote in Senedd elections and tell learners you’ll be testing what they learn from the video.
Complete the short quiz on the slides about how to vote and correct any misunderstandings.
You might want to use mini-white boards to collect answers.
There are two bonus questions if you have time or want to challenge your group.
Voting in person – timeline activity
Ask learners to discuss the key steps to voting in person and to correctly order them to create a timeline for voting in person.
They can present their ideas on paper or on mini whiteboards.
Show the answers and talk through how to vote in person.
Preparing for the election (10 minutes)
Share key informtion on the slide about how to prepare for the election. Registering to vote
Ask learners what % of 16-17 year olds they think are registered before revealing the answer.
Ask 60% of the group to raise their hand or stand up to demonstrate that this % of 16-17 year olds in Wales are not registered to vote to have their voice heard.
Share key information on slide about how to register to vote.
For the final activity, ask students to consider what they have learned today. Support students to work in pairs or groups to develop a short 1-minute pitch about why you should register to vote for the Senedd election.
Wrap up Answer any final questions about the election and remind students to register to vote. Only 43% of 16-17 year olds in Wales were registered to vote in 2024 compared to 97% of over 65s.<br>
