Name

The Citizenship Foundation

Legal name

The Citizenship Foundation

Website

https://youngcitizens.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic and Citizenship Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Business Law, Ethics & Compliance (Contracts, IP Basics) (EDAMAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Learning Content Bundling & Subscription Passes (All-Access Libraries) (MPACALAL)

Keywords

• Citizenship education
• Legal education resources
• Civic education programmes
• Mock trial competitions
• Teacher CPD training

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. School Subscriptions: Annual subscription plans providing unlimited access to teaching resources for all teachers at a school. SmartLaw subscription priced at £150 annually for unlimited access. Additional tiers include Primary School Subscription and Secondary School Subscription with differentiated resource libraries.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations, general fundraising activities, and bequest/legacy giving through the Friend of Young Citizens programme.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate citizenship and pro bono programmes including Citizenship Workshop Partnerships, Experts in Schools programmes (Economic Experts, Media Experts), and bespoke corporate volunteering projects.
4. Trusts and Foundations Grants: Grant funding from trusts and foundations supporting specific programmes and educational initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Citizenship Foundation (trading as Young Citizens) sells subscription-based access to SmartLaw, an online library of citizenship, law, democracy, PSHE, SMSC and social action teaching resources for UK schools. It also operates a portfolio of national educational programmes — including the Bar Mock Trial Competition, the Magistrates' Court Mock Trial Competition, the Make a Difference Challenge, the Big Legal Lesson, the Big Democracy Lesson, Bring About Change, Citizenship Workshops, the SMSC Quality Mark, and the Curriculum Planner — together with teacher CPD training and corporate volunteer-led classroom programmes.

Product overview

Young Citizens (The Citizenship Foundation) is an educational charity that operates as a platform-plus-programmes model, offering teaching resources, digital tools, and structured programmes for citizenship education in UK schools. The core offering includes the SmartLaw Subscription (a paid resource library of legal education materials), the free Teaching Resources Library, and the Curriculum Planner digital tool. These are complemented by immersive programmes including Mock Trial Competitions (Bar and Magistrates' Court), social action programmes (Make a Difference Challenge, Bring About Change), national campaigns (The Big Legal Lesson, The Big Democracy Lesson), volunteer-based expert programmes (Economic and Media Experts in Schools), and the SMSC Quality Mark accreditation. The organization also provides teacher CPD training and the Circle of Life environmental award. Founded in 1989 by Lord Phillips OBE, the charity helps define the UK citizenship curriculum and is one of the largest providers of legal education for 5-18 year olds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SmartLaw Subscription Annual subscription giving schools full access to SmartLaw, an online library of curriculum-aligned citizenship, law, democracy, PSHE, SMSC and social action teaching resources for use in lessons across key stages.
• Bar Mock Trial Competition National schools' mock trial competition, run in partnership with the Inns of Court, in which student teams prosecute and defend fictional cases against one another before barristers and judges.
• Magistrates' Court Mock Trial Competition National schools' mock trial competition, run in partnership with the Magistrates' Association, in which students take on the roles of magistrates, lawyers, witnesses and defendants in real courtroom settings.
• Make a Difference Challenge Structured social action programme in which students identify a local or global issue, research it, take action and reflect on the impact, run by The Citizenship Foundation for UK schools.
• Bring About Change Active citizenship programme supporting students to identify issues, plan campaigns, and take real action to bring about change in their communities.
• The Big Legal Lesson Annual nationwide legal literacy lesson run by The Citizenship Foundation that engages schools across the UK in a shared law-related lesson on the same day.
• The Big Democracy Lesson Annual nationwide democracy education lesson run by The Citizenship Foundation, in which schools take part in a shared democracy-themed lesson on the same day.
• Citizenship Workshops Face-to-face workshops delivered in schools by The Citizenship Foundation team on topics including law, democracy, rights and responsibilities, and active citizenship.
• SMSC Quality Mark Accreditation awarded by The Citizenship Foundation to schools that evidence high-quality Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) provision across their curriculum and ethos.
• Curriculum Planner Digital planning tool from The Citizenship Foundation that helps schools map citizenship, PSHE, SMSC and law-related content across the academic year, aligned with national curriculum and statutory guidance.
• Economic Experts in Schools Corporate volunteer programme in which economics professionals volunteer in schools to run sessions on economic literacy and financial capability.
• Media Experts in Schools Corporate volunteer programme that brings media industry professionals into schools to lead sessions on media literacy, free expression and the press.
• Court in Action Programme in which legal professionals from the courts volunteer to run sessions in schools or host visits, bringing the workings of the legal system to life for students.
• Circle of Life Award Primary-school programme and award from The Citizenship Foundation that supports citizenship, SMSC and circle-time activities for KS1–KS2 pupils.
• Teacher CPD and Training Free continuing professional development (CPD) training delivered by The Citizenship Foundation to equip teachers to deliver citizenship, law, PSHE and SMSC education.
• Free Teaching Resources Library Freely available teaching resources, lessons and activities hosted on the Young Citizens website for teachers to use without subscription.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000 schools and colleges use Young Citizens lessons and assemblies
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FTI ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing corporate partner that initially created the Experts in Schools programme. Professionals from FTI Consulting volunteer in schools to deliver economics education sessions. The partnership has expanded to include Economic Experts in Schools and Media Experts in Schools programmes.
• The Electoral CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational campaign partner for The Big Democracy Lesson, collaborating to boost civic knowledge and skills in primary and secondary schools across the UK.
• Astley PartnershipminorOthersLocal landscaping company that donated time to create a plan for the Moseley Park Academy community garden project as part of the Circle of Life Award programme.
• Local Criminal Justice BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOversaw the Court in Action project in partnership with the Police & Crime Commissioner, ensuring programme alignment with criminal justice education goals.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• iCivics: US-based nonprofit founded by Sandra Day O'Connor providing free civics games, lessons, and mock-trial curricula for K-12 students. Closest mission and product analogue to Young Citizens' legal literacy and Mock Trial Competition offerings, differing only by geography.
• Twinkl: Subscription-based educational publishing platform providing downloadable teaching resources to UK schools. Highly comparable to Young Citizens' SmartLaw subscription and free resource library, with the same teacher-buyer persona and PSHE/citizenship overlap.
• Hansard Society: UK charity promoting parliamentary democracy and political literacy through education programmes for young people. Directly overlaps with Young Citizens' democracy, citizenship, and political literacy mission and school engagement model.

Emerging players

• Junior Achievement USA: Global nonprofit delivering work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy programmes in schools. Comparable to Young Citizens' Economic Experts in Schools and Make a Difference Challenge programmes, with a similar volunteer-in-schools delivery model.
• Amnesty International UK: Human rights organisation running UK school-facing human rights education programmes. Shares the rights/civic education mission with Young Citizens and is a potential partner or competitor in the schools' human-rights-and-citizenship content space.

Broad incumbents

• Oak National Academy: Government-backed free online classroom platform offering full curriculum lessons across subjects. Represents the public-sector alternative to paid educational subscriptions and a key risk to Young Citizens' paid resource library value proposition.
• TES Resources: Major UK teacher resource marketplace and community where educators share and sell lessons. Adjacent distribution channel to Young Citizens' resource library, competing for teacher time and curriculum content spend.
• BBC Bitesize: BBC's free national learning platform covering UK curriculum subjects including citizenship, PSHE, and law. Competes for teacher attention and lesson-planning time as a free incumbent, but does not specialise in legal/civic education like Young Citizens.

Regional players

• Discovery Education: Global K-12 digital content provider with curriculum-aligned resources including citizenship and social-emotional learning. Comparable in subscription-based digital content model but operates primarily outside the UK, making it a regional rather than direct competitor.

Others

• The Electoral Commission: UK statutory body running democratic engagement and voter education including school programmes such as the Big Democracy Lesson with Young Citizens. Functions as both a partner and a public-sector educator in the same civic literacy space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/youngcitizensuk
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCxN-J9hl6jU2Z7V4a6vTj4g
• Facebookfacebook.com/youngcitizensuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/young-citizens

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Citizenship Foundation