Make your citizenship action count.

Your free classroom materials

Want a walkthrough first? Read our guide to planning your Citizenship Action Record.

• Printable planning workbook

  Six stages with writing space. Print it or save it as a PDF using your browser.

• Download the blank workbook as text

  Open in a word processor or an accessible text editor and work offline.

• Source log spreadsheet (CSV)

  Keep claims, sources, dates and limitations together.

• Action and evidence log (CSV)

  Record your contribution and link each item to the original evidence.

12 citizenship action ideas, across the three strands

Starting points to adapt with your teacher. Choose the idea that matters to you and fits your circumstances.

1. Rights and responsibilities

   Make a school activity more accessible

   With permission, ask how pupils can take part in one activity. Propose one change to the organiser and explain the reasons.

   Possible evidence: Your question plan, an anonymous summary, the proposal and a dated response.

   Reflection question: Whose perspective was missing? Did the change remove a barrier or only make it less visible?

2. Rights and responsibilities

   Run a rights information session

   Choose one right, check an official source, then run a short class discussion with a way for classmates to ask questions.

   Possible evidence: Source notes, your own session outline and anonymous feedback.

   Reflection question: Which misunderstanding did you discover? What would make the explanation clearer?

3. Rights and responsibilities

   Bring a proposal to the student council

   Research one school issue, hear different views and put a specific request to the student council through the school's process.

   Possible evidence: The proposal, a record of your role and a permitted summary of the response.

   Reflection question: Who could influence the decision? What did you learn about representation?

4. Rights and responsibilities

   Improve a welcome resource

   Ask a teacher how new pupils find essential information. Test one part of a welcome guide with permission, then suggest an improvement.

   Possible evidence: A before-and-after version, your changes and feedback without pupil names.

   Reflection question: Which assumption about what newcomers know did you have to change?

5. Global citizenship

   Reduce one avoidable source of waste

   Agree a safe counting method with your teacher, record a baseline, run a small information activity and repeat the count.

   Possible evidence: Your method, dates, counts, activity material and a note of what changed between counts.

   Reflection question: Can you attribute the difference to your action? What else could explain it?

6. Global citizenship

   Investigate one school purchasing choice

   Check what evidence supports an ethical or environmental claim about one item. Present a sourced recommendation to the person responsible.

   Possible evidence: Two sources, your comparison, the recommendation and any reply.

   Reflection question: How did you weigh price, evidence and the interests of people making the product?

7. Global citizenship

   Connect a local action to a global goal

   Choose a relevant UN Sustainable Development Goal and a small school action. Explain the connection to an audience and invite feedback.

   Possible evidence: The goal source, your activity plan, audience questions and your contribution.

   Reflection question: What does your local evidence show, and what can it not tell you about the global issue?

8. Global citizenship

   Request one practical energy-saving change

   Ask permission to observe a shared space. Consult the person responsible and propose one realistic change without touching electrical equipment.

   Possible evidence: An observation sheet, a checked source, the request and a dated update.

   Reflection question: Who could act on your request? What practical constraint did you encounter?

9. Exploring democracy

   Put a question to the right representative

   Choose an issue, check whether a council or national body is responsible, then send one specific, sourced question through a teacher-approved channel.

   Possible evidence: Your responsibility map, sources, dated question and any response or follow-up.

   Reflection question: Did you contact someone with the power to act? What did their reply, or lack of reply, teach you?

10. Exploring democracy

    Organise a classroom voting activity

    With your teacher, agree a genuine classroom choice, explain the voting rules, run the ballot and discuss whose views the method captures.

    Possible evidence: Rules, anonymous totals, your organising tasks and discussion notes.

    Reflection question: Was the process fair and understandable? How did the method affect the result?

11. Exploring democracy

    Explain one Dáil vote to your class

    Read the exact question in one official division, prepare a balanced explanation, deliver it to classmates and collect questions to inform a follow-up.

    Possible evidence: The division link, your explanation outline, questions received and follow-up work.

    Reflection question: How did checking the actual question change the explanation? Reading a record alone is research; identify the action you took.

12. Exploring democracy

    Contribute to a public consultation

    Find an open, age-appropriate consultation with your teacher. Research one question, discuss different views and contribute through the agreed school process.

    Possible evidence: The official brief and closing date, your research and your contribution to the submission.

    Reflection question: How could participants influence the outcome? What would you need to see to judge the response?

Before you share your record

Use these questions to review your planning. They do not replace your teacher’s brief or the official Features of Quality.

• I can point to an action I took, beyond collecting information.
• I identify my own tasks and decisions within any group work.
• I link my account to dated evidence and credit the sources I used.
• I explain a change, challenge or confirmation in my understanding.
• I discuss a limitation and a realistic improvement or next step.
• My format is readable or audible and agreed with my teacher.
• The work is my own and follows my school's rules on assistance.

What is the CSPE CBA?

For the NCCA CSPE short course, the CBA is an individual Citizenship Action Record based on a citizenship action. The course includes at least three actions across its strands. The record can use writing, audio, visuals, a presentation or a mix. Agree the format with your teacher.

The assessment takes place in second or third year, with approximately 6–8 class hours envisaged for preparation and completion. Your school sets the timetable. A group can take action together, but each student records their own contribution and learning. These resources are independent learning supports, not an official assessment form.

Research is the start. What will you do with it?

Reading a Bill or collecting statistics helps you understand an issue. Identify the next step that involves you in citizenship: put a question to a responsible body, contribute to a consultation, organise a fair classroom decision or explain verified findings to an audience and respond to their questions.

Choose a scale that fits the time and permissions available. For example, asking for one improvement to a school activity is easier to plan and evaluate than promising to solve a national problem. Discuss your action and its connection to the course with your teacher before starting.

A suggested sequence for your class time

1. Explore and decideCompare issues and possible actions. Check responsibility, access and permissions. Agree a specific aim and the course connection with your teacher.
2. Research and planCheck sources, listen to more than one view and set out tasks, roles, dates and what evidence you will keep.
3. Take action and recordCarry out the agreed activity. Note what you personally did, responses, changes of plan and evidence references as you go.
4. Reflect and presentSelect evidence, explain your learning and prepare your individual record in the agreed format. Use the teacher's feedback and school requirements.

Three checks before choosing an action

• Meaning: can you explain the citizenship issue and why this action is a useful response?
• Feasibility: can you carry it out with the time, access and support available?
• Evidence: will you be able to show your own role, decisions and learning without collecting unnecessary personal information?

Use a source log and an evidence index

For a source, record its title, author or organisation, URL, publication date if available, date checked and the claim it helps establish. Add a limitation: a national total may not describe your school, and a representative's statement is evidence of their position rather than independent proof that a policy worked.

For your own evidence, use short references such as E1 and E2. Record the date, what the item shows and where the original is kept. A plan with your assigned tasks, your own event outline or a dated question can help show your role. Ask permission before using photos, recordings or survey responses; use school-approved storage.

Reflection: explain the change in your thinking

Pick a moment from your action. Explain what you expected, what happened and what you now understand differently. Connect a skill to a task you actually carried out, rather than listing teamwork or communication without an example.

Consider another person's perspective and a limitation in your evidence. If your request received no reply, record that honestly. Explain what you learned about the process and a reasonable next step; do not invent a successful outcome. The reflection prompts below and the separate reflection guide help you ask better questions about your experience.

Understand the assessment without chasing a predicted grade

The official Features of Quality cover engagement in action, personal reflection and how effectively the record communicates the work. Your teacher judges the whole record; this planner does not award marks or predict a descriptor.

The four descriptors are Exceptional, Above expectations, In line with expectations and Yet to meet expectations. Check the current official guidance with your teacher. A polished layout cannot replace your own contribution or thoughtful reflection.

For teachers: a practical classroom pack

• Use the printable workbook in class or let students download their own notes. An account and an AI tool are not needed.
• Agree the learning outcomes, action scope, timetable and permitted format before students start. Offer an accessible alternative to any task involving recording, travel or contacting an outside body.
• Check the source question, action plan and evidence during the process. Use prompts and formative questions while keeping the student's account their own.
• Discuss how a student's individual contribution can be authenticated within a group. Review examples using the official Features of Quality and your school's assessment process.
• Use the source and evidence CSV sheets for classroom organisation, following school data policies. Keep any assessment records in the school's approved system.

Get useful help while keeping ownership

Ask for a term to be explained, a source to be checked or a question that helps you reflect. Keep your action, judgements and final account your own, and follow your school's rules on assistance. Free guides and the planner need no account. DáilDex accounts are for ages 16 and over; younger students can use these public materials with their teacher.