Jon Snow introduces this series for 10 to 14-year olds. The first week looks at a case of bunking off school, and is soon considering who makes rules and why we need them. On the way, we get a glimpse of the monarchy and how much power it has: is it a good thing to have a queen as head of state? And what are the penalties for breaking the rules, at school and outside? We also get a guided tour of the House of Commons and learn how to organise an election. Presented in easily digestible chunks, spattered with questions, the programmes will provide a useful starting-point for discussion on a range of issues in citizenship.

Key Stage 1: National Tests. BBC Radio 3 Fridays, from January 31 and February 7, 3-3.30am.

This is a multimedia resource for numeracy, involving night-time radio broadcasts, a video, a website (www.bbc.co.ukschoolsks1), pupils’ books (BBC Educational Publishing, Tel: 0870 830 8000) and, in about a month’s time, four 20-minute television programmes (Tuesdays, March 4-25, 10.50-11.10am) - all designed to help pupils prepare for the KS1 national tests. The radio programmes focus on mental arithmetic and vocabulary, with games and problem-solving activities. And the whole lot ought to solve your five to seven-year-olds’ problem in getting over their first hurdle on the educational track.

Pathways of Belief: Islam and Sikhism. C4 Mondays, February 3 and 10, 11.20-11.35am; Wednesdays, February 5 and 12, 11.35-11.50am.

Islam on Mondays, Sikhism on Wednesdays, is the pattern for this interlocking two-by-two part series to introduce children from seven upwards to some of the world’s major religions. People from the faiths in question tell us what it means to be a practising Muslim or Sikh.

Christianity and Judaism follow next term. Videos and various printed resources are also available.

Lion Mountain

BBC2 Friday, January 31, 11.20-11.40am

Ray Harrison Graham’s intelligent drama tells the story of two young refugees from Sierra Leone who arrive in London from Freetown after their parents have been killed and their brother conscripted into the rebel army; his letters are their only link with home. Acted by professionals and children from the Sierra Leonean community in England, this is a moving account of the children’s bewilderment as they try to adjust to their new life and find an identity in an unfamilar culture. Designed to support work on social inclusion with seven to 11-year-olds, it could be used in a variety of contexts to give an insight into the problems of asylum seekers in Europe.

Taming Toddlers

Discovery Health weekdays, from February 3, 8-8.30pm

In this 15-part series, the Discovery Health channel considers the problems of living with a creature who smears butter on the windows, throws food on the carpet and a tantrum in the supermarket; in short, a toddler. Fiona Phillips volunteers to accompany some of the breed to Legoland, to the hairdresser’s, down on the farm and into the woods, to see what trouble they can cause in different environments. The motto: forewarned is forearmed. Useful for PSHE, and for survival in any family containing an infant anarchist.