Children and Young People’s Service - Hospital and Outreach Education
Citizenship Policy
Statement of Intent.
“To provide access to appropriate education for all children and young
people with medical needs, keeping education alive in the pupil’s life,
maintaining progress and enabling them to achieve their potential.”
Introduction
Citizenship is a statutory requirement as part of the National Curriculum at
Key Stages 3 and 4. At present, there is non statutory guidance for PHSE
and Citizenship at Key Stages 1 and 2. It enables pupils to develop the
knowledge, skills and understanding to become informed, active and
responsible members of local, national and global communities.
Within the hospital and outreach situation, a pupil’s ability to participate in the
citizenship curriculum may be affected by their mental and physical difficulties.
Many of our pupils miss much of their formal schooling and citizenship skills
become more important to them than some of the more traditional National
Curriculum subjects. Through Citizenship, pupils have opportunities to
address real-life issues and appreciate that they can make a difference, in
preparation for adult life and life as a citizen.
Rationale
The key areas of study - social and moral responsibility, community
involvement and political literacy – are identified as the three inter-related
components that thread through all education for citizenship.
Within the hospital and outreach situation, opportunities to become involved in
community projects or to address political issues can be limited. We aim
however to provide pupils, through the citizenship curriculum, with the
confidence to question and challenge issues and to develop community
involvement should they wish to do so in the future. Pupils will develop skills
of enquiry, communication, participation and responsibility through learning
about being a citizen so becoming more informed and interested citizens
themselves. This can be best achieved through creating links between pupils
learning in the hospital and outreach situation and activities taking place in the
pupil’s local communities and the wider world.
The citizenship curriculum aims to:
 Be relevant to the needs and interests of the pupils
 Engage pupils in active participation wherever possible
 Provide opportunities for pupils to contribute to decision making
 Provide opportunities for pupils to develop skills to think critically about
and enquire into topical issues, problems and events that concern them
 Provide opportunities for pupils to analyse information and it’s sources
(including ICT)

Provide opportunities for pupils to develop communication skills, to
justify their opinions, and to negotiate and engage with adults and
peers within the hospital school or outreach situation.
Access Statement
Hospital and Outreach Education recognises its responsibility under the
Disability Discrimination Act and ensures that access will be as complete as
possible. All reasonable adjustments will be made as necessary to enable
access to curriculum opportunities and buildings.
Race Equalities Statement
Hospital and Outreach Education is committed to fulfilling its requirements
under the Race relations (Amendment) Act by:
-demonstrating respect for all people
-promoting staff awareness of culture, ethnicity and religion
-creating an ethos of cultural diversity
-generating a culture in which everyone can participate in the environment.
Equal Opportunities Statement
All pupils regardless of their special educational needs, physical disabilities,
gender, ethnicity or religion will be encouraged to work to their full potential
through planned activities and with as wide a variety of media and materials
as resources allow.
Links with other areas of the curriculum
The citizenship curriculum will provide a foundation for the common areas of
learning defined as the key skills, namely
 Communication
 Application of number
 Information technology
 Working with others
 Improving own learning and performance
 Problem solving
Also included will be the skills of thinking, information processing, reasoning,
enquiry, creative-thinking and evaluation.
Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
The citizenship curriculum aims to provide specific opportunities for pupils to
explore the range of attitudes and values in society and to consider the kind of
society they wish to live in. Through exploration and discussion of topical,
political, spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues, they will develop skills and
attributes to promote:
 Empathy and a willingness to perceive and understand the interests,
beliefs and viewpoints of others
 A willingness and ability to apply reasoning skills to problems and value
a respect for truth and evidence in forming or holding opinions
 A willingness and ability to participate in decision making, to value
freedom and to value fairness as a basis for making and judging
decisions.
Citizenship promotes spiritual development by increasing the awareness
and understanding of issues involving different beliefs and values in society.
It helps develop self knowledge through exploration of their identity and
belonging, their ideals and commitments and the purpose that they see in life.
Citizenship promotes moral development by helping pupils to acquire critical
appreciation of issues of right and wrong, justice, fairness, rights and
obligations in society. Pupils have the opportunity to explore ethical and
moral dimensions of legal, social, economic and environmental issues and to
exercise responsibility at a personal and social level.
Citizenship promotes social development through helping pupils to acquire
the understanding and skills they need to become responsible and effective
members of society. They can develop an understanding of how society
works and how decisions are influenced and made.
Citizenship aims to promote cultural development through helping pupils
understand the nature and role of the different groups to which they belong,
learn about the implications of diversity in society and develop a respect for
difference.
Structures and Curriculum Planning
Due to the time restraints and the need to cover a range of subjects,
Citizenship is planned to be delivered in a cross-curricular format as well as
an individual scheme of work. Continuity of learning is one of the major aims
of the hospital and outreach teacher therefore, where possible, links will be
made with the pupil’s own school so that individual targets can be
incorporated into the daily lesson plan, or individual work may be set by the
home school.
The long term planning is taken from the QCA Scheme of Work for KS1/2/3/4
and is planned and taught through a thematic approach, which is outlined in
greater detail in the medium term planning. Pupils at the Foundation stage will
follow the Guidelines set out in the Curriculum Guidance for Foundation
Stage. Key Stage 4 pupils will continue to work on their own school syllabus.
The AQA Unit Award Scheme will be used to provide longer-term pupils with a
medium term scheme of work and short term learning objectives.
Long term planning
Because of the limited time available for the delivery of a broad and balanced
curriculum within the hospital school and outreach settings, Citizenship will be
taught alongside and through the core subjects of Mathematics, English,
Science and ICT as well as a discrete subject. Six widely based themes have
been identified for study and one will be delivered each term. The range of
Citizenship topics will be spread across the year to ensure a balanced
delivery of the subject.
Medium term planning
Because of the nature of hospital teaching – the age range, ability, numbers
of pupils and an ever-changing client group, - lesson planning needs to
remain flexible. Pupils may be taught in small groups, pairs, individually, in the
classroom, or at the bedside. Therefore medium planning represents an
outline of suggested activities, references to resources and learning
objectives planned across the Key Stages from Foundation to Key Stage 3.
In the outreach situation, pupil’s home schools are responsible for their
curriculum. However, Citizenship is not usually an area for which work is
provided. In order to try to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum, HOE
staff may then deliver Citizenship elements through the other subjects or as a
discrete unit.
For Key Stage four the AQA Unit Award Scheme will be used as the
foundation of the medium term planning. These units of work will be crossmatched with the QCA units of work and then individualised for each student.
(See curriculum action plan)
Daily Lesson Plans
Lesson plans will be written for the core subjects and citizenship elements will
be clearly identified. Pupils will be made aware of the citizenship links also.
For the delivery of a discrete citizenship lesson, learning objectives will be
defined along with differentiation for individual pupils, different key stages, key
vocabulary and concepts to be taught. An evaluation will be made at the end
of the lesson. Progress made, or difficulties experienced by individual children
and suggestions for further work, will be recorded. Pupils may be asked to
‘self evaluate’ their part in the lesson and that may be recorded in their
citizenship portfolios or pupil profiles.
Lesson plans for the outreach setting are being piloted presently.
Teaching and Learning Styles
The hospital and outreach teachers are aware of the benefits of varying
teaching and learning styles to optimise pupils’ learning.
Pupils will be given opportunities to learn through a variety of methods
including ‘visual’, ‘auditory’ and ‘kinaesthetic’ learning styles.
The teaching aims to ensure that knowledge and understanding about
becoming informed citizens is acquired and applied when developing skills of
enquiry and communication, participation and responsible action. Hospital
and Outreach therefore recognises that the way in which learning
experiences are provided in citizenship is fundamental to the development of
effective practice.
To ensure pupils gain a broad range of active citizenship experiences, the
citizenship curriculum will have planned opportunities for pupils to:
 Take responsibility for their own learning
 Explore and discuss and, where possible, debate topical issues of
significance and interest
 Explore and discuss varied attitudes and values underpinning issues
encountered in society
 Where possible, work in groups of different sizes and compositions
 Take time to reflect on their experiences
Differentiation and Special Educational Needs.
The citizenship curriculum will be adapted to ensure that it takes account of
the different experiences, strengths and interests of the pupils in order to fulfil
the potential of the more able, whilst reinforcing and supporting those of lower
ability. Pupils with special educational needs will be included in the group
sessions with suitably differentiated work and support where necessary.
Every effort will be made to maintain entitlement and equality of opportunity.
Information and Communication Technology
ICT will be used to support the curriculum through:  Research
 Word processing
 Recording work
 Publishing
 Presentation
 On-line websites
 On-line learning resources, including distance learning materials where
appropriate
 Video conferencing
 E-mail
Resources
Resources will be shared across the education bases at Kettering and
Northampton General Hospitals and in the outreach settings where possible.
Good use is also made of local libraries for resources and research. Some
duplication of resources is inevitable due to the distances involved between
bases. The subject leader/s along with the leadership group will be
responsible for resource decisions.
A budget for the Citizenship curriculum will be negotiated with the subject
leader/s at the beginning of each financial year when the budget for Children
and Families Service and HOE has been apportioned.
Individual records of work
Individual records and pupil profiles are kept for pupils who stay in the hospital
for longer than 3 weeks and recurring admissions so that an accurate report
can be sent to their own schools on a regular basis.
A record of work covered by other pupils in the hospital bases is kept daily.
Independent target setting and record keeping will also be encouraged.
Outreach pupils will be encouraged to keep a portfolio of their work in
Citizenship.
Assessment
The purpose of assessment in Citizenship is to contribute to standards and
achievement by establishing high expectations, ensuring progression and
engaging and motivating pupils as partners in the assessment process. The
aim is to measure what we value about Citizenship, give equal weighting to
the development of the skills of enquiry and communication, active
participation (where possible), knowledge and understanding. By involving
pupils in discussions about criteria for assessing their work they can set their
own targets, collect a range of evidence, understand what they have done
well and how they need to develop, fell confident about their progress and
celebrate their achievements.
Assessment will be carried out by the hospital teacher, teaching assistant or
outreach teacher at the end of a lesson or unit as is appropriate for the
individual pupil.
School Liaison
The pupil’s own school will be contacted as soon as it is known that the child
will be in hospital for more than 3 days, has a recurring admission or has been
absent from school for longer than 3 weeks. Visits to the school will be made
wherever possible if the child has complex learning difficulties or medical
problems that might impact on the child’s learning. Work sent by the pupil’s
school will be given priority over work planned by HOE staff but in order to
offer breadth of curriculum and involve the pupils actively, HOE staff may
complement the pupil’s timetable with it own active curriculum. This often
includes Citizenship, which has other areas of the curriculum built into the
units of work.
For outreach pupils, an initial set up meeting is always organised before
teaching starts so that the outreach teacher can form links with the SENCO or
other link teacher in the pupil’s school. It is expected that the pupil’s school
will support the pupil as much as possible in terms of setting work, marking
work and providing resources.
Evaluation
The Hospital and Outreach Education staff are aware that initiatives from the
DfES are issued at intervals and these need to be adopted where appropriate.
There is also the great increase in distance learning materials that are
becoming available to consider. In light of this the Citizenship Policy will
continue to be evaluated and updated at regular intervals.
This policy will be reviewed in January 05