CITIZENSHIP DEMYSTIFIED
Message from the General Secretary
Since 1999 there have been extensive debates about the place of citizenship education in schools. The media has taken a keen interest in the discussions, including on whether citizenship should be taught in schools at all, whether it should be statutory and if so, should it be assessed. This unit on the NUT
Website focuses on citizenship in order to lift some of the fog surrounding the issues.
Throughout the debate, the NUT has kept abreast of all the developments and has sought to influence the terms and content of the deliberations. The NUT made submissions to the Government’s Advisory Group on Citizenship and
Teaching about Democracy and responded in detail to the citizenship proposals within the consultation on the revision of the National Curriculum. The NUT has also established a Task Group on Citizenship, which plays an active part in developing the Union’s policies.
The revised National Curriculum introduces a new framework for citizenship.
From September 2000, citizenship will be part of a non-statutory framework for
Personal, Social and Health Education at key stages 1 and 2, but statutory at key stages 3 and 4 from September 2002. This unit on the NUT Website outlines some of the changes and requirements, as well as the challenges presented to teachers, which I hope members will find helpful.
Doug McAvoy
General Secretary
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CITIZENSHIP REQUIRMENTS DESCRIBED IN
THIS UNIT ON THE NUT WEBSITE APPLY TO ENGLAND ONLY

The Background
The Aims for Citizenship Education
“Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and citizenship help to give pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy, independent lives and to become informed, active, responsible cit izens.”
(Framework for PSHE and Citizenship at Key Stages 1 and 2)
“ Citizenship gives pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding to play an effective role in society at local, national and international levels. It helps them to become informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens who are aware of their duties and rights. It also teachers them about our economy and democratic institutions and values; encourages respect for different national, religious and ethnic identities; and deve lops pupils’ ability to reflect on issues and take part in discussions.”
(Introduction to the Programmes of Study for
Citizenship at Key Stages 3 and 4)
The Advisory Group on Citizenship and the Teaching About Democracy
Following the Government’s commitment in the 1997 Excellence in Schools
White Paper “to strengthen education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools”, the Secretary of State set up an Advisory Group on
Citizenship and the Teaching About Democracy, chaired by Professor Bernard
Crick. The remit of the Advisory Group was to:
“ provide advice on effective education for citizenship in schools – to include the nature of and practices of participation in democracy; the duties, responsibilities and rights of individuals as citizens; and the value to individuals and society of com munity activity.”
The NUT’s View
In its submissions to the Government the NUT emphasised that there should be no statutory requirement on schools to introduce citizenship and Personal, Social and Health Education. Detailed compulsory guidelines would place increased

strain on schools which are already having to tackle the revised and still overloaded National Curriculum.
In addition, the NUT argued that schools should be trusted to build on existing good practice and that encouragement rather than statutory requirement would be the best way of developing citizenship and PSHE. Within that approach, the
NUT believes that schools have an important role to play in educating for citizenship and in the teaching of democracy. Its submissions emphasised that:

any definition of citizenship should not be drawn from a narrow range of political and social systems;

citizenship should emphasise the notion of global citizenship;

citizenship education should promote the importance of social justice and democracy and enable pupils to challenge injustice arising from discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and disability; and

citizenship education should be cross-curricular, should take account of progression and continuity, and should be based on whole school policies which have been subject to wide consultation with all the relevant partners.
The Secretary of State chose to make citizenship a requirement for key stages 3 and 4. Citizenship at key stages 1 and 2 and PSHE at key stages 1-4 remain voluntary.
Citizenship Education
The content of citizenship education for each of the key stages is summarised below:
At Key Stage 1 (Non-statutory and linked to PSHE) pupils are required to learn:

about themselves as developing individuals, and as members of their own communities, building on their own experiences and on the early learning goals for personal, social and emotional development;

the basic skills and rules for keeping themselves healthy and safe and for behaving well;

to show that they can take some responsibility for themselves and their environment;
 about their own and other people’s feelings and become aware of the views, needs and rights of other children and older people;

social skills such as how to share, take turns, play, help others, resolve simple arguments and resist bullying; and

to take an active part in the life of the school and its neighbourhood.

At Key Stage 2 (Non-Statutory and linked to PSHE) pupils are required to learn:

about themselves as growing and changing individuals with their own experiences and ideas, and as members of their communities;

about the wider world and the interdependence of communities within it;

to develop their sense of justice and moral responsibility and begin to understand that their own choices and behaviour can affect local, national or global issues and political and social institutions;

how to take part more fully in school and community activities;

how to make more confident and informed choices about their health and environment; and

to take more responsibility, individually and as a group, for their own learning; and to resist bullying.
At Key Stage 3 (Statutory from September 2002) pupils are required to learn:

to reflect upon and discuss topical political, spiritual, moral, social and issues, problems and events;

to identify the role of the legal, political, religious, social and economic institutions and systems that influence their lives and communities;

to become actively involved in the life of their school, neighbourhood and wider communities and learn to become more effective in public life; and

about fairness, social justice, respect for democracy and diversity at school, local, national and global level, and through taking part responsibly in community activities.
At Key Stage 4 (Statutory from September 2002) pupils are required to:

continue to study, think about and discuss topical political, spiritual, moral, social and issues, problems and events;

study the legal, political, religious, social, constitutional and economic systems that influence their lives and communities, looking more closely at how they work and their effects;

continue to be actively involved in the life of their school, neighbourhood and wider communities, taking greater responsibility;

develop critical awareness and evaluation skills; and

develop knowledge, skills and understanding in these areas through, for example, learning more about fairness, social justice, respect for democracy and diversity at school, local, national and global level, and through taking part in community activities.

Citizenship and Assessment
The Government’s Advisory Group on Citizenship supported assessment and reporting in citizenship through tightly defined learning outcomes which provide the means:
 “for schools to report pupil progress to parents via the annual report on that child;
 to outline to collectively the school’s approach to citizenship education through the annual school governor’s report;

to measure the standards and objectivity of citizenship education within and across schools; and

to provide information to OFSTED inspectors to assist them in making judgements on the quality of citizenship education in a school and the progress that pupils make.”
The Advisory Group also stated that: articulate them to pupils, and provides a measure of the progress that pupils have made in the learning outcomes. Such assessment should be practicable and manageable, providing useful information to the parties involved without being burdensome. Day-to-day assessment will take a number of forms, including observation, listening and appraising pupils’ written work. This assessment is most effective where it arises naturally from the teaching approaches, learning opportunities and experiences.
Day-to-day assessment will contribute to periodic reporting on standards and progress and ultimately to pupils’ Records of Achievement.”
For key stage 4, the Advisory Group recommended that there are opportunities for pupils to receive accreditation for their work in citizenship.
At the time of writing, QCA is still developing the assessment framework for citizenship.
Citizenship and Inspections
In primary schools, from November 2000, inspectors will seek evidence of the implementation of the non statutory guidelines for personal, social and health education and citizenship at key stages 1 and 2. This will be reported on in accordance with the Framework for Inspection and the Handbook for Inspecting
Primary and Nursery Schools under Sections 2 and 4. A separate subject report for PSHE and citizenship is not required in primary school inspection reports.
In secondary schools, until September 2001, inspectors will continue to comment on aspects of citizenship education under Sections 2 and 4 of the Framework.

Inspectors will also look for evidence of preparation for implementation for citizenship as a statutory part of the national curriculum. From September 2002, inspectors will seek evidence of citizenship education as a separate subject under Section 10 of the Framework in order to report on standards of work, the quality of teaching, and contributory factors.
The Contribution of Citizenship to the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity
The frameworks for personal, social and health education and citizenship provide many opportunities for teachers to contribute to the promotion of equal opportunities and for carrying out work on anti-discrimination issues with pupils.
The frameworks state that pupils should be taught:
 “to identify and respect the differences and similarities between people”
(key stage 1);
 “to realise the consequences of anti-social and aggressive behaviours, such as bullying and racism, on individuals and communities” (key stage
2);
 “to appreciate the range of national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the U K” (key stage 2);
 “to realise the nature and consequences of racism, teasing, bullying and aggressive behaviours, and how to respond to them and ask for help” (key stage 2);
 “to recognise and challenge stereotyping” (key stage 2);
 “that differences and similarities between people arise from a number of factors, including cultural, ethnic, racial and religious diversity” (key stage
2); and
 “about the diversity of national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the UK and the need for mutual respect an d understanding” (key stages 3 and 4).
In delivering these aspects of the curriculum, teachers will need to link them to whole school approaches to equal opportunities and social exclusion.
Questions arise from the introduction of citizenship, particularly as a statutory requirement for the curriculum in secondary schools. For many teachers there will be a need for:

training, including training in exploiting the potential of ICT;

time for planning;

time to integrate the new curriculum into other subjects; and

time to prepare for, what for some will be, a new area of work.
Teaching Citizenship – NUT Advice
There will be many teachers who may be asked to teach citizenship who consider that they need professional development in the subject. Teachers with responsibility for teaching citizenship should request professional development in the subject from their headteachers. Teachers will need also to consider whether there should be reference to citizenship in a performance management objective

with an agreed commitment from the reviewer to secure the necessary development as part of the objective.
Where members of the NUT fail to secure such professional development guarantees they should seek advice from their regional offices.
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