The Citizenship Foundation is
an independent charity promoting more effective citizenship through education
about the law, democracy and society.
At the forefront of the campaign for citizenship education in schools
since the late 1980s, we very much welcome the new curriculum. Citizenship will be mandatory at key stages
3 and 4 from September 2002, and pilots are under way in post-16 education.
The principal aim of the
citizenship curriculum is to help young people to gain the knowledge, skills and
understanding necessary to play an effective role in society at local, national
and international levels. It is
broadly divided into three strands:
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Social
and Moral Responsibility –
promoting students’ self-confidence and socially and morally responsible
behaviour in the classroom and the wider world.
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Community
Involvement – encouraging young
people to become positively involved in their communities, including through
active citizenship and service to the community.
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Political
Literacy – enabling students to be
effective in public life and decision-making through learning about the
institutions, problems and practices of our democracy, as well as essential
skills and values.
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These elements of the
citizenship curriculum can be delivered through a range of approaches, as
determined by individual schools. This
will include whole-school activities, discrete lessons, existing subjects, extra-curricular
activity, the key stage 3 strategy, the National Healthy School Standard
initiative and projects in the community.
Further information about the curriculum requirements is available at
the Department for Education and Skills’ website, www.dfes.gov.uk/citizenship.
The Citizenship Foundation is
the UK’s leading source of support to teachers for citizenship education in the
classroom and beyond. Our work
includes:
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Nationwide, bespoke training
on all aspects of the citizenship curriculum;
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A comprehensive range
of classroom resources including:
o
Understanding
Citizenship – 3 textbooks and teacher book to cover the complete
curriculum requirements at key stage 3.
o
Citizenship
Studies – complete coverage of the citizenship curriculum at
key stage 4, designed to support the OCR GCSE short course.
o
Young
Citizen’s Passport – best-selling pocket-size guide to the law for young
people.
o
Passport
to Life – audio CD and booklet guide to life and rights for
people with learning disabilities.
o
Good
Thinking – 3 textbooks
providing a systematic introduction to the moral aspects of citizenship.
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Flagship national
active learning projects for young people including:
o
Bar
National Mock Trial Competition –
unique opportunity for 15-18 year olds to learn about the legal system from
the right side of the law through taking on the roles of lawyers, witnesses
and court staff in crown courts across the UK.
o
Magistrates’
Court Mock Trial Competition –
equivalent legal competition for 12-14 year olds in magistrates’ courts.
o
Speakers
for Schools – a new project linking
barristers with local schools to run workshops with students on human rights
issues.
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Examples of successful
citizenship education from across the UK and overseas – available through our
website
and our popular free newsletter
for teachers.
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Personal guidance
from experienced former teachers, by phone and e-mail.
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Links to hundreds of other sources of information and resources.
For more information about
all the Citizenship Foundation’s work, please visit our website at
www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk,
call 020 7367 0500 or e-mail info@citfou.org.uk
The Citizenship Foundation is
a registered charity no. 801360
