As all eyes are on the Olympics and debate continues about what Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony says about who we are and what we value – its a great time to talk about Citizenship Education.
At Democratic Life, as well as keeping one eye on our athletes, we continue work on our goal of building greater support for the continuation of National Curriculum Citizenship Education in England. Last week, in the latest of a series of meetings with the DFE, we discussed the future of primary Citizenship education. Since 2001 Citizenship has been a non-statutory subject within the primary curriculum being part of a joint national framework alongside PSHE education.
But Citizenship and PSHE are not the same.
PSHE education focuses on children’s personal and social development, to ensure they live healthy and safe lives, make positive choices and decisions about their learning and lives, and manage their finances effectively.
Citizenship focuses on children’s social development and understanding of society and the wider world, helping them to see themselves as members of society; developing their understanding of democracy, diversity, social justice, fairness, rights and responsibilities; and learning to contribute positively to their communities and to democratic and public life.
This curriculum review provides an excellent opportunity to clarify the status of Citizenship and its unique contribution to the primary curriculum. There is strong support for statutory primary Citizenship. In the DFE Call of Evidence on the curriculum reivew, more than 80% of respondents to questions about key stage 2 and almost 60% at key stage 1, said Citizenship should be made statutory. A clear national statement on primary Citizenship would also help those schools who have been unclear about the subject improve their curriculum and teaching.
What next
The meeting with the DFE did not reveal their intentions for primary Citizenship but did allow for a full and frank discussion of the importance of the subject for younger children. Citizenship matters now more than ever and the new curriculum needs to set out clear national expectations for what pupils should know, understand and be able to do in the subject. A new curriculum should allow for the different ways in which primary schools organise their curriculum but must also lay strong foundations for citizenship learning and progression to the subject in secondary education.
Following the publication of our Curriculum Thinking paper, Democratic Life continues to work on ideas for a new primary and secondary curriculum for Citizenship with a view to sharing these with the DFE.
We hope the constructive dialogue will continue and that when the govenment finally announces its proposals for a new National Curriculum it will be postive for Citizenship.
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