Michael Gove has published his updated draft National Curriculum for maintained primary and secondary schools. It is reassuring to see Citizenship will remain a separate statutory National Curriculum subject. However, the proposals miss out crucial aspects of Citizenship knowledge and skills which are necessary to prepare young people for life and work in the 21st century.

The draft is subject to a final, one month consultation that begins today and lasts until 8 August 2013. The updated curriculum will then be finalised, published and sent to schools for first teaching in September 2014.

• The Secretary of State’s statement and links to the document can be found here.
• Updated programmes of study for Citizenship can be found here along with details of how to respond.

Human rights and international law have now been included at key stage 4 – which Democratic Life supporters have been lobbying for, but are not included at key stage 3.

Whilst we are pleased the government recognise Citizenship has a unique role to play as a separate and statutory subject in the National Curriculum, essential aspects of Citizenship knowledge and skills are still missing. The proposed programme of study for key stage 3 looks particularly disappointing and there is no reference to skills or active citizenship.

The Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT) said,

‘The disconnect between the ambition of citizenship as a  subject and the proposed national curriculum programme underscores its drab and uninspiring nature. Whilst it might be argued that the current key stage 4 iteration is an improvement on the first draft, the key stage 3 offering is narrow and bland.’

One Democratic Life supporter questioned how what is proposed will equip pupils as citizens, who are ready for life and work in the 21st century. The DFE’s stated aim is for pupils to ‘play a full and active part in society’, but how could this be met without teaching a rigorous body of Citizenship knowledge and the skills to participate in democracy. He went on,

‘Citizenship without the skills for active citizenship becomes meaningless.’

In the wrong hands what is here could return Citizenship teaching to a dry and dusty form of civic education that fails to engage pupils and could lead to further political apathy. Citizenship should engage young people in real political and social issues of interest to them including about the economy, the environment and the shape of the welfare state.

The DFE have also failed to recognise the important role of primary schools in teaching Citizenship. The consultation draft contains no programmes of study for Citizenship at key stages 1 or 2 and leaves the status of the current non-statutory primary Citizenship framework unclear.

As yet there has been no information about how government will support schools in implementing the updated curriculum. The Citizenship Foundation have questioned what will be made available to teachers,

‘After a wait of three years and a disparaging critique in the Curriculum Review, the subject of citizenship has been reformulated for the new National Curriculum. But it needs much attention to revive its status.’

Democratic Life will continue to press for further changes to improve the updated National Curriculum and to improve the quality of Citizenship teaching.

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• This entry was posted on Monday, July 8th, 2013 at 10:50 pm