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 […]

Last week, representatives from Democratic Life were involved in two meetings at the Department for Education (DFE) to discuss the future of Citizenship education. The fact that dialogue continues is in itself, we think, positive. The discussions allowed us to raise a range of concerns about the way in which recent government policies and the […]

This week the Secretary of State, Michael Gove MP announced his proposals for a new primary curriculum with a focus on high expectations for all subjects. Details of the proposed secondary curriculum have not yet been announced but are expected soon. In a letter to Tim Oates – who has led the Expert Panel advising […]

There might be much uncertainty in Europe right now, but there is consensus over at least one thing. All European countries now teach Citizenship education. Yesterday the European Commission published a report compiled on their behalf by the Eurydice network which showed all EU member states have integrated Citizenship education into their primary and secondary […]

Yesterday I watched a replay of

Teachers, subject experts, politicians and organisations joined together today to discuss the ‘Future shape of the National Curriculum beyond Core Subjects’. This timely discussion was organised by the Westminster Education Policy Forum. Shadow Minister for Schools, Kevin Brennan MP chaired the first part of the event. I was there to represent the Association for Citizenship […]

Today, David Blunkett MP writes in the TES, ‘We need a curriculum that is truly national’. Citizenship must be included and is ‘essential for democracy’. Mr Blunkett, former Secretary of State for Education argues the Government’s curriculum review is a contradiction. First because schools with academy or free school status are not required to follow […]

When we mentioned to some of our students that the Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove, was considering downgrading the status of Citizenship in the national curriculum, they scurried off (and without any prompting from us), came back with this letter. Our local MP happened to be visiting the next day, so they personally […]