- Citizenship is part of the non-statutory Personal, Social and Health Education and Citizenship framework in Primary Schools.
- It is compulsory in Secondary Schools, but is not an exam subject.
- Citizenship gives pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding to play an effective role in society as responsible citizens
Citizenship in secondary schools covers three big ideas:
- Democracy and justice
- Rights and responsibilities
- Identities and diversity
It encourages critical thinking, advocacy and representation and taking informed and responsible action.
Citizenship as a subject is currently under review. The citizenship agenda however is also addressed beyond lessons through:
- Student voice
- Green initiatives such as “eco schools”
- International links
- Community engagement and charity work
What can museums do?
- Schools often struggle to ensure Citizenship is delivered in an interesting way. They may value your help. Talk to local schools about what they do.
- Many secondary schools have citizenship days off time-table. Ask if there are ways your museum could support those. “Campaign! make an impact” could offer one approach.
- Help schools make cross-curricular links between citizenship and other subjects e.g. broker relationships between schools and evacuees or veterans linking history and citizenship.
- As schools are expected to look at real life issues, examine your collections to see how they can be linked to current events.
- If your museum has older volunteers why not “lend” them to schools for intergenerational work or insight into how your locality has changed over time.
Websites:
- The Association of Citizenship Teachers provides a useful general website as well as a members only area.
- The citizenship pages of the British Library provide information and resources for Campaign! Make an Impact.
- The Eco-Schools website explains the initiative and allows you to search for schools in your area that are taking part.
- The DfE website pages on citizenship
- Teaching Expertise has a number of useful articles on student participation.
- Teachers TV has a wide range of DVD clips on how to teach citizenship.