From an address the Lord Chancellor gave to the Citizenship Foundation at the Law Society (1998).

On this page you will find:
(Click an underlined title to go to that section)
- Citizenship - An update of the implications for schools
- Excerpts from 'Children's Parliament - a Project pack' from DETR and DfEE
- Development Education in Dorset

'Education in citizenship and democracy will provide coherence in the way in which all pupils are helped to develop a full understanding of their roles and responsibilities as citizens in a modern democracy.'

From the National Curriculum for England, Citizenship, Key Stages 3-4 pub. By DfEE and QCA 1999 24
and available on www.nc.uk.net

The Review of the National Curriculum for the year 2000 recognises that the British Curriculum is very strong on content rather than philosophy. The review aims to develop:

'A more thoughtful and reflective curriculum which is designed to serve young people in a changing world'.

Ref. Chris Jones, head of Curriculum division, QCA ,at the briefing for LEA's in 'Preparing for the Introduction of Citizenship' in the National Curriculum, 18th May 1999

From 2002 Citizenship will be statutory at Key Stages 3 and 4 with guidelines produced for Key stages 1 and 2. The planning guidelines produced by Q.C.A. are deliberately light touch in order to allow flexibility and build on the innovative and excellent practice already underway in many schools.

'The new Curriculum is a statutory requirement i.e. a legal requirement, and the guidelines are there to ensure that Citizenship is not squeezed out of the curriculum by default as was the case with the cross-curricular themes'.

Ref. Jan Campbell, Principal officer for Citizenship, QCA , at the briefing for LEA's in 'Preparing for the Introduction of Citizenship in the National Curriculum' 18th May 1999

The Initial Guidance for schools in the teaching of Citizenship at key stages 3 and 4 can be obtained from the QCA web-site on www.qca.org.uk. QCA have also written some time tabling examples for use by schools. These will be made available during the Autumn term 2000. The position of QCA is quite clear:

'Citizenship is a subject with associated knowledge skills and understanding but it is also cross curricular'.

Ref. John Keast, QCA at the briefing for LEA's in 'Preparing for the Introduction of Citizenship in the national Curriculum' 18th May 1999

'Citizenship is more than a statutory subject. If taught well and tailored to local need, its skills and values will enhance democratic life for us all, both rights and responsibilities, beginning school and radiating out.'

Ref. Professor Bernard crick, Birkbeck College, London 24

'It is only when you know how to be a citizen of your own country that you can learn how to be a citizen of the world'.

Ref. Terry Waite CBE 24

The meaning of citizenship

The final report of the Advisory group on Citizenship identified three things as 'effective education for citizenship' :

Firstly, children learning from the very beginning self-confidence and socially and morally responsible behaviour both in and beyond the classroom, both towards those in authority and towards each other.

Secondly, learning about and becoming helpfully involved in the life and concerns of their communities, including learning through community involvement and service to the community.

Thirdly, pupils learning about and how to make themselves effective in public life through knowledge, skills and values i.e. political literacy.

Global Citizenship

The Dorset Education Service supports the Curriculum for Global Citizenship produced by Oxfam and believes that this can help schools in planning for the implementation of Citizenship.

'Young people today are not passive or complacent. They are concerned about the destruction of the rainforests, that many people in the world go hungry, that conflict affects the lives of people in both north and South.'

Ref. from 'A curriculum for Global Citizenship' Oxfam

'The main cause of continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of consumption and production particularly in the industrialised countries'.

Ref. 'Agenda 21', Chapter 4

As well as being a valuable resource in its own right, the resource pack encourages primary schools (year 6) to enter a nation-wide essay and/or debating competition. The competitions have taken place for 1999 and the winning school visited the Houses of Parliament to raise questions with John Prescott and David Blunkett.

Unfortunately the resource pack is now out of print but see the DfEE website for the text and up-to-date information on whether a reprint and a new round of competitions will be available.

What follows are excerpts from the resource pack.

A Step by Step Guide to Debating

One of the oldest ways to organise your material is:
Tell them what you're going to tell them,
Tell them,
Tell them what you have just told them.

People have been getting and giving advice on how to speak to an audience for a long time. A Roman called Cicero wrote a handbook for "orators" (or people who speak in public) over 2000 years ago. One of Cicero's suggestions for getting attention at the beginning was to open with a story or "something that provides laughter".......but you have to be confident you can do it. You don't want it to fall flat. And you must make sure the story or joke actually helps to make your argument. You don't want people thinking, "What was the point of that?"

When you have gathered all your material together and organised it into the form you want, you will probably write out what you want to say in full. The next decision will be whether to read it as it is or not. If you were an MP in the adult parliament you would not be allowed to read your speech........

If this is your first time, you might feel that you would prefer to read your speech. However, you need to beware of the danger of sticking so closely to your script that you don't actually look up or you make it sound as if you're not actually talking to the people in front of you.
The best way round this is to write out what you want to say in full and then prepare small cards with key words and phrases to use while you are actually speaking. These will jog your memory....

Whichever method you chose it will be crucial that you practise. You can practise in the bathroom, in front of the mirror or in you bedroom. You should also do it in front of your friends or classmates......

When you are speaking try not to jiggle around or shuffle from foot to foot all the time.... If you are holding your cards for your notes, this will help keep your hands occupied so you don't wave them around too much......If you are able to, try to establish eye contact....Try to choose 3 or 4 people in different parts of the room who look friendly and speak directly to them. All the people listening will feel then that you are really speaking directly to them and not to a stain on the ceiling somewhere at the back of the room.

DEED is one of 50 development education centres in Britain. The centre has been working in Dorset since 1983.

Development Education is about:

* respecting people's varied ways of life around the world

* recognising the forces that affect people's lives and link us all to each other

* being committed to working for a fairer more sustainable world for everyone

DEED works in partnership with schools, youth services, local authorities, community organisation and individuals to promote and support development education throughout Dorset. DEED is run by paid staff and volunteers and, as a registered charity, is managed by a Board of Trustees from the Dorset community.

What DEED offers you:

DEED's Resource Centre is open to everyone. You may borrow, buy or just browse, choosing from over 1,500 books, activity packs, tapes and posters. The materials cover countries from Brazil to Indonesia and topics range from child labour to international debt and rainforests. Everything is computer catalogued and cross referenced for easy access.

We also lend out collections of artefacts from India, the Caribbean, Peru and several African countries. Through our World Music Resources and Support Service, we lend out instruments, taped music and books from West Africa, the Caribbean and India. The 34 page World Music Guide is available free on request.

DEED offers workshops for teachers and pupils to explore global perspectives in the National Curriculum in all subjects and at all levels. Please ring or call to discuss the possibilities. Youth workers and leaders of other community groups are also welcome at DEED.

DEED can come to your meeting or to your school to talk or lead discussion about development issues, to organise a simulation game, to lead a training session or perhaps to run an initial stimulus session for a new project.

Further Information

If you would like to find out more about DEED or use their service's or consider becoming a partner or a volunteer, you can contact them at:

Development Education in Dorset
Kingsleigh Secondary School
Hadow Road
Bournemouth
BH10 5HS
Tel/Fax: 01202 532484
The DEED Resource Centre is usually open weekday mornings and most afternoons. Please ring before visiting to ensure there will be a member of staff there to help you.