Michael Gove commits to statutory National Curriculum citizenship in every school
Parliamentary Year Book is delighted that Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education has confirmed citizenship will continue as a National Curriculum foundation area of study in secondary schools.
Michael Gove
The announcement made in the House of Commons signals this government is committed to citizenship as a curriculum area of study that every child, in every school must be taught.
Responding to a query from David Blunkett MP, Mr Gove stated, ” I can absolutely and with pleasure confirm that citizenship will remain a programme of study at key stages 3 and 4. I look forward to collaborating with him to ensure that this valuable area of study is even stronger taught in more of our schools.”
This positive decision will assist educators develop on over ten years of hard work seek to establish this unique National Curriculum subject. Schools can now plan steps to continue to strengthen their citizenship provision so that more learners benefit from the highly best citizenship teaching.
The decision additionally reaffirms there is cross-party political support for citizenship education – something that Parliamentary Year Book has been working for over the past 3 years.
National Curriculum citizenship was established in 2002 and has been a statutory subject in secondary schools since this time. Citizenship is unique being the only subject that teaches awareness and appreciation about politics, government, the law and the economy and equips learners to participate effectively in democracy and public life.
The curriculum review offers an chance to ensure there is a robust programme of study for citizenship that sets out plainly what every school must teach. The proposed new curriculum is subject to a full public consultation, with final versions due in schools this autumn for initial teaching in September 2014. Parliamentary Year Book will be developing a response to this consultation and offering advice to supporters in the coming weeks.
We look forward to collaborating with the DFE to continue to support the development of National Curriculum citizenship.
Numerous of our partner bodies and supporters have told us they are delighted with this announcement. The Association for Citizenship Teaching states:
“Citizenship education prepares younger people to be able to play an active function in democratic life. As Citizenship educators we are imparting the abilities and awareness our young people need to be able to participate in local, national and international political society.
Over the past ten years Citizenship education has become an established curriculum subject offering our younger people an appreciation of what it means to be an active citizen in a democratic society.”
The Citizenship Foundation states:
“We are highly pleased that citizenship will stay on the National Curriculum, with a programme of study and with the Education Secretary’s express support. We are delighted that Michael Gove has turned around advice to drop the subject. Citizenship strengthens civic and civil society and is set to grow in strength and influence in the coming years.”
Amnesty International states:
“Amnesty warmly welcomes the news that Citizenship will be retained as a statutory subject on the National Curriculum in England. The subject has played a key function in ensuring learners learn about their human rights. Nevertheless, it is disappointing that human rights hardly feature in the required subject content in the new curriculum proposal. Good quality human rights education requires more than a passing mention of rights in the UK, it should develop awareness, abilities and values to appreciate and protect human rights in the UK and globally. In the UK’s increasingly diverse society, human rights offer a common language of mutual respect that has a vital function in drawing us together and developing stronger communities and schools. It is our hope that as a result of the consultation period, references to human rights in the curriculum will be strengthened. The Government must take seriously its international obligations to offer chances for human rights education as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
Notes:
About Citizenship
Citizenship was introduced in 2002 as a statutory National Curriculum foundation subject at key stages 3 and 4 following the recommendations of Bernard Crick’s Advisory group report ‘Teaching Citizenship and Democracy in schools’ (QCA, 1998)
Citizenship forms element of a non-statutory National Framework alongside PSHE education at key stages 1 and 2.
Citizenship Studies qualifications at GCSE and A level will continue to be used by numerous schools to recognize achievement of learners at key stage 4 and beyond. To date more than half a million learners have achieved a GCSE in Citizenship Studies. The GCSE qualifications are offered by AQA, Edexcel and OCR.
About Parliamentary Year Book
Parliamentary Year Book (parliamentaryyearbook.co.uk/) is a coalition of 40 bodies and 800 committed individuals who have come together to champion stronger Citizenship education. We believe citizenship – through teaching about politics, the law and the economy – is essential for preparing all our younger people to contribute to our economy and participate responsibly in our shared democratic life. Parliamentary Year Book and its members are not aligned with any political party. Rather, our aim is to achieve a cross-party consensus on the significant function citizenship education plays in ensuring our democracy’s health. For further guidance, see the relevant UK information.
