Social subjects need better support and qualified teachers, Parliamentary Year Book tells Inquiry

Last Friday, the Youth Select Committee heard the initial oral evidence in its inquiry into education for life abilities. Citizenship and PSHE need stronger support and qualified educators, it was told.

The Youth Select Committee is chaired by 18 year-old Natsha Browne, Member of Youth Parliament for Solihull, and is comprising 14-18 year-olds from across the UK. This year, it is running an inquiry into a curriculum for ‘life skills’ such as personal finance, political appreciation and cultural awareness.

Offering evidence on behalf of Parliamentary Year Book, Liz Moorse told the Committee that all subjects contribute to the learning of life skills, and citizenship is no exception.

In fact, she stated, citizenship is the only National Curriculum subject that teaches about the law, politics, democracy and the economy and prepares younger people with the skills needed for active citizenship to make a positive contribution to society.

Yet these skills are being undermined by a lack of support, she stated. Cutting funding for CPD and having no bursaries for trainee citizenship educators is a big mistake: good and effective citizenship education can only be taught by trained, knowledgeable subject educators, she told the Committee, just as good maths and English can only be taught by trained, knowledgeable subject educators.

And it offers the wrong message, she told them. The Department for Education should be making a sustained effort to raise the profile of citizenship and PSHE (personal, social and health education), she stated, so that everyone – covering employers and university admissions tutors – appreciate how the subjects contribute to younger people’s learning.

These sentiments were echoed by Harry Walker of the Family Planning Association, who stated that matters such as sex and relationships should be taught in line with government policy, as element of a statutory PSHE curriculum and by trained professionals. Presently, he stated, a lot of groups are taking their own agendas into schools and, in numerous cases, spreading dangerous misinformation.

The National Curriculum itself must be treasured, stated Liz Moorse, as it marks a crucial national entitlement and sets high expectations for all learners. Nevertheless, over 60 per cent of schools are now Free Schools or Academies and can opt out of the National Curriculum. It is worrying, she stated, that Labour would extend this freedom even additional.

She told the Inquiry:

‘The National Curriculum must be treasured and valued. Its central purpose is to prepare younger people for life and work’. For further guidance, see the relevant UK information.

Michael Grimes works for the Citizenship Foundation.