Ben Hammond

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• Ben Hammond
• Lead Organiser, Citizen Schools Alliance
• London Citizenship Advisor, ACT
• Former Citizenship Co-ordinator, Deptford Green
  School
• ben.hammond_at_londoncitizens.org.uk

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Curriculum transformation through Citizenship
Education Bringing the skills and community
cohesion agendas alive
Presentation resources available to download
now from www.citizenschools.org.uk
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Session Outline
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500,000 to redesign a
local safety hotspot
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1. DefinitionWhat is compelling Citizenship
Education?

• dsfD
• Citizenship is about the political empowerment
  of young people. It is about building their
  sense of agency to impact on the world around
  them challenging and changing the institutions
  that govern it. (Deptford Green)
• Citizenship equips pupils with the knowledge and
  skills needed for effective and democratic
  participation. It helps pupils to become
  informed, critical, active citizens who have the
  confidence and conviction to work
  collaboratively, take action and try to make a
  difference in their communities and the wider
  world. (QCA)

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1. DefinitionWhat is compelling Citizenship
Education?
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1. DefinitionWhat is compelling Citizenship
Education?
A new subject which demands specialist teachers
like all other subjects A new kind of subject
with a pedagogy characterised by student voice
and action More than a subject with the
potential to transform the school ethos
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2. Pillars of CEWhat are the building blocks of
compelling Citizenship Education?
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Y7 Headstart ResearchYour Voice Your Action
Students in Year 7 are asked this question in
their first ever Citizenship lesson, which is
followed a few weeks later by a tour and
investigation of local community safety
hotspots.
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Students vote for a local underpass as the
hotspot which most concerns them. They visit the
site to investigate its problems and potential
solutions.
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One representative of each class is elected as an
underpass expert who meets with the local
Council and urban design company to discuss
problems, solutions and designs. The outcomes
and tasks are fed back to the whole year group by
the experts in lesson time.
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Every student in the year group visits the
underpass again and produce designs for how it
could be changed. These feed into the official
design process which culminates in 3 designs,
which students road test with users of the
underpass.
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they present the year groups work to the council
and lobby them to fund the new design. They
succeed and secure 500,000 of Transport for
London funding.
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I learned that I can have a say about what
happens in my local area
I found out about local politics something I
was never interested in before
I discovered that adults do sometimes want to
listen to young people. And if young people get
their opinions across strongly enough, they can
make changes happen too.
It was fun. We got to do something real.
I know what it takes to make a difference
working together, good research and sending a
powerful message
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2. Pillars of CEWhat are the building blocks of
compelling Citizenship Education?
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3. DriversWhy do leaders have to act on
Citizenship Education?

• One third of the new secondary curriculum
• Duty to promote community cohesion
• Involving young people in their learning
  personalisation, assessment for learning
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Article
  12
• Every Child Matters Outcome 5 Making a Positive
  Contribution
• School Councils (OFSTED inspected)
• Statutory duty to deliver Citizenship Education
  to all young people at Key Stage 3 and 4
• (London Metropolitan University study)

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4. Case Studies/OutcomesWhat could compelling
citizenship education bring to learning?

• 5 Case Studies Numbered 1 to 5
• SKILLS Use the PLTS framework to judge whether
  the compelling learning experiences develop young
  peoples personal, learning and thinking skills.
  Mark the number of the case study next to the
  skills developed by it
• COMMUNITY COHESION do the experiences help to
  promote community cohesion? Consider if and how
  the 6 pillars of community cohesion are
  promoted/experienced.
• Feedback find someone who was focused on the
  other agenda and discuss/compare/contrast your
  findings

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6 pillars of Community Cohesion

• Shared contributions to future visions
• Trust in institutions
• Access to services through engagement
• Rights enjoyed and respected
• Recognised contributions by all
• Strong, positive relationships

Our Shared Future Commission on Integration
Cohesion June 2007
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8 Case Studies

• Week of Voices Showcase
• Young Citizens Project
• Political Party Project
• Burma a Journey of Change
• Cs of Citizenship
• GCSE Citizenship Coursework
• Road Safety Campaign
• Underpass

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5. NeedsWhat are the essentials to move
compelling Citizenship Education
forward?
Proactive, inclusive

• Leadership
• Responsibility
• Strategy

Deflective
Strategy
Reactive
Neglective
Responsibility
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5. NeedsWhat are the essentials to move
compelling Citizenship Education
forward?

• Self-Evaluation Tool for Citizenship Education
• 4 levels of progress against a variety of
  criteria
• Focus on leadership
• Discuss levels for each area, then highlight
  where your school is at

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5. Needs SummaryWhat are the essentials to move
compelling Citizenship Education
forward?

• 3Ds
• Dynamic, distributed Leadership
• Dedicated teaching team
• Discreet curriculum time

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6. StepsHow can schools move compelling
Citizenship Education forward?

• Pack of possible steps, plus blank sheets/pens
• Identify the steps that are right for you
• Create a potential plan
• Feedback from each group/school on their most
  important step

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The Citizen Schools Alliance and the Citizen
Organising Foundation present a 1-year applied
training programme
for secondary schools
colleges Citizenship Education Community
Organising July 2009 to July 2010
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ConclusionsHeadlines to take away

• Citizenship education can form the canvass upon
  which the curriculum is played out.
• It contextualises learning (skills included)
  real-life, real-time. It builds motivation,
  engagement inclusion.
• At its core are student voice and action for
  change
• These build on the exploring of issues and
  reflection (done in all subjects)
• To make it happen, 3Ds are needed dynamic,
  distributed leadership, dedicated teaching team,
  discreet curriculum time

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Where next?

• www.citizenschools.org.uk
• To download this powerpoint and see all the
  latest CitizenSchools news
• http//forum.citizenschools.org.uk
• Forum for senior leaders, governors, teachers,
  parents/carers and young people to share ideas,
  questions, discussions, resources
• www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
• Professional subject association

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Curriculum transformation through Citizenship
Education Bringing the skills and community
cohesion agendas alive
Ben Hammond ben.hammond_at_londoncitizens.org.uk
Presentation resources available to download
now from www.citizenschools.org.uk