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ACT : Association for Citizenship Teaching
ACT is the professional subject association for those involved in citizenship education. This website offers resources and information to help you deliver excellent citizenship education.
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What can you do for Citizenship this summer?
Introduction...
ACT encourages teachers to engage with their MP about Citizenship education! This is the time to remind MPs about our subject and what it can do for young people and communities.
Citizenship education teachers should take this opportunity to keep the new MPs thinking about political literacy, legal literacy, helping young people understand about global economies and active participation and engagement.
The coalition government has made much of the two themes the Big Society and Broken Society. The Big Society relates to active citizens and the Broken Society relates to disengaged citizens. Citizenship education is essential for addressing both these. The Big Society is not just about social action - it is also about democratic renewal...
ACT encourages all teachers to write to their MP and ask:
1. How important is increasing young people’s political engagement?
2. What is the role for the school curriculum in addressing political, legal and economic education?
3. Building on the interest shown by young people at the last general election, how will MPs continue to encourage them to engage in democracy and voting?
4. How do MPs see the school curriculum giving young people the skills to volunteer, work with others and take part in their communities?
You can also pledge support for Democratic Life link
Don’t forget Citizenship education is to MPs what Science is to Scientists!
Recent changes in education affecting teachers and schools
The Department for Education has announced that it will not be taking forward further new plans for Citizenship education at present. The Coalition government will announce further plans regarding all curriculum subjects in the near future.
Citizenship now and in the future
At present the Citizenship curriculum remains a legal requirement for schools. Citizenship teachers should continue to develop the curriculum in secondary as before, making use of and reference to the resources on ACT's website.
"It's likely that the government will want to review the secondary curriculum, probably involving a period of consultation which could lead to a new curriculum in all subjects in 2012." Says Chris Waller, ACT Professional Officer
BECTA, QCDA and Who Do We Think We Are
As cost saving measures, the Coalition government also announced the closure of BECTA and over the next twelve months will dissolve QCDA.
The Who Do We Think We Are initiative will end this school year. The resources on their website will be relocated to the ACT website, and the websites of the History Association, Citizenship Foundation and Royal Geographical Society.
Eight-level scale
The revised 8 level scale in all subjects has been rejected in favour of the original levels from 2007.
The 8 level scale must be used for assessing pupils in the current Year 8 at the end of key stage three in the summer of 2011.
ACT will re-publishing the original 2007 8 level scale for Citizenship as a colour chart detailing the concepts and processes at each level in the autumn 2010 issue of Teaching Citizenship.
The 8 level scale does not now apply to Primary BUT undoubtedly using this will help with assessment and therefore help pupils understand their own progress.
The levels provide a set of national expectations for Citizenship education and can be useful in planning progression and provide a single line of conversation with secondary colleagues.
Primary Curriculum news
The government have decided not to implement the revised Rose primary curriculum. The existing primary curriculum remains in law and teachers should ensure that they continue to provide quality teaching and learning for the non statuary PSHE and Citizenship education as they have done since September 2002. Full information for primary teachers
This page was written by Chris Waller - ACT's professional officer
