Leading citizenship in schools

1. Leading citizenship in schools Questions for school leadersarising from an Ofstedinvitation conference

2. Context • In May 2007 Ofsted, in partnership with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and the National College for School Leadership, held a conference for secondary schools in which citizenship was judged to be good. • Ofsted invited school and citizenship leaders from 22 schools. • They discussed the leadership of citizenship and how their schools tackled obstacles to development. • The outcomes of the conference are the basis of this presentation, which is aimed at senior leaders and whole staff development. • This presentation is accompanied by notes that refer to Ofsted’s latest report on citizenship Towards Consensus? Citizenship in Secondary Schools (HMI 2666) published in September 2006. Leading citizenship in schools| 2

3. What does the presentation cover? • Obstacles to overcome • Vision • Staffing • Teaching and learning • Students • Curriculum • Inclusion It also provides examples of issues and actions. Leading citizenship in schools| 3

4. What were the main obstacles that Ofsted identified? • Lack of a clear vision for and understanding of citizenship • Weak subject leadership and inappropriate staffing • Teachers ill-equipped for the challenge of teaching citizenship • Lack of assessment systems • Untapped potential of student voice • Lightweight and fragmented curricula • Pupils’ uncertain entitlement to citizenship Leading citizenship in schools| 4

5. Creating a vision for citizenship To give citizenship a presence in the school, effective citizenship leaders: • recognise that citizenship is a complex subject and needs well considered, whole-school planning • seek to establish its status and visibility in the curriculum • identify and promote examples of active citizenship in school and in the wider community • encourage discussion and debate, including challenges to the status quo • foster the characteristics of a democratic school. Leading citizenship in schools| 5

6. Reflecting on these characteristics, is the vision for citizenship in your school all that you would want it to be? Leading citizenship in schools| 6

7. Making the most of staff expertise To develop staff expertise in citizenship, effective school leaders: • ensure that citizenship has parity with other subjects and that the subject leader has professional status • make a commitment to training to build and nurture the potential in all staff • organise the curriculum to supportnon-specialist staff and to ensure consistency and quality of teaching • ensure that staff in all subjects understand the significance of citizenship for their teaching. Leading citizenship in schools| 7

8. How have you taken steps in your school to: • develop staff expertise in citizenship • promote consistently high quality teaching? Leading citizenship in schools| 8

9. Promoting best practice in teaching To raise the quality of teaching, effective school leaders: • recognise that citizenship requires teachers to deal with difficult, sensitive and controversial issues and support them in doing so • help teachers develop their subject knowledge • ensure that structures exist, including assessment, to underpin students’ progression • use performance management to improve the quality of teaching and disseminate effective practice. Leading citizenship in schools| 9

10. How do you support effective teaching? Leading citizenship in schools| 10

11. Nurturing active and informed students To promote citizenship amongst students, effective school leaders: • support student-led activities and active citizenship within and beyond the school • enable students to articulate their views through promoting the student voice • encourage the development of independent learning and reflection. Leading citizenship in schools| 11

12. In what ways does citizenshipempower students in your school? Leading citizenship in schools| 12

13. Maximising curriculum opportunities To provide a curriculum that meets students’ needs, effective school leaders: • allocate sufficient time to citizenship at in Key Stages 3 and 4 • provide a core programme that meets statutory requirements • refine the citizenship programme to reflect local community issues, cultures and concerns • use opportunities to support citizenship across the curriculum • consider the role of accreditation in KeyStage 4 • consider, as appropriate, the implications for post-16 citizenship education. Leading citizenship in schools| 13

14. Does the curriculum in your school meet the needs of all students to educate them as young citizens? Leading citizenship in schools| 14

15. Citizenship and inclusion To ensure inclusion, effective school leaders: • ensure that programmes are tailored to meet the needs of all students • monitor students’ engagement in citizenship activities • give due attention to identity and diversity • ensure that every student has opportunities for active citizenship and participation. Leading citizenship in schools| 15

16. How is your school inclusive? Leading citizenship in schools| 16

17. Meeting the challenge

18. Slides 19–30 present six case studies: • the citizenship curriculum at Denbigh High School • establishing democratic structures at Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School • Alban Middle School’s response to an Ofsted survey • the limits of pupils’ voice at The Howard School • student-led activity at Durrington High School • democratising the school council at Sarah Bonnell School. Leading citizenship in schools| 18

19. The citizenship curriculum atDenbigh High School Issue • Denbigh had opted for a tutor-based programme. Evaluation showed improvement, but provision continued to be uneven. • Denbigh decided to relocate citizenship within humanities and require all students to take humanities in Key Stage 4. Leading citizenship in schools| 19

20. Actions and outcomes Action by managers • Managers tackled resistance to change among some tutors and humanities teachers. • They used teaching and learning points to support changes and create a humanities faculty. Outcomes • Feedback from students and staff showed the positive impact of changes. • The new curriculum provides coherence and ease of planning; monitoring of provision; and tracking of learners’ experiences. • Monitoring shows high quality teaching of citizenship. • Ofsted inspected citizenship in a subject survey and judged it to be outstanding. Leading citizenship in schools| 20

21. Establishing democratic structures at Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School Issue • The school wanted to give status to citizenship and maximise the involvement of staff, students and parents. Leading citizenship in schools| 21

22. Actions and outcomes Action by managers • Senior management gave an assistant headteacher responsibility for citizenship. • The citizenship coordinator developed a citizenship policy through a consultation process involving staff, students, parents and governors. The policy is reviewed every two years. • The citizenship programme is planned through evaluation and consultation, and informed by a continuing partnership with students. Outcomes • Pupils’ motivation, confidence and self-esteem have increased. • The programme encourages pupils to get involved in democratic processes. • Students feel they are viewed as partners and they understand the reasons behind decisions. • Students feel proud that they have influenced decisions and made a difference. Leading citizenship in schools| 22

23. Alban Middle School’s response to an Ofsted citizenship survey Issue • An Ofsted citizenship survey identified positive features and areas for improvement. Leading citizenship in schools| 23

24. Actions and outcomes Action by managers • The school devised a three-point action plan for citizenship with detailed success criteria and milestones to: • identify key ‘carrier’ subjects for aspects of the citizenship programme • establish a liaison group with the upper school • develop assessment arrangements. Outcomes • More comprehensive curriculum planning resulted, giving better attention to the strands of citizenship. • An assessment system included students’ records with self-assessment. Leading citizenship in schools| 24

25. Student-led activity atDurrington High School Issue • Students were concerned about school travel arrangements and wished to take action to improve things. Leading citizenship in schools| 25

26. Actions and outcomes Action by managers • School leaders invited students from Years 8–10 to join a school-based working group to contribute to the county travel plan. Outcomes • Students met fortnightly to discuss roles, issues and strategies. • They conducted detailed surveys of parents and students on travel-related issues and trouble spots on journeys to school. • Their booklet of findings included recommendations for encouraging road safety, reducing car use and pollution, and improving cycle facilities. • They received local and national awards for their achievements in active citizenship. • Participants evaluated the project, noting particularly their increased confidence and the development of their ICT and public-speaking skills. Leading citizenship in schools| 26

27. The limits of the pupils’ voice atThe Howard School Issue • The pupils had discussed a wide range of issues. In addition to previous policies they had written, they proposed a staff dress code. • Staff responses varied from ‘I am in full agreement with the school council – staff should set an example in dress’ to ‘I find this both outrageous and insulting’. Leading citizenship in schools| 27

28. Actions and outcomes Action by managers • School leaders decided that this was a worthwhile debate and sought views from staff and pupils. Outcomes • The issue was discussed and voted on. The staff voted 3:1 that pupils had the right to comment. • The principle was established that pupils could recommend anything relevant to school life and expect a reasoned response. Leading citizenship in schools| 28

29. Democratising the school council at Sarah Bonnell School Issue • Managers wished to involve all students in active citizenship through the school council. Leading citizenship in schools| 29

30. Actions and outcomes Action by managers • A training day was provided for all staff on active citizenship aimed to enable students to participate in free and open dialogue and discussion. • In consultation with students, managers established policies and procedures to make representation systematic and democratic. Outcomes • All pupils discuss issues of concern in tutor time. • A forum, involving student council representatives from each year group, formalises items for discussion. • The school council meets regularly. Its formal rules include rotating the chairing. The headteacher attends. • The school council gives feedback in assembly to complete the cycle. Leading citizenship in schools| 30

31. Useful references • Towards Consensus? Citizenship in secondary schools, (HMI 2666), Ofsted, 2006; available from www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/2666. • An evaluation of the post-16 citizenship pilot, 2004/05: a report from Ofsted and the Adult Learning Inspectorate (HMI 2440), Ofsted, 2005; available from www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/2440. • The new National Curriculum for citizenship: www.qca.org.uk/curriculum • The school self-evaluation tool for citizenship education, Department for Education and Skills, 2004; available from www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk/top/top_5/downloads/sub/10. • T Huddlestone and D Kerr, Making sense of citizenship: a CPD handbook (ISBN 9780340926819), Hodder Education, 2006. • The Association for Citizenship Teaching: www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk. • CitiZed is a TDA-funded organisation for providers of teacher education in citizenship: www.citized.info. Leading citizenship in schools| 31