Ofsted calls for better standards in citizenship

Many schools need to do more to ensure effective planning and implementation of the subject, says a report published by the Office for Standards in Education today.

A significant proportion of the 25 schools inspected for the report National Curriculum citizenship: planning and implementation 2002/03 have not understood the full implications of citizenship as a National Curriculum subject, and this has resulted in an often low-key response to the citizenship initiative.

Implementation has generally been most effective when a strong lead from senior management has given the subject the necessary status and profile. However, despite the two years' notice before citizenship was made a statutory subject in September 2002, many of the schools in this sample have not done enough to incorporate citizenship development into policy and planning.

Inspectors found that schools have been most successful in developing National Curriculum citizenship where they have regarded it as something new, even though parts of their existing curricula may have already promoted good citizenship. However, many schools confused National Curriculum citizenship with the 'cross-curricular themes and dimensions' approach of the early 1990s, or with a general use of the word 'citizenship' to summarise their aspirations and ethos.

The citizenship curriculum is well developed in a minority of schools. There is also some very good teaching, although overall the quality varies widely.

Publishing the report, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools David Bell said: "There is a wide consensus in schools, in Parliament and the wider community that citizenship is a positive addition to the National Curriculum. While this support was generally evident in the schools we visited, some are not clear about the aims of this subject and its place in the curriculum. As a result, many schools have not planned and implemented the introduction of this subject as well as they might have."

(GMcG)