SecEd The ONLY weekly voice for secondary education Inside this issue


The great 2:2 teaching debate


The government wants all teachers to hold a degree qualification of at least 2:2, but this has angered many who say that being a great teacher is about much more than your qualification. We hear from two educationalists on either side of the debate Pages 8 and 9


Battle is on to save citizenship from axe


Ms Kearney explained: “Our


A major lobbying campaign has been launched amid fears that the government is set to drop citizenship as a subject from the national curriculum. Headed up by the Citizenship


Foundation, Amnesty International, and the Association for Citizenship Teaching among others, the cam- paign points to “uncertain political support” for the subject and has already contacted every MP. Campaigners fear that the forth-


School trip change


The government has backed a major report this week that calls for the paperwork surrounding school trips to be simplfied. But not everyone is happy. Page 6


coming curriculum review repre- sents a “big threat” to the subject which became compulsory at key stages 3 and 4 in 2002. Molly Kearney, policy and advo-


cacy manager at the Citizenship Foundation, described its position as “very vulnerable”. Education secretary Michael


Gove has already said that the national curriculum is to be reviewed subject-by-subject, but fears have been raised because of his silence over citizenship com- pared to his vocal commitment for other subjects.


fears are that it is a big threat and we are hearing a lot about the declut- tering of the curriculum and freeing up subjects for schools. We feel citizenship is very vulnerable.” Citizenship was introduced


gain the skills they need to take part in society – is essential for prepar- ing young people for responsible participation in our shared demo- cratic life.” Ms Kearney added: “We have


bilities and any move to drop or weaken its status would send out all the wrong messages.” Lee Jerome, chair of council


across the curriculum in 1996 by the previous Conservative admin- istration, before the Labour govern- ment made it a compulsory subject at key stages 3 and 4 in 2002. Since then, almost 500,000 students have taken A levels and GCSEs in the subject, with 100,000 sitting citizenship GCSEs this year. It is thought there are now around 2,000 teachers who have trained in a citi- zenship specialism. The coalition of campaign-


ers has now launched a website called Democratic Life to head up its efforts and last week wrote to MPs from all parties, sending them a nine-page briefing showing the benefits of citizenship as a subject and its achievements. The website states: “We believe


citizenship education – through teaching about politics, the law and the economy and by providing opportunities for young people to


a feeling that a lot of MPs have misconceptions about the subject. Citizenship is the only subject that teaches young people about their rights and responsibilities as citi- zens.” The full briefing is available on


the campaign website where those wishing to support the campaign can sign up as well. Speculation is also growing that


the government’s emphasis on his- tory means Mr Gove may believe that citizenship can be incorporated into this subject, but Ms Kearney said there was a clear distinction between the two. Jo Cobley, Amnesty


International UK’s head of edu- cation, echoed the concerns: “It’s very worrying that the minister has remained silent on the issue. We firmly support citizenship remain- ing part of the statutory curriculum. The subject is essential to teaching pupils about rights and responsi-


at the Association for Citizenship Teaching, said that it would be dif- ficult to see Mr Gove legislating to scrap the GCSE in citizenship, but said that Mr Gove’s silence “has not put anyone’s mind at rest”. Teachers this week reacted


angrily. Robin Street, deputy head at Villiers High School in west London, said losing citizenship would be a “hugely retrograde step, naïve and highlight a complete fail- ure to have understood the needs and requirements of the changing student population”. He added: “Ask any of our


year 7 or 8 students which subject they find the most engaging and relevant to their everyday life and I am sure they would talk about citizenship.” Vicky Harwood, head of human-


ities at Hartsdown Technology College in Kent, said: “I don’t believe that this (would be) a good idea. There is definitely a place and a need for citizenship in the cur- riculum. I would not like to see a


Issue 263 • October 21 2010 Price £1.00 www.sec-ed.com


As curriculum review looms, campaigners fear subject is 'vulnerable' by Pete Henshaw


return of form tutors delivering this subject as in the past. “Citizenship like any subject is


best taught by a trained teacher who has great understanding and enthusiasm for their subject. This can inspire students, lift the lessons (often reducing behaviour inci- dents), and create new understand- ings for students.” John Fairhurst, headteacher at


Shenfield High School in Essex, said that his school would continue to deliver the subject no matter what. He added: “Citizenship is a


major, positive contributor to the ethos of my school, and imbues the youngsters with a sense of morality and commitment to others – so lays the foundation at school level for The Big Society.” However, Paul Ainsworth, vice


principal at Belvoir High School in Leicestershire, believes that schools should have a “greater degree of autonomy in how they design their curriculum”. He added: “We are lucky to


have a specialist PSHE/citizenship teacher who works closely with our excellent RE teacher to provide a challenging and valuable learning experience.” A spokeswoman at the


Working weekend?


Margaret Adams looks at how to ensure your workload does not ruin your weekend Page 13


SecEddigital


and Twitter Thousands of teachers are reading SecEddigital, a virtual edition of SecEd, which is emailed out every week. You can sign up for free by emailing editor@sec-ed.co.uk. SecEd news and features are now also available on Twitter. You can follow us at www. twitter.com/SecEd_Education


Department for Education told SecEd this week that the govern- ment “has not decided the future status of any subject in the national curriculum”. She added: “It is our intention to


restore the national curriculum to its original purpose – a core national entitlement organised around sub- ject disciplines. A slimmed down national curriculum will allow schools more freedom and time to build on the core entitlement to pro- vide a rich educational experience for all their pupils and to continue to use their professional judgement to organise learning as they see fit. “More details about our plans


to review the curriculum will be announced later in the year.” The other founding members


What is in this building? This eye-catching and award-winning mysterious red cube building has become the talk of the community at Rednock School in Gloucestershire, with hundreds flocking to visit. Find out why on page 4.


of the campaign are the British Youth Council, Changemakers, Community Service Volunteers, the Hansard Society, the Institute for Global Ethics, involver, and the Learning and Skills Network. For more information, visit www.democraticlife.org.uk


UK news n SecEd: On Your Side n Psycho babble n Teach it like Torno! n NQT diary n Managing ICT n At the chalkface


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