Post-16 Citizenship Online Forums

“Not all volunteering is citizenship” - this statement really summarises the fact that while worthwhile, not all volunteering activity contains citizenship learning. That’s not to say it shouldn’t or can’t, in fact far from it - volunteering is a great opportunity to deliver citizenship learning by ensuring some knowledge and understanding of the social/political issues surrounding any given volunteering activity are drawn out rather than just assuming that young people will somehow imbibe this type of learning simply by volunteering in the first place.

At an event on this theme yesterday (25 April) it was discussed that citizenship can be seen as a way through and an organising principle which can help leaders and coordinators respond to policy developments such as Every Child Matters, learner voice, diversity and self-review. Delegates and others interested in this are encouraged to discuss their experiences and future plans in the area on this forum.

There are many opportunities for citizenship learning 14-19, particularly with new qualifications for citizenship coming on stream, extended projects which can focus on citizenship, the effective participators strand of personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) and the development of new specialised diplomas.

The concept of personalisation is closely linked with plans for a requirement for FE providers to have a learner involvement strategy. Draft guidance for involving learners will be issued in January followed by full guidance in April. We are very interested to hear of examples of any policies for involving learners you may already have, particularly any that link into the citizenship curriculum entitlement within the organisation.

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The current issue of ‘Catalyst’ magazine (20 November 2006), which is published by the Commission for Racial Equality, carries a very interesting discussion between Tanuka Loha and Kenan Malik on the place of race in representation.

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Our citizenship champion projects share their top tips on setting up post-16 citizenship programmes and activities.

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There is an interesting article in today’s EducationGuardian (Tuesday November 14 206) entitled ‘Positive Action’ and written by Morag Preston. The article focuses on the provision of citizenship at Pimlico school in London, and raises some practical suggestions as to how citizenship could be organised across the school.

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Work-based learning settings offers opportunities for post-16 citizenship to be linked to existing programmes such as Key Skills or employment rights and responsibilities in Apprenticeships. Share your experiences here.

Informal post-16 provision in local authority youth services, local community groups and the voluntary sector can offer a wide variety of opportunities for post-16 citizenship, often focused on consultation with young people. Share your experiences here.

Colleges cater for more learners than any other type of provider in the post-16 sector and can offer a wide variety of approaches to post-16 citizenship. Share your experiences here.