“Citizenship Education is the education for citizenship, behaving and acting as a citizen; therefore it is not just the knowledge of citizenship and civil society. It also implies developing values and understanding’. (Crick Report 1998)

The aim of the programme is that it will challenge and enable our pupils to examine their attitudes and values towards a range of subject areas relevant to their development. It is hoped with increased knowledge and developed skills they will become informed, active and tolerant members of the local community. As well as appreciating their own needs as they grow up in the twenty first century, they will also appreciate the needs and view of others.

Pupils need to recognise and celebrate diversity, and to foster tolerance, understanding, empathy and cooperation.

Description

The programme aims to give pupils the opportunity to develop a range of skills covering areas such as their;

• Ability to deal with personal relationships in an effective and confident manner.
• Ability to have a point of view while being able to listen to alternative views.
• Ability to take in information and to react to it in a positive manner
• Ability to work in a group, while also acting in a responsible manner as an individual.
• Ability to develop their self confidence.

“If the social interaction between pupils in a school is to be used as a model for the way in which citizens interact in a society, then it needs to be both positive and fair. An atmosphere needs to be created in which all pupils feel they have something to contribute and that they can express themselves freely, but at the same time sensitively (Huddlestone and Rowe 2003). For many years up to July 2006 pupils in Years 7 - 11 had a time-tabled allocation involving specialist teachers, with pupils moving around a wide range of modules during the year.