1. Diversity, community cohesion and citizenship
Post-16 Citizenship Support Programme Training Plan:
Section 5: PowerPoint presentation notes pages
Diversity, community cohesion and citizenship

2. Aims of the session
To clarify the aims and purpose of citizenship education
To examine the relevance of citizenship for other organisational priorities and government educational initiatives
To examine issues relating to identity and diversity within the organisation, and the role of citizenship education in promoting respect for all
To consider strategies for promoting community cohesion within the organisation and beyond

3. What is citizenship?
Citizenship involves:
the investigation of topical, controversial, social and political issues, leading to
young people’s responsible action to influence the issue, for the benefit of the community.
It brings new knowledge and skills about our political system, and
it encourages young people to form considered opinions.
Citizenship enables young people to use their voice, within both their community and their learning organisation.
This slide summarises the main components of citizenship, i.e. that it deals with real, topical and often controversial issues, that it involves responsible action based on knowledge and understanding, and that it enables young people to develop a view and to be heard. Citizenship does involve the teaching about democracy, although students are encouraged to consider whether democratic principles are always adhered to.
The three principles (from ‘Education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools’, QCA, 1998 Crick Report), which participants may have heard of, are:
Social and moral responsibility
Community involvement
Political literacy
The last of these is the one that causes most confusion. Political literacy is the ability to apply knowledge and skills together in action to change things. A useful analogy is with literacy itself. When a child is taught to read, he/she has a set of skills and can choose what to read and when. Political literacy enables people to make their own choices about what issues they choose to take action on.

4. Citizenship is not the same as…..
Lifeskills/PSHE
Citizenship looks at the public issues rather than the personal ones
Volunteering or charity fund-raising
Citizenship develops critical understanding as well as action
Nationality
Citizenship encourages existing, new and would-be citizens to get involved and take an interest in topical and controversial issues
To emphasise the distinctiveness of citizenship, it may be necessary to clarify further.
The three areas (Lifeskills/PSHE, volunteering and fund-raising, and nationality) are all commonly confused with citizenship education.
Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) provides valuable guidance for young people on personal issues and helps them in decision-making. Citizenship adds political and economic understanding to the topics covered by PSHE.
Many schools and colleges have volunteering programmes and fund-raising events. These are laudable and can support citizenship education, but are not sufficient on their own, since they do not always enable critical questioning of the actions of the charities or the voluntary bodies.
Because applicants for British citizenship are taught for the citizenship test, there is often confusion with citizenship education, which is aimed at all residents whether British or not. The whole issue of the test, is an interesting citizenship issue for debate.

5. Post-16 citizenship should provide three essential opportunities for learning through action:
To identify, investigate and think critically about citizenship issues, problems or events of concern to them, AND
Decide on and take part in follow-up action where appropriate, AND
Reflect on, recognise and review their citizenship learning.
These three essential opportunities are part of a framework for citizenship learning included in the QCDA Guidance (Play your part. Post-16 citizenship, then QCA 2004)
The framework also provides possible learning objectives and examples of citizenship actions that would be appropriate for this age group.
The guidance pack provides advice on getting started, planning provision, setting up a programme and assessment. There are also case studies of citizenship activity taken from a variety of post-16 settings.
The guidance can be downloaded from or can be ordered in hard copy from
QCDA Orderline
PO Box 29
Norwich
NR3 1GN
Telephone

6. Six approaches to post-16 citizenship
Six different (although not mutually exclusive) approaches have been identified. These are:
Citizenship through
learner voice and representation
qualifications and personalised programmes
group tutorial and enrichment programmes
voluntary and community-based activities
single events
research projects
It should be stressed that many post-16 providers use several of these approaches in order to provide as many opportunities for learners as possible.
Effective citizenship education enables young people to learn and practise skills in different contexts, but it is also necessary for them to reflect on their learning (as emphasised in the three QCDA essential opportunities) and so they need some taught time for this to occur.
You could also use or recommend ‘Citizenship Uncovered: a young person’s guide to post-16 citizenship’ a DVD available from

7. What is community cohesion?
‘Working towards a society in which there is a common vision and sense of belonging by all communities; a society in which the diversity of people’s backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated and valued; a society in which similar life opportunities are available to all; and a society in which strong and positive relationships exist and continue to be developed in the workplace, in schools and the wider community.’
Guidance on the duty to promote community cohesion, DCSF, 2007
This definition comes from the guidance for schools, but it is based heavily on the findings of the report of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion, ‘Our shared future’ (

8. The Commission for Integration and Cohesion
An integrated and cohesive society is one in which:
everyone knows their rights and their responsibilities
people of different backgrounds have similar opportunities
people trust the local institutions (e.g. the local council, the police, the courts and the media) to act fairly
people recognise the contributions of both new arrivals and those already settled, and they are not threatened by change
there are positive relationships between people of different backgrounds
The Commission was set up in the wake of the terrorist attacks on London in July The report stresses that circumstances are different in different parts of the country and that each area should identify its own strategies.
It was also noted that ethnicity and religion are not the only reasons for community tensions, although they are often picked up by the media. There are also issues relating to generation, social class, gender and different traditions.

9. Government initiatives: Review of National Curriculum and report on Diversity and citizenship (Ajegbo report), Duty on schools to promote community cohesion (inspected from September 2007) Government advice on role of further education and training providers (DIUS/AOC, 2009)
Ajegbo report:
Many recommendations, but three notable ones:
Section within Citizenship programme of study, at key stages 3 and 4, entitled ‘Identities and diversity: Living together in the UK
Support for a week of activities in primary and secondary schools each year entitled: Who Do We Think We Are? (
Emphasis on the existing Education and Inspections Act (2006) to inspect schools’ role in promoting community cohesion
Duty on schools:
Guidance available from DCSF (
Three headings:
Teaching, learning and curriculum
Equity and excellence
Engagement and extended services
Role of FE:
See ‘The Role of further education providers in promoting community cohesion, fostering shared values and preventing violent extremism’ (

10. What organisations can do: 1. Within the organisation
Emphasise the importance of the learner voice and involve them in decision-making
Foster a sense of belonging to a community which values diversity
Provide opportunities to deal with sensitive and controversial issues in an open way
Enable young people to take the lead in citizenship activities within the organisation
All of these actions help promote an ethos of respect for diversity. They also ensure that learners can contribute to decision-making so that they feel integrated into the everyday life of the organisation.
There will be difficult decisions to make, and senior staff must support the strategy

11. What organisations can do: 2. In the local community
Build partnerships with local organisations
Explicitly discuss sensitive issues such as relationships between groups in the surrounding locality
Encourage young people to participate and take real action in their communities
Often the problems that occur within college are brought in from outside. Enlisting the help of young people in addressing some of these issues can defuse them.
The Croydon case study (Handout 8) examines how students have worked with the local council, the Damilola Taylor Trust, the youth service and the local police, trying to find ways of dealing with gang culture, knife crime and street fear. Some students have been into primary schools to talk to young children about the dangers of carrying knives

12. What organisations can do: 3. National issues
Make provision for timetabled citizenship sessions
Ensure that staff who deliver are willing to be involved
Make provision for staff training in dealing with controversial and sensitive issues
Provide time and resources, including appropriate materials
Young people need the opportunity to debate national controversial issues of the day such as ‘Britishness’, terrorism, migration within citizenship lessons, and to plan and run action.
Many staff are reluctant to address such issues, fearing disruption and potential conflict within groups. However, experience has shown that such issues cannot be ducked.
Oldham case study
Oldham 6th Form College has created a specific society as a forum for open discussion. This operates in a structured way and allows for the discussion of potentially difficult issues in a very ‘up front’ way. They have found the Citizenship agenda has had a significant impact on promoting a culture of openness and belonging. This willingness to face up to and deal with sensitive topics has received very positive feedback from both students/learners and parents. This open approach reaps rewards outside the College as students/learners who very much feel members of the College community are having a calming influence on situations of potential conflict in the wider community.
Quoted in ‘The role of further education in promoting community cohesion, fostering shared values and preventing extremism’, DIUS/AOC, 2008

13. Which approaches could we try here? What support would we need?
Action planning
Discuss:
Which approaches could we try here?
What support would we need?
What obstacles might we meet?
If the participants are ready for detailed action planning, they could use the form provided as Handout 9 . However, it may be, if they are absolute beginners, that they need the opportunity to discuss these three questions at some length.