• Carrying out an audit
• Creating a citizenship ethos
• Leadership and coordination
• Identifying staff development needs
• Staff development programmes
• Popular questions: possible actions

Carrying out an audit

Carrying out an audit is a good starting point for developing post-16 citizenship. An audit gives everybody involved in preparing for post-16 citizenship an opportunity to discuss and agree priorities. It should involve all staff and young people, as well as external contributors and members of the wider community who are involved in citizenship (where appropriate). Depending on the size of the organisation, it is likely to cover the following areas.

Leadership and coordination

• What is our organisation's vision for citizenship?
• How is senior management promoting this vision to the organisation and the wider community?
• Who is responsible for leading citizenship development?
• Are targets for citizenship education included in the organisational development plan?
• What does our public documentation say about citizenship?
• Who coordinates citizenship activities?
• Who is in the citizenship team? (staff, external contributors, others)
• Who is involved in making decisions about citizenship?
• What structure and mechanisms do we have in place to enable staff and young people to take part in decision making?

Resources and management

• What resources are there for citizenship?
• How are resources allocated?
• How are resources identified?
• Are there new resources that would be helpful for citizenship and how are these selected?

Provision and assessment

• What kind of activities do we already do that contribute to citizenship?
• What kind of provision do we want to make in the future for citizenship learning in this organisation and in the wider community?
• What size and scale of programme do we want to develop? How many young people will we work with on citizenship programmes?
• What kind of citizenship activities and programmes do our young people need?
• How are citizenship opportunities, objectives and actions in the learning framework being addressed?
• Are there any barriers to young people taking part in citizenship activities that we need to address?
• How will we and young people know they are learning and achieving?
• How will citizenship achievement be recognised?

Staff development

• What skills and expertise do staff have that can contribute to citizenship?
• How are we going to support and develop our staff's citizenship expertise?
• How will we ensure that there is time and space for citizenship development?
• What can we learn from other organisations involved in providing citizenship?

Monitoring and evaluation

• How are we going to monitor our citizenship provision?
• How will we evaluate citizenship?
• How will we involve young people in monitoring and evaluation?

Wider community involvement

• Who else can be involved in citizenship from the wider community?
• What links can we build on with external contributors and organisations to support our programme of citizenship?
• How are we communicating with others about our citizenship programme and achievements?

Creating a citizenship ethos

The support of senior management is essential for successful citizenship. Senior managers need to:

• understand what post-16 citizenship involves and have a vision for taking it forward
• establish a development plan setting out priorities, timings, milestones, staffing, staff development and resources.

They also need to foster an organisational culture that supports change, creativity and new ideas. The most effective citizenship learning takes place in organisations that reflect fundamental citizenship values by, for example:

• listening to the 'voice' of young people through representational structures, such as forums, councils and committees
• involving staff and young people in making decisions about the organisation
• valuing positive relationships and encouraging everyone (staff, young people and members of the wider community) to play a part in creating a citizenship ethos.

It is particularly important that different groups, at all levels, feel that they are genuinely part of decision making. In the case of young people, communicating, negotiating and representing the views of others are valuable citizenship experiences. Regular feedback from senior management is vital so that young people understand why things are not always possible.

Drawing up a citizenship policy, charter or manifesto- setting out the ethos, aims, programmes and activities - can be a good way to engage staff, young people and other stakeholders. As a starting point, organisations need to agree a basic set of values and rules by which they work, for example:

• showing commitment to respect for all
• showing concern for justice for everyone
• recognising the importance of establishing and maintaining trust.

A commitment to active citizenship should be at the heart of any citizenship policy, along with an emphasis on providing challenging and enjoyable experiences. The policy should identify everyone involved (staff, young people, external contributors, community and other organisations) and indicate the kind of roles they can most helpfully play.

Young people can lead the process of developing the policy, which needs to be regularly reviewed and updated.

Leadership and coordination

Staff with sufficient seniority and experience to lead a major development should be appointed to coordinate and lead citizenship work. Wherever possible, they should be interested in developing a specialism in citizenship.

Before looking at citizenship across the whole organisation, it can be helpful to build experience and practice with a small number of enthusiastic staff. In the longer term, it will be important to establish a 'citizenship team', made up of staff and others who support and develop activities (including external contributors). Experience suggests that starting small and building up is also an effective way of developing citizenship programmes.

Identifying staff and development needs

Staff development for post-16 citizenship is about gaining interest in, and acceptance and adoption of, effective practice.

All staff will already have some of the skills and experience needed for post-16 citizenship. When considering staff development for citizenship, it can be helpful to start by identifying what individuals already know and understand, then to build on this by focusing on developing specific new areas of citizenship knowledge and skills. This can be done quickly and simply by covering the following topics in a team discussion, at individual review meetings or through questionnaires.

• Understanding post-16 citizenship and why active learning is central to its success. Do staff share a common understanding?
• Working with young people in a facilitative way. Do staff have the knowledge and skills they need to engage young people in issues and empower them to take appropriate action? Do they allow young people to lead activities?
• Assessing, recording and recognising achievement. Are staff aware of approaches to formative and summative assessment in citizenship? Have ways to recognise achievement in citizenship been considered?

When identifying staff development needs, it is important to consider senior and middle managers, as well as those working directly with young people. They need to understand:

• approaches to post-16 citizenship provision- what are the different types of activities and programmes?
• citizenship policy formation and organisational development - who should be involved?
• the resources and support needed for post-16 citizenship, including staff.

Staff development programmes

The aim of staff development is to motivate staff and enable them to work effectively and confidently.

Staff development for post-16 citizenship can involve a combination of training sessions and development processes, depending on the time available and the expertise and preferences of staff. Short, focused training sessions - even as part of meetings - can help to raise awareness or develop a specific skill. However, longer-term developmental processes that support individuals as they gain knowledge, skills and confidence (for example through coaching, mentoring, modelling or shadowing) will also be needed. Staff should be involved in planning their own programme of training and/or development for citizenship, based on their identified needs.

The following practices have worked particularly well for post-16 citizenship staff development:

• using a team-based development process - asking more experienced staff to coach or mentor staff who are new to citizenship
• active learning - encouraging staff to contribute ideas, do something practical and get involved in citizenship activities
• modelling the active citizenship approach - identifying what an individual member of staff is interested in (for example communication skills, politics, global issues), enabling them to gain the knowledge and skills they need to work with young people on a citizenship activity, encouraging them to 'have a go' in a small way, and recognising success and what works well
• informal staff development - using existing meetings in a planned way to supplement formal training sessions
• catching the enthusiasm - not only from staff already involved in citizenship, but also from young people themselves.

Staff development events, case studies and materials to help organisations identify needs and run in-house training activities and developmental processes are available from the LSDA at www.citizenshippost-16.lsda.org.uk

Popular questions: possible actions

The questions below are those that organisations most often ask when they are getting started with post-16 citizenship. In each case, possible actions are suggested.

How can we raise awareness of citizenship in our organisation?

• Discuss citizenship with senior management and make it a regular item in management meetings.
• Hold a citizenship event or meeting.
• Invite a guest speaker or young people to present ideas.
• Organise an exchange visit to another citizenship provider.
• Discuss with staff and young people how citizenship supports the organisation's values, aims and purposes.

What are we already doing that relates to citizenship?

• Carry out an audit of provision (involve young people).
• Talk with staff and young people across the organisation.

How can we get young people involved in planning and developing citizenship?

• Identify those who are interested in, and committed to, citizenship.
• Invite young people to join a citizenship advisory group.
• Work with existing young people's representative bodies.
• Consult young people directly (ensure decisions are fed back regularly).

What needs to change for citizenship to happen?

• Identify any potential barriers to citizenship (for example lack of time, organisational ethos).
• Plan for change.
• Consider how to improve the 'voice' of young people.

How will we decide and plan what citizenship to do?

• Carry out a needs analysis.
• Discuss possibilities with staff and young people.
• Use the citizenship learning framework to plan.

What kind of programme will suit our organisation best?

• Review different forms of provision.
• Find out about programmes in local organisations. Use the case studies for ideas.
• Contact key citizenship organisations for help.

How much time will there be for citizenship?

• Decide the purpose of the citizenship programme (for example an entitlement for all, enrichment activities or an option for some).
• Evaluate what else young people are doing.
• Decide whether accreditation of citizenship is going to be used and consider the time needed.
• A minimum programme of 20 hours has been suggested for those developing post-16 citizenship programmes with the LSDA.

How will we ensure all of our young people can access citizenship?

• Seek a range of activities that all young people can take part in.
• Identify any barriers to individuals or groups of young people taking part.
• Plan how to overcome these barriers by making appropriate modifications.

How will staff and young people assess learning and track progress?

• Consider appropriate forms of assessment for the kind of citizenship provision on offer.
• Consider whether different groups of young people need different approaches to assessment.
• Decide on an appropriate way of recording progress.

How will we recognise and celebrate citizenship achievement?

• Consult with young people about what kind of recognition they would value.
• Consider a range of citizenship qualifications and/or awards as options for accreditation.
• Decide how to celebrate and communicate citizenship achievements (for example open events, a website or newsletter led by young people).

How will we make sure citizenship is relevant and engaging?

• Consider ways to ensure citizenship reflects the needs and interests of young people.
• Be prepared to adjust activities to take into account issues and events of topical interest.

How will we review and monitor our programme to ensure a quality experience for all?

• Consider how the programme can be monitored and evaluated.
• Involve young people in evaluation.
• Establish mechanisms for doing this regularly.
• Communicate decisions and reasons for change.

Download a chart to record actions and set targets for post-16 citizenship (PDF)