• Building on the national curriculum
• Citizenship in the national curriculum
• A framework for post-16 citizenship
• Planning programme content
• Planning activities

Building on the national curriculum

Post-16 citizenship programmes and activities need to take into account young people's prior learning experience to build on, reinforce and extend the knowledge, skills and understanding that they have already developed through national curriculum citizenship. This may involve:

• deepening and extending young people's knowledge and understanding through focused study of citizenship issues, problems and events
• exploring new areas of citizenship that may relate to other areas of learning or interest
• providing new experiences in new settings and contexts, for example learning through work-based training, experiencing voluntary or community involvement
• giving young people opportunities to lead activities themselves or train others in citizenship issues and skills.

It can be helpful to use a baseline activity to establish where there are gaps in young people's existing citizenship knowledge, skills and understanding. Examples are available at www.citizenshippost-16.lsda.org.uk

Citizenship in the national curriculum

The national curriculum for 11- to 16-year-olds contains three strands: developing skills of enquiry and communication, developing skills of participation and responsible action, and knowledge and understanding about becoming informed citizens. The following is a summary of the requirements for citizenship in the national curriculum.

Developing skills of enquiry and communication, to:

• research, investigate and analyse topical issues
• think about and argue a point of view
• contribute to group discussions and debates.

Developing skills of participation and responsible action, to:

• empathise with the views and experiences of others
• critically evaluate and explain views not necessarily their own
• negotiate and participate in community-based activities
• reflect on their participation.

While developing these skills, acquiring and applying knowledge and understanding about becoming informed citizens in the areas of:

A framework for post-16 citizenship learning

The framework for post-16 citizenship learning provides a flexible structure for planning activities and programmes. It identifies that post-16 citizenship should give young people opportunities to:

• identify, investigate and think critically about citizenship issues, problems or events of concern to them
• decide on and take part in follow-up action, where appropriate
• reflect on, recognise and review their citizenship learning.

Through these essential opportunities, young people should work towards a set of broad learning objectives. They can then develop and practise their skills through a range of citizenship actions and activities.

*The Crick report (1998) identified a list of key concepts for citizenship education: democracy and autocracy; cooperation and conflict; equality and diversity; fairness, justice, the rule of law and human rights; freedom and order; individual and community; power and authority; rights and responsibilities (see appendix 2 page 44)

See the full framework for learning

Planning programme content

The framework for citizenship learning is flexible - it does not prescribe content and allows providers and young people to design their own programmes.

In broad terms, the content of post-16 citizenship programmes should:

• develop the three principles of citizenship (social and moral responsibility, community involvement and political literacy)
• reflect young people's interests and needs
• focus on topical issues and current affairs
• involve young people in active learning
• relate to other activities, work or programmes of study that young people might be undertaking
• involve young people in wider community-based activities.

Issues in citizenship
Many different topics, problems and events in everyday life - political, legal, social, moral, cultural, environmental and economic - affect young people as citizens. Some of these are local issues, others have national, European and/or global dimensions. Where possible, young people themselves should be given the opportunity to decide which issues to focus on in their citizenship programme.

The case studies in this guidance reflect the broad range of issues that young people are learning about through post-16 citizenship programmes and activities, including:

• crime and public safety
• promoting anti-discriminatory practice at work
• the law and disability
• the role of trade unions
• diversity and racism
• corporate social responsibility
• consulting with and representing young people's views through multimedia
• the role of the student union
• pollution and local transport policy
• globalisation and fair trade.

Developing the ability to ask questions and think critically about issues like these is an integral part of post-16 citizenship. The following questions, organised into three themes, can act as a helpful starting point.

• Rights and responsibilities. What are the rights and responsibilities in this situation? What are my rights and responsibilities? Who else has rights and who has responsibilities? How might these conflict? How can conflicting rights and views be balanced? What rules and/or laws apply? What would be fair and just to everyone? What action can we take to influence or change this? How can we make our views known?
• Government and democracy. Who is involved and what is their role and influence (for example individuals, communities, political parties, pressure groups, voluntary organisations, public services, business, the media)? What is my role in this? Who should decide (for example an individual, group, the nation)? How can we make our views known? What is the role of public services, community and voluntary groups and organisations in this? What democratic processes and institutions are involved? Who has the power and authority to make changes and at what level (for example local, national, international)? Who is accountable? How can we lobby for change?
• Identities and communities. What is my identity? How do I describe myself and my identities? What groups and communities do I belong to? Is there an issue for a particular group or community? What actions can we take as individuals or as members of groups and communities to effect change in this situation and/or in society? Who should pay? What should happen? What would be the best outcome for all concerned? How far should all parties be treated equally or differently, and on what grounds? Are our present institutions helping or hindering the process of making change?

Planning activities

Post-16 citizenship can be learnt in a variety of contexts, including:

• community-based, participatory activities (community involvement)
• individual, group and class learning activities
• other courses or programmes
• activities that contribute to the organisation as a community, such as representing the views of young people.

See Setting up a programme for more information on different forms of post-16 citizenship provision.

Whatever forms of provision are used, there are certain characteristics that will be common to all post-16 citizenship activities. Citizenship education is about the way that young people learn, as well as what they learn.

Active citizenship - taking part in the process of social change, working with others, making decisions and taking action - should be at the centre of all post-16 citizenship activities. In line with this, activities should involve an active learning process (plan, do, review), with the young people taking as much responsibility for their own learning as possible. This will be most effective where there is a supportive organisational ethos and management that values young people's involvement in decision making and encourages open relationships between staff and learners.

Throughout activities, young people should have time to reflect on and review what they have done and to identify the citizenship knowledge, skills and understanding they have developed.

Overall, activities should be planned so that they are:

• issue-based - focusing on real political, social, economic or environmental problems and events that are of immediate concern to the young people and, where possible, they have chosen
• led and owned by young people - with appropriate support from staff
• participatory - resulting in action in the community or organisation
• collaborative - involving working with others, or in groups of different sizes, as well as individually
• engaging, stimulating and fun - with out-of-the-ordinary activities that young people will enjoy and remember
• suited to a range of learning styles - for example learning by doing (role-play, simulations, problem solving) as well as reading, writing, discussion, debates and investigations.

It may be helpful to begin activities with a small project that can develop over time and involve increasing numbers of young people.

Organisations working with learners who are working below level 1 of the national qualifications framework should take into account QCA's guidance on Designing a learner-centred curriculum for 16-24 year-olds.