Children can develop a stronger sense of their own identities and the ability to take their place in the world around them if they have the self-confidence and self-esteem that help them to be active, healthy and safe. For newly arrived children this is not just at a personal level but also in understanding how the community in which they now live has developed and how it functions socially, politically and culturally.

Learning that people in Britain value them, their opinions, experiences and their cultural heritage helps to encourage new arrivals to develop a sense of social cohesion and social responsibility towards others.

PSHE and citizenship aim to equip children with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to develop personally and socially and to make positive choices as they grow and move into adult life and contribute to their communities and society.

The key stage 1 and key stage 2 national framework for PSHE and citizenship have four sections:

• developing confidence and responsibility and making the most of their abilities
• preparing to play an active role as citizens
• developing a healthy, safer lifestyle
• developing good relationships and respecting the differences between people.

The framework includes themes such as making choices about the future, staying healthy and keeping safe, understanding the consequences of aggressive and antisocial behaviour such as bullying, and regard for the differences between people.

They are intended to be used flexibly to meet the specific and diverse needs of children in the school. Schools working with children newly arrived from other countries may want to consider the following issues.

Planning for inclusion

The national curriculum is the starting point for planning a school curriculum that meets the specific needs of newly arrived children. The national curriculum inclusion statement outlines how teachers can modify, as necessary, the national curriculum programmes of study to provide all children with relevant and appropriately challenging work at each key stage. It sets out three principles that are essential to developing a more inclusive curriculum:

• setting suitable learning challenges
• responding to pupils' diverse learning needs
• overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.

Setting suitable learning challenges

Schools should aim to give every pupil the opportunity to experience success in learning and to achieve as high a standard as possible.

A flexible approach will be needed to take account of any gaps in children’s learning resulting from missed or interrupted schooling. A small number of children arriving in the UK may not have received any previous schooling or their education may have been interrupted because of war. These children will have fewer skills than their peers. The 'Children with little or no prior education' area of this site gives further guidance on this.

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Responding to pupils' diverse learning needs

When planning, staff should have high expectations and provide opportunities for all children to achieve. Teachers will be aware that children bring to school different experiences, interests and strengths which will influence the way in which they learn. The experiences of children who have lived overseas can be an asset to teaching and learning in PSHE and citizenship. However, it is important to understand that some children may wish to put their experiences behind them and might feel uncomfortable if required to draw on recent traumatic events as part of their learning in school. Drawing on a child’s past personal experience requires appropriate professional judgement and sensitivity. Even work in PSHE and citizenship that does not appear to be directly related to the experiences of the child may raise difficult issues.

Teachers are expected to plan their approaches to teaching and learning so that all children can take part in lessons. This will include the planning of work that is accessible for children with English as an additional language, as well as work that supports them in extending their language skills through the subject.

Teachers will need to plan appropriately challenging work for those whose ability and understanding of PSHE and citizenship concepts are in advance of their language skills. This may mean children using their first language in lessons. Engagement and access to PSHE and citizenship can be impeded if a child’s first language is not appropriately supported. The 'English as an additional language' area of this website gives further guidance on this.

The Ofsted report Managing the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant – good practice in primary schools (2004) gives a number of examples of good classroom practice and of case studies.

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Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils

A minority of children will have particular learning and assessment requirements which, if not addressed, could create barriers to learning. For newly arrived children these are most often linked to progress in learning English as an additional language.

For children learning EAL the nuances of English may prove to be very challenging. It might be possible for support teachers, whether in class or not, to:

• read the source with the children in advance of the lesson
• prepare materials to aid children’s ability to read between the lines
• support children’s access to text by using materials such as prepared tapes, particularly when working with significant quantities of written materials or at speed.

The 'English as an additional language' area of this site offers more guidance on this.

What is the potential in the PSHE and citizenship curriculum for valuing diversity and challenging racism?

The non-statutory guidelines for PSHE and citizenship and the QCA/DfES schemes of work for citizenship at key stages 1 and 2 provide starting points for learning to value diversity and for learning skills of challenging racism in the classroom. The national curriculum statutory inclusion statement sets out schools' responsibilities for meeting the needs of all pupils and provides examples of how this can be achieved.

PSHE and citizenship provide a curriculum context within which schools can provide planned and coordinated opportunities for children to explore attitudes and values, and develop knowledge, skills and understanding that support inclusion, challenge racism and value diversity. PSHE and citizenship require a whole-school approach that combines curriculum provision with whole-school policies and practices.

On the Respect for all in PSHE and citizenship website there are activities that are examples of good practice. They provide effective learning opportunities for children to value diversity and challenge racism. They focus on helping children understand and appreciate aspects of cultural difference, context and change, while challenging and extending their perceptions of themselves and other people.

Children should be taught to view positively differences in others, whether arising from race, gender, ability, disability, age, religion/belief or sexual orientation. Teachers can achieve this by using materials which reflect social and cultural diversity, and by providing positive images of race, gender, ability, disability, age, religion/belief or sexual orientation.

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Teaching and learning PSHE and citizenship

Class sizes in some of the countries from which newly arrived children come are larger than in England. This often results in a more teacher-directed style of learning. Some countries’ education systems place greater emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge than on the development of skills or concepts.

Children arriving from countries where either or both of these conditions apply may have little prior experience of classroom discussion or activities such as circle time. Paired discussion, reporting back and sharing personal feelings are all common features of English classrooms during PSHE and citizenship work. Each has to be learnt, and the conventions that underpin them need to be understood. A newly arrived child may have difficulty understanding what is going on or grasping the class ground rules or confidentiality agreement governing the behaviour of the rest of the class. Peer groups can play a useful role in helping the new arrival understand them. This can be done in English or in shared community languages. It is helpful for others in the class to have to articulate to the new arrival what is taking place as sometimes we learn the conventions of classroom behaviour early in our schooling but we then take them as read. Explaining these to others can provide a valuable opportunity for refection and consolidation of learning.

EAL staff may be able to work with class teachers to develop induction materials that introduce children to discussion, debate, the sharing of personal views and the valuing of the opinions of others.

Children newly arrived from overseas may also be less familiar with the practice of evaluating different interpretations of reality such as those presented in different parts of the media.

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Using existing PSHE and citizenship materials to support new arrivals

The PSHE and citizenship curriculum should reflect and respond to the changing needs of the children in the individual school community. The national frameworks are designed to provide guidance on curriculum content but activities should be planned to meet children’s experiences, needs and abilities and to help them make the best use of resources available in their school and in the local area. Where the school has admitted international new arrivals during the school year it may be necessary to adjust the planned programme to ensure that it meet their needs as well as those of the other children.

The following units are taken from the DfES/QCA citizenship scheme of work for key stages 1 and 2. The units are flexible and are designed to be adapted to meet the needs of children in individual schools or classrooms.

Unit 01 'Taking part – developing skills of communication and participation'

Children for whom English is an additional language should not be excluded from activities such as circle time that facilitate the development of communication and participation. Where bilingual support is available this can be used to ensure the child understands what is being said and to provide translation facilities so that his or her contribution can be shared with the rest of the class and valued. Many of the skills used in communication, such as facial expression, can be practised using the child’s home language, and some paired work might be carried on in a shared home language as well as in English. This will help facilitate the skill of communication and the concept of waiting one's turn in a fluent rather than halting context.

Unit 02 'Choices'

Some children will have little previous experience of the power of media advertising and might need a greater concentration on the role of advertising in influencing our behaviour and the skills of reading between the lines of advertisers' messages.

Children new to living in a democratic society may not previously have encountered the freedom of the press. They may be from societies where the media is state-controlled or where there is only limited media. The strengths and weaknesses of a free press can therefore be a worthwhile focus.

Unit 04 'People who help us – the local police'

Children whose families have suffered at the hands of the police may well have a negative perception of all police forces. Care will be needed to ensure that they gain an understanding of the role of the police as protectors and enforcers of the law with a duty to protect all citizens in the UK, and the extent to which the police still have local rather than national remits.

Unit 05 'Living in a diverse world'

Children from other countries provide a resource in any classroom that is exploring the issue of interdependence. This unit provides opportunities for all members of the class to consider how they contribute to the diversity in our communities.

Unit 07 'Children's rights – human rights'

Some children may feel uncomfortable with an exploration of rights if the experience of their families is that these rights have proved elusive in the past. Care will be needed to not expose children to feelings of inadequacy or self-blame and to respect their right not to open up past negative experiences. On the other hand some children will be able to make a very positive contribution through their personal testimony and help the rest of the class realise that human rights are not abstract ideas but have to be fought for and defended or they can easily be lost.

Teachers can adapt units. The Respect for all in PSHE and citizenship site has the following key stage 1 and 2 examples: 'A friend for Farouk', 'How are we different? (Challenging racism through circle time)', 'Man's inhumanity to man (bigotry and prejudice)' and 'Planet Mingo (cultural and social justice)'.

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Citizenship vocabulary

Teachers may wish to provide lists of key topic words with definitions. If using the DfES/QCA schemes of work the key words can be drawn from the vocabulary section in the key stage 1 and 2 units. Children could build their own bilingual dictionary of key words.

Collaborative learning involves children working together in small groups and helping each other learn. This is a good way of developing a child’s vocabulary.

Drug education

Young people’s attitudes towards and experience of legal and illegal drugs can vary between locality as well as ethnic group. When planning drugs education programmes schools should consult the DfES's Drugs: guidance for schools booklet. There may be specific issues related to drug education and some communities which mean that parents or carers have concerns about their children discussing such matters or bringing drug education materials into the home. However, all drug education should be approached with care as children from all backgrounds may have sensitivities that are not known to the teachers or other educators. It is good practice for drug education and other aspects of PSHE to be developed in partnership with relevant communities. Local healthy schools programmes can support schools in their work with local communities

Challenging bullying

Research shows that children newly arrived from overseas can be vulnerable to bullying, often of a racist nature.

PSHE programmes should promote knowledge and skills about the effects of prejudice, bullying, racism and discrimination, including how to challenge offending behaviour. They can also be extended to look at how children welcome new arrivals in their school.

The whole-school issues area of this site offers guidance on welcoming new arrivals, including admission, induction, mentoring and peer support. Information is also available on the DfES anti-bullying website Don’t suffer in silence.

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Useful weblinks

Please note: QCA is not responsible for the content of external sites

Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT)
The association's main aim is the furtherance of mutual support, knowledge and good practice, skills and resources for the teaching and learning of citizenship in schools and colleges.

Activecitizens.org.uk
Activecitizens.org.uk gives schools straightforward advice on setting up popular citizenship projects to run in non-curricular time.

Amnesty International
The organisation that supports and promotes human rights.

Anti-bullying Network
Brief information sheet on circle time with a list of resources.

Anti-Slavery
Campaigns for the freedom of millions of people worldwide who are trapped in situations of slavery or slavery-like practices.

Ask Cedric
This site aims to provide consumer educators and teachers with all they need to teach the consumer education aspects of the citizenship curriculum. Ask Cedric has areas suitable for key stages 1– 4 and has been designed to fit in with the citizenship curriculum and the National Consumer Education Partnership framework. The site provides lesson plans, information about how each unit fits into the citizenship curriculum, teaching notes, pupil worksheets, practical activities and class and schools project ideas.

BBC: Citizen X
The BBC's site for citizenship education with ideas for projects and information on various social issues.

Becta: Citizenship and ICT
This area of the Becta website offers advice and help about using ICT to support citizenship education.

Teachernet: Circle time
This area of the Teachernet website offers brief information about circle time.

Citizenship Foundation
The Citizenship Foundation aims to promote more effective citizenship, particularly among young people, through education about the law, democracy and society. It offers lesson resources and good practice guidance for teaching citizenship.

Curriculum online
Curriculum online offers an online catalogue of digital learning resources, searchable by key stage, subject and topic. This portal – aimed at teachers and other school staff, and developed by the Department for Education and Skills – also offers independent evaluations and teacher reviews of products.

DCSF: Citizenship
The site has been designed as a source of information about education for citizenship in the curriculum for young people in schools and colleges in England.

Wired for health
This is a site for health and education professionals interested in young people's health. The Wired for health series of websites are funded by the Department of Health and the DfES and managed by the schools and young people's health team at the Health Development Agency.

The key stage 1 and key stage 2 Wired for health websites are:

• Welltown for the 5–7 age group (key stage 1)
• Galaxy-H for the 7–11 age group (key stage 2).

DCSF: Don't suffer in silence
This website is intended to show children, their families and teachers how to tackle the problem of bullying. It is packed with new ideas, practical techniques and the valuable experiences of those who have been bullied, or have even bullied others. It includes practical advice on steps schools can take to combat bullying, illustrates these through case studies, and says where to get further information.

DCSF: Drugs: guidance for schools
Provides advice on developing drug education programmes and dealing with drug-related incidents. This guidance replaces circular 4/95.

DCSF: PSHE
This DfES website has a resource database, general information and a tool to help teacher professional development in PSHE.

DCSF: Sex and relationship guidance
Sex and relationship education should be firmly rooted in the framework for PSHE. This guidance designed for headteachers, teachers and school governors includes policy development, specific issues when teaching sex and relationship education, teaching strategies and working with parents and the wider community.

Education in Hampshire: Rights, respect and responsibilities: children's rights
A programme based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and evidence of positive impact on children and schools in both Cape Breton, Canada and Hampshire. The convention provides a global consensus on societal values for all children and can guide our behaviours. It promotes universal principles of the need to protect the rights of all children and to help them to understand their responsibilities, and it offers a framework for teaching and learning.

Institute for Citizenship
The aim of the institute is to promote informed, active citizenship and greater participation in democracy and society through a combination of community projects, research, education, and discussion and debate. It offers help, guidance and resources for the primary and secondary phase of education as well as resources to support teaching citizenship to children with special educational needs.

Learn.co.uk
This site offers resources, lesson plans and teaching ideas for citizenship.

Moving here: 200 years of migration to England
The Moving here website is a database of digitised photographs, maps, objects, documents and audio items from 30 local and national archives, museums and libraries which record migration experiences of the last 200 years. The site is useful for teachers developing schemes of work on migration and the development of ethnically diverse communities in Britain.

National Children's Bureau (NCB)
NCB promotes the voices, interests and well-being of all children and young people across every aspect of their lives.

NCB: Bullying
NCB produces a range of resources about bullying.

Ofsted: Managing the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant: good practice in primary schools
This 2004 report includes case studies of schools which manage their Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) funding effectively.

Oxfam: Cool planet
Designed by Oxfam, this site helps teachers to bring global issues into the classroom.

Portsmouth Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS)
Portsmouth EMAS offers a wide range of guidance and resources. Included in the citizenship section are children's rights taken from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989).

QCA: Citizenship
This QCA site contains guidance on teaching citizenship as well as offering news and updates about it, information about research projects and assessment, recording and reporting arrangements. It provides guidance on recognising achievement and curriculum development.

QCA: Inclusion
References to documents and guidance relating to equal opportunities. From this site you can link to the national curriculum statutory inclusion statement.

QCA: Personal, social and health education
PSHE pages of the QCA site.

QCA: Respect for all in PSHE and citizenship
These pages provide ideas of how PSHE and citizenship can be used to challenge racism and promote diversity.

Refugee Council
The Refugee Council produces a range of resources including Refugees: a resource book for primary schools (1998), a primary teacher resource book containing activities, personal testimonies and background information that can be used in PSHE and citizenship lessons.

Refugee Week
Refugee Week is an annual event that celebrates the enormous contribution of refugees to life in the UK. The Refugee Week website provides information on running successful events in schools. There are also free curriculum resources to download.

Runnymede Trust: Real Histories Directory
The Real Histories Directory has been created as a resource tool for teachers, parents, children and the wider community to support them in their teaching and learning about cultural diversity in the UK.

Teachernet
Teachernet guides you to a number of resources which have all been assessed by teachers and viewed to be helpful for teaching PSHE and citizenship. Use the drop-down boxes to help you to find the resources you need.

The paperboy
Search for any newspaper both from around the world and in the UK.

Refuge Project: Learning about refugees with refugees: a citizenship education project
The Refuge Project teachers' resource pack is the result of a schools project in the UK which paired nine refugees with nine schools for a six-month period.

Time for citizenship.com
This site offers citizenship lessons from the site to download, and information from various sources regarding citizenship education.

UNHCR in the UK: Teaching tools
The website of the UK office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provides a wide range of teaching resources that can support learning about refugees in several subjects including citizenship.

Further resources

Supporting refugee children in 21st century Britain, Rutter, J, Trentham Books, 2003

Refugees: a primary school resource, Refugee Council, 1998
This is a book of activities and background information written for children at key stage 1 and 2. Many of the activities can be used for PSHE teaching.

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