Can I have your lesson plans.... please?

[JaySeeBee]

I’m trying to get hold of some lesson plans or detailed curriculum outlines for the content that children are taught during Citizenship Education lessons at different schools. What would be the best way to go about doing this - email the school directly, download ready-made plans from a website? Would teachers / schools actually be willing to share this info with me or are lesson plans a closely guarded secret?

I appreciate that it’s half-term and also that teachers have a never-ending list of things to do so any tips on how to get hold of these would be very helpful.

PHSCE is the coverall for loads of really useful stuff kids need to know, and that really their parents should teach them, but don’t, so schools do it instead.
I have no problems teaching about democracy when schools aren’t a democracy, think that’s a pretty silly question tbh. Nor is the UK a true democracy, but there you go.
I find it difficult that anyone would argue against kids being taught about : relationships, democracy, money matters, social media pitfalls etc etc etc

Why is it a silly question? Political literacy and engagement in the UK is extremely low and perhaps teaching children about democracy in a place where democracy doesn't exist is not an effective strategy. Using schools to teach this is convenient because school is where large numbers of children gather each day but teaching children ABOUT democracy is different from teaching children THROUGH democracy. The CE curriculum hasn't been updated for almost a decade and a lot has happened since then that has affected how children view their place in the world.

Schools aren't the only places trying to help inform children about what you've described above, there are other organisations e.g. Scouts that do this too.

Why do I think it is a silly question? Because we teach stuff all the time that we haven’t directly experienced, if we are staying in PHSCE territory eg about blended families, or credit unions, or in subject areas, should history not teach about the holocaust?
As a rough figure I would guess that less 1 in 20 kids go to scouts/guides so the vast majority of the population is not going to get information from that source. Who else other than schools, that reach the vast vast majority of children do you think should teach about democracy then? ( and no it won’t be the parents) .

I'm not saying that schools shouldn't teach children about citizenship or democracy. I'm wondering whether it's possible for children to be taught about these very important topics in a way that is more in line with what the guidelines expect. Scouts was an example of an alternative source of information available to some, but not all, children. In an ideal world, children would have ready access to people with lived experience of the things they are learning about (as you mention above) but that's not realistic so we take them to museums instead to learn more about history, science etc in an environment outside of the classroom.

One example I think is relevant here is where the KS2 CE guidelines state that "Pupils should be taught how to take part in making and changing rules". How many children are given the opportunity to actively participate in policymaking at their schools and influence the making or changing of rules? None that I know of - but that might be because I haven't yet spoken to a teacher who works at a school where this does happen.

This is the crux of what I'm trying to learn more about from teachers who are involved in CE. I'm trying to learn more about whether schools support and encourage active engagement with democratic processes rather than just inform children about how it all works and hope they remember when they're old enough to fully participate later in life.

Most primaries have had a democratically elected Pupil Council (and often Eco Club etc etc) for at least a decade, and they do make decisions relating to playtime equipment and rules, school dinners, that sort of thing. I also often give my class the chance to vote - even if it's about whether they sit on the carpet or in their chairs. I use the word democracy when we do this. Pupils also need to be able to talk about British Values for Ofsted and one of the 5 is democracy so I imagine most schools do weave it into the school day in some way or other.

One example I think is relevant here is where the KS2 CE guidelines state that "Pupils should be taught how to take part in making and changing rules". How many children are given the opportunity to actively participate in policymaking at their schools and influence the making or changing of rules?

Couple of things here. First, pupil voice is an active part of what most schools do whether by elected student councils, house captains, subject reps, etc so this is happening all over the place.

However, second, you've interpreted that guidance as meaning children should be changing the policies of their school. It doesn't say that, though that one way it could be done (and sometimes is in certain policy areas). It could also be done through creating games and controlled rules within them (as sports or play leaders often do). Equally, it can be taught through learning about people who have affected change on a local / national / global level.

perhaps teaching children about democracy in a place where democracy doesn't exist is not an effective strategy

Then you have nowhere to teach it to them. No institutions are entirely democratic. Our country isn't a true democracy. Our method of democratic elections isn't the most democratic process. No government has had more people who voted for it than didn't vote for it since the second world war. That's before you even factor in voter turn out! Even if you ignored that, do average everyday voters get the opportunity to set policy-making agendas? Do they get to create and propose legislation?

If your premis is that children cannot learn about a democracy if they aren't inside of a true democracy then no child can ever learn about democracy.

I guess the problem with how you've phrased this is asking about citizenship lesson plans. People are talking about PSHE because that's where citizenship lesson plans fall.

But by far the more important and meaningful way democratic ideals are taught involves no lessons at all. Children elect their class councillors. The school council vote on which none uniform days to have this year, have a say on the school menu, choose new uniforms, and much more. Children choose their Friday golden time activities. Children are taught to respect other opinions across all lessons. Children are taught the language of debate and disagreement.

They also learn about the history of democracy in some schools - it's part of the Year 5 Greeks topic, and in our school children also learn about other aspects of democracy through our history curriculum.

Thanks everyone for the feedback and suggestions - your input has been really valuable and I appreciate you taking the time to engage with me on this one 🙂

One more thing worth highlighting in direct response to "pupils should be taught about making and changing rules."

This has been a thing in every school I've worked in. At the start of the year, children draw up a class charter. Yes, of course it's teacher guided, but we ask the children for rules, ask them to rank the most important, take votes and decide. Children sign the charter to show they agree. It's actually very interesting as many children usually suggest much stricter rules than teachers. I think it comes from rights respecting schools, which would be worth a look in to.

I had no idea about the Rights Respecting approach - even though I've looked extensively into children's rights as per the UNCRC. Not sure how I missed it! This is exactly the sweet spot I'm interested in - how schools deliver CE at the intersection of all these different approaches while maintaining some autonomy over the specifics. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.