Blogs

Lorellie Canning is Head of Citizenship at St Bedes and St Joseph’s Catholic College in Bradford. She is also a member of ACT Council.

As a citizenship teacher I always try to find an active link to topics we are studying. In year 7, students write letters to our MP and local council on a variety of issues such as tackling knife crime, the use of child soldiers and other problems within the local community which concern them.

Emily Bowyer is Head of Citizenship & PSHE at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls

Our guest bloggers speak out on why GCSE Citizenship Studies is so important to their pupils and schools

'The chair of governors came and congratulated me in person'

Last year, the school I was teaching at was going through a tough time. The senior leadership team had left at Easter, leaving a new team from a multi-academy trust to take over, not knowing the school or students. Results dropped hugely across the school, but my subject, citizenship, held its own. 

There are good opportunities to explore Gender Politics at the National Portrait Gallery at the moment. Leaving the sumptuous Vogue exhibition aside for the moment, hurry to the second floor for the superb one room exhibition Exposed: The Naked Portrait.

Simply displayed, the exhibition makes its point - bodies come in all shapes and sizes and beauty has no relation to age and size!

There are two exhibitions at the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne that are of interest to citizenship teachers and may well be worth a trip to the seaside.

Recording Britain
Organised by the V&A | exhibition runs until 2 May 2016

What is this about?

Helen is PSCHE Curriculum Leader at a secondary school in Hampshire, Chair of ACT Council and a member of the Expert Subject Advisory Group for Citizenship.

The United Nations at 70: time to invest in our global system
A conversation with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Friday 5 February 2016, Central Hall, Westminster

Museum and Gallery Reviews by Gavin Baldwin

Gavin is Programme Leader for the citizenship PGCE at Middlesex University and an experienced teacher of history and citizenship. He is a long standing member of ACT and joined the Council in 2010. Gavin became co-editor of the ACT journal 'Teaching Citizenship'  in 2012.

‘HMD is a time when we seek to learn the lessons of the past and to recognise that genocide does not just take place on its own, it’s a steady process which can begin if discrimination, racism and hatred are not checked and prevented’ (HMD website, January 2016)

International Human Rights Day - 10 December

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted on 10 December 1948. The date has since served to mark Human Rights Day worldwide. This is a specific day every year when Citizenship teachers have a clear route to help their pupils explore many different aspects of human rights. ACT has every December provided high quality advice and guidance regarding IHRD and this year we are taking the opportunity to again draw attention to the importance of teaching about human rights issues.