Teaching Britishness

ePolitix.com Stakeholders and others respond to news that schools will be required to improve their teaching of 'Britishness'.

 

Government Response: Department for Education and Skills

 

Education secretary Alan Johnson said: "I welcome Sir Keith’s report and want schools to play a leading role in creating greater community cohesion.

 

"By helping children continue to understand difference, schools can make a difference.

 

"Young people need to be engaged in this important debate because the values our children learn at school will shape the kind of country Britain becomes.

 

"I think that this report marks the coming of age of citizenship as an important part of the national curriculum."

 

 

Party Response: Conservatives

 

David Willetts, shadow secretary of state for education, said: "We welcome much of the broad thrust of the Ajegbo Report into citizenship in schools.

 

"Promoting community cohesion is an important part of education.

 

"In particular, grounding citizenship on the teaching of British history is crucial.

 

"We believe citizenship shouldn't just be taught in the abstract but linked very closely to narrative British history." 

 

Party Response: Liberal Democrats

 

Liberal Democrat schools spokesman Greg Mulholland said: "Citizenship classes are too often sidelined by schools under excessive pressure to meet Government targets.

 

"There’s a danger that subjects that don’t contribute to a school’s position in the league tables aren’t taken seriously.

 

"Sticking a teacher, whose specialism is in another subject, in front of class with a few worksheets and telling them to ‘teach citizenship’ simply isn’t good enough.

 

"British pupils aren’t taught enough about their local history.

 

"They are more likely to study life in Nazi Germany than learn about a civil war battle that happened two fields over from their school, or a debate about women’s suffrage that happened in their city hall.

 

"Alan Johnson is right to say more time should be found to teach pupils about their British heritage - but it is this government’s over-prescriptive curriculum that has squeezed it out of the classroom."

 

 

Stakeholder Response: ASCL

 

 

 

To send a comment to ASCL clickhere

 

ASCL general secretary Dr John Dunford said: "We welcome Keith Ajegbo’s report.

 

"He is an experienced secondary head whose former school at Deptford Green is a fine example of what can be achieved in citizenship education to promote cohesion in the local community.

 

"The report is welcome in raising the level of debate about citizenship.

 

"have always taken seriously their role to promote community cohesion and are often havens of calm and unity in otherwise intolerant communities.

 

"Schools have a very important role to play in developing a harmonious and accepting society.

 

"Diversity should not be added as a separate requirement to an already overcrowded curriculum.

 

"Schools should be supported and given resources to incorporate ‘Britishness’ and diversity education into their existing curriculum, including citizenship lessons.

 

"This will help to raise the quality of teaching of citizenship, which is a very young subject, having been introduced only five years ago.

 

"Once again, the burden is falling on schools to fix a problem which has its roots in the wider society.

 

"In some communities schools are the only places where students are encouraged to embrace diversity, tolerance and understanding and they are working against the prejudices instilled in children by others.

 

"It is vitally important that the government and the media address this fundamental issue as well.

 

"The values espoused in the report, which are instilled into young people by schools, are taught as universal values rather than as uniquely British values, although they may come together in a way that helps to define the concept of ‘Britishness’.

 

"There are many examples of good practice in schools and the government needs to support ways of disseminating these without placing additional statutory burdens on schools."

 

 

Stakeholder Response: PAT

 

 

To send a comment to PAT click here.

 

Alison Johnston, PAT’s principal professional officer (education), said: "We welcome the report and its findings.

 

"It is important that pupils learn about the history of their country and values such as tolerance and respect.

 

"However, we are concerned about how the proposed new strand of citizenship education will fit into an already crowded curriculum that is placing considerable demands on teachers and support staff. 

 

"It would be better for these new elements to be incorporated into existing programmes rather than be imposed as a new strand.

 

"The appropriate training and resources must also be put in place.

 

"There needs to be clear guidance on what is meant by ‘core British values’.

 

"These ‘values’ should not be prescriptive but should be inclusive.

 

"It would not be appropriate to promote an imperial British myth by teaching that values such as democracy, justice and fair play are exclusively British or implying that Britain is superior to other countries. 

 

"If they are to be successful, the proposed citizenship lessons must look at all the communities in the UK, their origins and their contributions to this country’s past, present and future.

 

"It should be possible to foster pride in, and a sense of belonging to, this country without being jingoistic or encouraging the aggressive nationalism that is sometimes fostered by the tabloid press."

 

 

Stakeholder Response: NASUWT

 

 

To send a comment to NASUWT click here

 

Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT, said: "NASUWT shares the government’s commitment to tackling racism and promoting equality and diversity. Schools have a pivotal role to play.

 

"The government’s response merits detailed consideration and NASUWT looks forward to working with the DfES to explore how these issues can best be taken forward.

 

"However, there is no doubt that schools will be wondering how the government’s ambition can be met in the context of a curriculum which is already overloaded and where new and competing demands seemingly are being made on schools everyday.

 

"Just for starters, secondary schools already have on their agenda a review of modern foreign languages, reform of the Key stage 3 curriculum, changes to the 14-19 agenda, including changes to A levels and the development of diplomas, the demands of personalising learning and changes to assessment and target setting as part of the ‘Making Good Progress’ Consultation.

 

"All of these have merit but serious thought must be given to how schools can be supported in accommodating this scale of change in the timescales envisaged without imploding."

 

 

Stakeholder Response: NUT

 

 

To send a comment to NUT click here.

 

Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "British history is laced with struggles to replace prejudice and bigotry with tolerance and respect.

 

"There is every argument for teaching the core values behind these struggles as well as the historical facts.

 

"But simply seeking a change in the curriculum is not enough.

 

"The government should target all disadvantaged groups including white working class and African Caribbean youngsters with additional support and resources.

 

"While I welcome Alan Johnson’s recognition that schools can be a powerful force in creating community cohesion he should reflect on the impact of recent education legislation which has created a divisive range of different types of school which undermine community cohesion.

 

"Allan Johnson is the secretary of state for education not for Britain, but only for England.

 

"I call upon the government to invite the separate education jurisdictions in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to create a United Kingdom council for education to provide a forum for distilling best practice in creating community cohesion."

 

 

Stakeholder Response: ATL

 

 

To send a comment to ATL click here

 

Association of Teachers and Lecturers general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said:

 

"This is a helpful review of the diversity and citizenship curriculum.  

 

"We are pleased that it emphasises the range of diversity between people living in Britain today and sees the concept of ‘Britishness’ as something for debate.

 

"Schools have an important role to play in teaching young people how to get along with one another despite differences in ethnicity, faith, language, culture, and class. 

 

"We need our children and young people to be able to live and work together and actively participate in society.

 

"However, there are some serious omissions in the review.

 

"It fails to address problems of persistent under-achievement and disengagement among certain groups – by particularly white working class boys, Afro-Caribbean boys, and Bangladeshi children.

 

"And, although, the review suggests ways in which schools can promote diversity and citizenship, it does not take into account the lack of time available to teach these issues within the current overburdened curriculum and overwhelming emphasis on getting pupils through tests."