Memorandum submitted by the Carnegie Young
People Initiative (CYPI)
INTRODUCTION
The Carnegie Young People (CYPI) is a programme
funded by the Carnegie UK Trust. Its sole focus is children and
young people's participation in decision making across the UK
and Ireland. The Initiative is now in its final phase of its work
programme, and is focusing on three themes—organisation
change, promoting the benefits of participation, and sharing good
practice.
We have taken a special interest in Citizenship
Education across the UK and Ireland, particularly in relation
to whole school approaches and pupil participation. Our most recent
set of three publications under the banner heading—Inspiring
Schools: taking up the challenge of pupil participation*—focus
on evidence of good practice and measuring the impact of pupil
voice.
EVIDENCE
The Carnegie Young People Initiative, in its
experience of working with practitioners, is broadly in favour
of the Citizenship Education and its statutory status in secondary
education. However, as noted by Ofsted in its annual report, the
quality of delivery of Citizenship Education varies across schools
in England.
At Carnegie we believe that to improve the quality
of Citizenship Education in all schools, we need to:
— Build in time and capacity.
— Ensure real opportunities for children
and young people to experience democracy.
— Increase the support from MPs, MEPs
and Local Councillors.
TIME AND
CAPACITY
Evidence from Ofsted and from the NFER's longitudinal
study on Citizenship Education suggests that those schools who
have appointed a specialist co-ordinator and have built lesson
space into the timetable have been more successful in delivering
the Citizenship Education curriculum.
We therefore argue that more PGCE Citizenship
courses should be available for student teachers as well as improved
CPD for practicing teachers.
Each LEA should have a clear role in supporting
schools, for example co-ordinating activity across all schools
in the authority, leading on sharing best practice and signposting
schools to existing resources and external agencies. LEA support
should also integrate Citizenship into other policy initiatives—such
as Extended Schools, National Healthy Schools, and Specialist
Schools.
There needs to be a protected budget line for
all this activity.
We have also gathered case study evidence on
pupil voice and have found that where there is clear senior management
support, alongside a dedicated co-ordinator, and commitment from
other teachers, Citizenship and pupil participation has been successfully
embedded into the whole school culture and curriculum. For example
the City Academy in Bristol has a dedicated co-ordinator, but
has also built in space on the timetable for other teachers to
managed Citizenship and pupil participation work.
PARTICIPATION AND
PUPIL VOICE
Our research in this area suggests that the
benefits to schools when engaging pupils in decision making are
compelling. From our own critical analysis of existing data we
found a clear link with academic achievement, including skills
development; greater self-esteem and confidence; improved behaviour
in the school; better decisions are made in the school.
From gathering case study evidence, we found
that children and young people who are involved in school decision
making have a real sense of achievement and commitment to the
school's ethos and policies. For example in St Joseph's Comprehensive
School in South Tyneside, the school council was instrumental
in changing the homework policy. They conducted a survey of all
commendations about the standard and amount of homework set. The
new home-work-students, ensuring that all voices were heard, from
which they were able to make rework policy has support from all
students and teachers, and the standard of homework from students
has improved as a result.
We urge policymakers to consider an entitlement
framework for all children and young people, building on the DfES'
document, Working Together: Giving Children and Young People
a Say. Student involvement should not be limited to those
who are members of a school council or a working group.
We also argue that there should be a strategy
for measuring schools' success in embedding pupil voice. Many
of the Headteachers we are in contact with argue that whilst schools
are judged by the narrow criteria of league tables, pupil voice
will not be considered a priority in schools. Bearing in mind
the benefits of pupil voice to academic achievement, this seems
to be a lost opportunity.
SUPPORT FROM
ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES
In our work with the Puttnam Commission on Parliament**,
we have already recommended that the capacity of the Parliamentary
Education Unit should be scaled up to provide more young people
with a real and informative experience of Parliament. We welcome
the recent appointment of two Outreach Workers to work more closely
with schools in their own geographical locations.
We are also aware of the valuable support many
MPs have offered their local schools and recognise the number
of school visits that are already taking place. However, we would
recommend that more MPs encourage young people to engage with
them on real issues and for the views of young people to be fed
into decision making processes—through select committees
and parliamentary debates.
Finally, we would remind members of the Education
and Skills Committee that it is imperative that the voices of
children and young people themselves are heard when gathering
evidence on Citizenship Education. If invited, and literature
made accessible, many school students would be keen to feed into
your work.
* Our three publications on Pupil Voice will
be available from April 2006.
These are:
1. Inspiring Schools: Impact and Outcomes.
2. Inspiring Schools: A Literature Review.
3. Inspiring Schools: Case Studies for Change.
** Raji Hunjan, Director of Education and Schools
at the Carnegie Young People Initiative was also a member of the
Puttnam Commission on Parliament and the Public Eye.
March 2006
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