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The teaching of citizenship is improving but some schools have limited understanding of what is required to provide an effective citizenship education according to a report published today by Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills.

Citizenship established? Citizenship in schools 2006/9 shows schools are making encouraging progress in establishing citizenship as a secure part of the curriculum, with just over half of the secondary schools visited judged good or outstanding for students’ achievement in their knowledge and learning.

The best schools do not just teach citizenship in classrooms, but help pupils become active citizens as well, by giving them opportunities to take on leadership roles in their school community, through volunteering or community action, or as part of a school council.

The report shows the best examples of citizenship education are often found in schools where citizenship has dedicated and regular space on the timetable. Those schools that rely too heavily on suspending the normal timetable to provide occasional time for citizenship are most unlikely to meet National Curriculum requirements.

Examples of schools’ experience in teaching citizenship are threaded throughout the report, describing how school councils and guided discussions are used to encourage students to think about government and politics, international affairs and justice.

While the report focuses on citizenship education in secondary schools, it also finds a positive picture in primary schools which were found to be particularly strong at helping children understand issues such as community, sustainability and human rights.

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, said:'Citizenship is becoming a well established part of the school curriculum and this report highlights the ways in which schools are successfully promoting social responsibility, community involvement and political understanding. It is important that the good practice featured in the report is replicated more widely.'

Increasing numbers of students are taking the citizenship GCSE short course, up from 51,297 in 2006 to 84,588 in 2008, and there has been an improvement in results with 54.7 per cent of students attaining A* to C compared to 52.4 per cent in 2006.

Achievement was found to be inadequate in 10 of the 91 secondary schools visited, with poorly planned provision or poor teaching (or both) resulting in gaps in student knowledge and understanding, often in the key areas of government and politics.

Students’ knowledge was often uneven in schools where citizenship provision was no better than satisfactory. While students at these schools knew a good deal about some aspects (such as human rights) there were important gaps in their knowledge, for example in political understanding. This reflected an uneven quality of teaching, only partial coverage of the curriculum, and a lack of focused leadership. In schools found satisfactory or worse, the report found contributions from other subjects to citizenship were negligible and citizenship was often forced to share an inadequate curriculum slot with personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education to the detriment of both.

The report found that schools are now clearer as to the standards expected in citizenship education. Schools’ growing experience of facilitating GCSE short courses and the introduction of the eight level assessment scale have helped schools to begin to develop their assessment of student progress more thoroughly.

The survey also identified a need for more in-service training in citizenship for teachers, with schools slow to take up places on continuing professional development (CPD) courses funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). These courses were found to be of good quality, with schools and teachers benefiting from improved professional knowledge and understanding of citizenship.

Recommendations from the report include:

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) should:

• with the Training and Development Agency for Schools, maintain the numbers of trainee places for initial teacher education and the level of provision for continuing professional development in citizenship
• the DCSF should also promote the take-up of courses for continuing professional development in this area.

Local authorities should:

• consider how they can support schools in developing citizenship programmes and facilitate networks of teachers and, in particular, encourage schools where provision is weak to become involved.

Schools should:

• develop the quality of citizenship teaching by taking advantage of existing expertise in the school, capitalising on training opportunities and recruiting specialist teachers when the opportunity arises
• establish a clear link between citizenship and community cohesion, in particular highlighting the contribution that pupils can make to their local community
• ensure that all their staff understand the principles defining citizenship and how these relate to other subjects, particularly the humanities and PSHE education
• ensure that the citizenship curriculum and opportunities for participation and responsible action are available to pupils of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

1. The report, Citizenship established? Citizenship in schools 2006/9, can be found on the Ofsted website http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Documents-by-type/Thematic-reports/Citizenship-established-Citizenship-in-schools-2006-09.

2. In September 2006, Ofsted published Towards consensus? Citizenship in secondary schools.

3. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

4. Media can contact the Ofsted Press Office through 020 7421 6899 or via Ofsted's enquiry line 08456 404040 between 8.30am - 6.30pm Monday - Friday. Out of these hours, during evenings and weekends, the duty press officer can be reached on 07919 057359