§ Baroness Howe of Idlicoteasked Her Majesty's Government: What evaluation is being made of the teaching of "citizenship" since it became a compulsory school curriculum subject in September; and [HL235]
Whether monitoring of the effectiveness of citizenship classes includes consideration of the views of pupils. [HL236]
§ Baroness Ashton of UphollandOfsted is evaluating the teaching of citizenship through the section 10 inspection regime and provides effective progress reports on a range of models of delivery of citizenship education in schools. Ofsted's first report following the introduction of citizenship in secondary schools in September 2002 is available atwww.ofsted.gov.uk/ publications. The department has also commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NfER) to conduct an eight-year longitudinal study to consider the impact of the subject on pupils' knowledge, understanding and skills in citizenship. Details can be seen at www.nfer.ac.uk.
Both the revised Ofsted inspection guidance for citizenship published in 2002 and the NfER study include requirements to gain the views of pupils in relation to teaching and learning in their school.
§ Baroness Howe of Idlicoteasked Her Majesty's Government: What percentage of the time available in the citizenship curriculum has been spent on parenting, including both the relationships of pupils with their own parents and the role and responsibilities pupils themselves will have as parents; and [HL237]
What percentage of time available for citizenship classes is spent in classroom instruction; and how much is spent visiting local institutions and voluntary organisations which provide the citizenship services they are learning about. [HL238]
§ Baroness Ashton of UphollandThe programme of study for citizenship sets out what pupils should be taught. No set percentage of time is required for each subject of the national curriculum or coverage of elements of programmes of study. Decisions about delivering the framework are best made by classroom teachers applying their professional judgment and an understanding of their pupils' needs. Schools decide on time allocations and activities, such as visits, which would augment and enrich classroom teaching for their pupils. Detailed guidance for schools, based on 71WA the Citizenship Order (No. 1603), has been produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and sent to every school and can be obtained from www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes.