§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skill (1) what the standards for citizenship are in respect of(a) assessment, (b) instruction, (c) pupil attainment and (d) academic content; and what the standards are for the other key stage four statutory subjects; [125016]
342W(2) if he will assess the effectiveness of teaching citizenship within existing personal, social and health education programmes [125014]
(3) if he will assess the extent to which schools (a) recognise the aims and purposes of citizenship as a statutory subject and (b) relate these to the broader aims of the school, as prescribed in the Ofsted report, National Curriculum: planning and implementation 2002–03; [125015]
(4) if he will make a statement on the progress of pupils' knowledge, understanding and skills in citizenship since it became a statutory subject. [125017]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggNational Curriculum subjects, including citizenship education, have clear requirements for what must be taught and the standards of attainment at the end of each key stage (see www.nc.uk.net). A range of teaching and learning methods are described in the QCA schemes of work for citizenship (see www. Standards dfes. gov uk/schemes). Schools can adopt a range of approaches including discrete lessons; whole school activities; and teaching through existing subjects such as Personal, Social and Health education.
Assessment and reporting arrangements are similar to other national curriculum subjects. Teachers must conduct pupil assessment at key stage 3 and report pupils progress in key stage 1 and 2 to parents. GCSE (Short Course) in Citizenship Studies has been developed to give pupils the opportunity to obtain a recognised qualification. QCA has developed guidance for schools on assessment (see www.qca.org.uk). It is a year since the introduction of citizenship as a statutory subject in secondary schools and pupils need time to develop the required knowledge, understanding and skills in the subject. The Department is committed to continuing to monitor the introduction of citizenship education, to provide schools and teachers with the additional support they may need. The Department has 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. It will also consider the impact on schools understanding of the aims of citizenship education and how they relate to wider school ethos and planning. The NfER longitudinal study and Ofsted section 10 inspections regime will provide effective progress reports on a range of models of delivery, including through Personal, Social and Health Education.