St Joseph's R.C. High School
& Sports College

St Joseph's RC High School

St Joseph's RC High School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children
and young people and, expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment

The national curriculum for citizenship aims to ensure that all pupils:

  •  acquire a sound knowledge and understanding of how the United Kingdom is governed, its political system and how citizens participate actively in its democratic systems of government
  •  develop a sound knowledge and understanding of the role of law and the justice system in our society and how laws are shaped and enforced
  •  develop an interest in, and commitment to, participation in volunteering as well as other forms of responsible activity, that they will take with them into adulthood
  •  are equipped with the skills to think critically and debate political questions, to enable them to manage their money on a day-to-day basis, and plan for future financial needs.
  • Teachers use topical political and social issues to bring citizenship content to life and to help pupils develop key citizenship skills of research, discussion and debate, as well as to represent the views of others, think critically, evaluate and reflect. The Citizenship curriculum aims to develop student’s ability to participate in communities and wider society as informed, critical and responsible citizens. The purpose of “active citizenship” is to teach students to work together and take practical action, using their Citizenship knowledge and understanding to contribute to a better society.

Year 7

During the Autumn term students will cover two main areas:

  • What it means to be a Joey
  • Global Citizenship

During the first half term students develop their understanding of the rights and responsibilities in a community focussing on influential people that have had an impact on a community both locally, nationally and globally. Pupils also examine the importance of road safety and road awareness with guidance from an external speaker.

The second half of the term concentrates on global citizenship. Students examine countries and continents and discuss our connections with them through everyday objects. St. Joseph’s international connections play a role in this unit of work with students composing letters to our partner school in South Africa.

Spring term allows students to explore and discuss the impact of anti-social behaviour on a community and the introduction of CBOs instead of ASBOs.  This scheme of work encourages students to accept responsibility for their behaviour and enables them to distinguish between civil and criminal law. Students also look at the age of criminal consent using case studies as examples.

Throughout this term students also begin to look at the role of the monarchy, public institutions while acquiring respect and knowledge for institutions and services in England.

Year 8 and Year 9

During the Autumn term students learn about equal opportunities and diversity in the community locally, nationally and globally. They appreciate the diverse national, regional, ethnic and religious culture in the UK. As well as consider the interconnections between the UK and the rest of the world. Students develop their understanding of what migration, persecution and asylum are and why people would migrate with structured lessons and guidance from external speakers.

The unit of work in the second half of the term is put in context of the journey by 18 young people who took part in youth expeditions. The lessons challenge the media portrayal of young people, Islam and extremism. The lessons are adapted from ‘Digital explorer’ which is an educational non-profit organisation of the British Council. The lesson aim to give our students the opportunity to develop the skills needed to become critical media consumers as well as citizen journalists. These skills are essential if our  students are to develop as global citizens in an increasingly connected world.

Spring term develops student’s knowledge of the Commonwealth and the links between the UK, Europe and the wider world. It allows students to be creative and analyse their impact of their actions on communities and the wider world, now and in the future. This unit enables students to make links between Citizenship and work in other subjects and other areas in the curriculum when looking at climate change.

Spring term discuss Parliament including elections, and the role of political parties. During lesson they will also look at other forms of government, both democratic and non-democratic beyond the UK.

Citizenship