Citizenship - Parents Page

Why Include Citizenship In Home Schooling

The problem posed by citizenship education suggests UNESCO is "how to blend together the particular and the universal, the national and the international, the individual and society. The difficulty can be solved by integrating human rights in to education.

This approach opens up new paths for education for peace, human rights and democracy.

Thus, citizenship education addresses both the individual and the citizen and provides an avenue for each individual citizen to acquire an understanding of the issues of peace in the world, and the challenges of the globalisation of economic, environmental and cultural problems.

Since sustainable development of human beings and the world they live in is linked to the quality of education, the time has come to regard citizenship education as a vital part of any education system and any teaching programme."

How to Record the Learning

For our learners on the Autistic Spectrum, need to know what to expect as they more in to independent living. They will need to know what to ask of their Social Work, what they can expect from Support Workers or Service Providers.

They need to know how to safeguard themselves from unwelcome individuals who do not have their best interest at heart. If they work they need to know about reasonable adjustments under the law.

For our Dyslexic learners they may have seen whilst in school how hard their parents have to fight quite hard for them to get the right resources to met their needs. Once in work, employers need to make reasonable adjustments under the law for dyslexics. It is important to know your rights and how to ask for that help.

Following A Set Citizenship Programme of Learning

As our learners are home-schooled, we don’t have to follow the National Curriculum. Should any topic be of interest do allow it to be followed to the end.

Democracies need active, informed and responsible citizens; citizens who are willing and able to take responsibility for themselves and their communities and contribute to the political process.

Democracies depend upon citizens who, among other things, are:

aware of their rights and responsibilities
informed about the political world
concerned about the welfare of others and Young Cares
to be able to voice their opinions in a acceptable way
capable of having an influence on the world
being active in their local communities

These skills do not develop unaided. They have to be learnt. While a certain amount of citizenship may be picked up through ordinary experience in the home or at work, the wide community and over lapping communities responsibilities we belong to, needs teaching

Citizenship issues are:

real: actually affect people's lives
topical: current today
sometimes sensitive: can affect people at a personal level especially when family or friends are involved
often controversial: people disagree and hold strong opinions about them (stopping trolls on the the internet starts here)
ultimately moral: relate to what people think is right or wrong, good or bad, important or unimportant in society.

Including Citizenship In To The Learning Routine

Here, at Orchard Training we try to embed citizenship into our projects, where it sits naturally and can be enjoyed. For example, in our project on British Waterways, we look at the need for a Fishing Rod Licences.

Therefore, we look for ways in our projects to promote lawful behaviour and the Rights and Responsibilities of individuals. As a NVQ Assessor, I have had to support a number of apprentices who have been unfairly treated by their employer or who have been put into dangerous situations.

I am very active prompting young peoples right to stand up for themselves and giving them the tools to do so.

You don’t need any fancy; expensive equipment to teach Citizenship. Each project will list the resources you will need and suggestions of where to visit. They are written with the home-schooler’s budget in mind. The biggest expense will be visiting places of interest. Whilst some don’t charge - others do.

The main cost is the travel and ticket price: plan ahead, combine the visit with other activities, take a packed lunch – just like a real educational trip!

Orchard Training