Citizenship Education in Wales
Citizenship education is not a stand-alone subject in Wales, but forms part of three areas of schools’ provision – PSE, ESDGC and the Welsh Baccalaureate:
Personal and Social Education (PSE)
PSE has been a statutory requirement for ages 7 to 19 since 2003. The current PSE Framework (which is non-statutory) covers two relevant areas:
• Active citizenship, which includes valuing diversity, understanding political processes, and participating in school/community life
• Sustainable development and global citizenship, which includes an understanding of natural resources, poverty, inequality and global interdependence
Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship- is a separate, overarching, policy used by the Welsh Government to incorporate ‘citizenship’ and ‘sustainable development’ into all levels of education across Wales - it is inspected (across all educational providers) by ESTYN (HMI in Wales) and is implicit in all statutory subjects and explicit in Geography, RE and DT. ESDGC incorporates and supports aspects of the skills framework since the curriculum review in 2008 and the publication of the Common Understanding documents (for schools, youth work, FE and adult and community learning). ESDGC is defined to encompass the following themes and concepts:
Personal and Social Education (PSE)
PSE has been a statutory requirement for ages 7 to 19 since 2003. The current PSE Framework (which is non-statutory) covers two relevant areas:
• Active citizenship, which includes valuing diversity, understanding political processes, and participating in school/community life
• Sustainable development and global citizenship, which includes an understanding of natural resources, poverty, inequality and global interdependence
Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship- is a separate, overarching, policy used by the Welsh Government to incorporate ‘citizenship’ and ‘sustainable development’ into all levels of education across Wales - it is inspected (across all educational providers) by ESTYN (HMI in Wales) and is implicit in all statutory subjects and explicit in Geography, RE and DT. ESDGC incorporates and supports aspects of the skills framework since the curriculum review in 2008 and the publication of the Common Understanding documents (for schools, youth work, FE and adult and community learning). ESDGC is defined to encompass the following themes and concepts:
ESDGC has been seen as a way to deliver essential skills and support the Skills Framework, which is also central to delivery of PSE.
The Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ)
The qualification recognises achievement in PSE and citizenship and requires an understanding of the interdependence between 'Wales, Europe and the World'. It combines personal development skills with existing qualifications such as their GCSEs, AS/A levels, BTECs, or NVQs and includes a Core Programme of personal development studies along with:
The Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification is nationally approved and offered at Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced levels.
In 2013/14 the Welsh Government is introducing the Sustainable Development Bill as the Central Organising Principle of the Government, this will require public sector organisations to adhere to the principles of sustainable development in all their activities but does not specify anything to do with ESDGC. There is a curriculum review due this year which is likely to focus strongly on literacy, numeracy and academic achievement. The future of ESDGC and Citizenship education will be considered as part of this review.
The Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ)
The qualification recognises achievement in PSE and citizenship and requires an understanding of the interdependence between 'Wales, Europe and the World'. It combines personal development skills with existing qualifications such as their GCSEs, AS/A levels, BTECs, or NVQs and includes a Core Programme of personal development studies along with:
- Work experience – spending time in a work situation
- Team enterprise – where they experience what it means to run a ‘business’
- Community work – spending time helping the community
- An individual investigation – a research project of their choice
- Wales, Europe and the World – putting Wales in context
- Personal skills – such as planning and time-management
The Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification is nationally approved and offered at Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced levels.
In 2013/14 the Welsh Government is introducing the Sustainable Development Bill as the Central Organising Principle of the Government, this will require public sector organisations to adhere to the principles of sustainable development in all their activities but does not specify anything to do with ESDGC. There is a curriculum review due this year which is likely to focus strongly on literacy, numeracy and academic achievement. The future of ESDGC and Citizenship education will be considered as part of this review.
Useful links
- Welsh Assembly Government pages on Personal and Social Education (which includes elements of citizenship/values education)
- Information and support for Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC), a cross-curricular requirement for schools in Wales
- Cyfanfyd - National network of organisations promoting ESDGC
- Council for Education in World Citizenship (CEWC) - an educational charity that helps young people in Wales develop as active citizens. Provides events and workshops for students, as well as training and support for teachers
- Welsh Centre for International Affairs (WCIA) - a registered charity that enables the people of Wales to understand and act on global issues. Based in Cardiff and working with people of all ages throughout Wales, they provide an independent, non-partisan forum for human rights, peace and justice, sustainability and international development. The WCIA incorporates CEWC, their schools arm, and United Nations Association Wales, their campaigning and advocay arm.
- World Education Centre - a development education centre based in Bangor University
- The Right Way: A Children’s Rights Approach in Wales. A principled and practical framework for working with children, grounded in the UNCRC, to help public bodies to integrate children’s rights into every aspect of decision-making, policy and practice.
