Citizenship

Citizenship

Citizenship Studies is concerned with the kind of society we live in and want to influence and develop. It covers, too, the role of the public and private organisations in the process. School courses help prepare students to become active citizens. The best of them promote students’ personal and social development, and make them more self-confident and responsible, in the classroom and beyond.

All external examination courses emphasise developing awareness of the role of citizens in a variety of contexts.

Just about any educational visit will contribute to the students’ exploration of new experiences and new ideas about being a ‘citizen’, but venues and activities that bring students into contact with other communities, other social contexts and other attitudes will be particularly exciting. Many museums and venues specialise in giving hands-on experiences of what some aspects of life in earlier centuries was actually like. These tend to be attractive to primary school groups.

Secondary groups often visit civic centres and attend local council meetings. Both primary and secondary groups will be welcome at churches, chapels, synagogues, mosques and temple, some of which offer programmes of talks and exhibitions. In cities this is relatively easy to arrange but even in rural communities priests and lay church people are prepared to help schools.

The Citizenship Foundation would be an excellent starting point. It claims to help 80% of secondary schools to nurture citizenship, and sets out to inspire young people to contribute to society. The Association for Citizenship Teaching also provides advice and teaching resources, while the National Centre for Citizenship and the Law delivers law and justice education at national heritage sites.

Main organisations:

Citizenship Foundation 

Association for Citizenship Teaching

National Centre for Citizenship and the Law (NCCL)

PSHE Association

Democratic Life

Hansard Society

Inclusion: NASEN

Thought of visiting?

The Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green

National Trust Museum of Childhood, Sudbury, Derbyshire

Museum of Childhood, Edinburgh

The London Museum

The National Archives, Kew

Houses of Parliament

Welsh Assembly

Scottish Parliament

Northern Ireland Assembly

Venues for this Curriculum

Barnet Museum is a free local history Museum in North London run by volunteers.

1086 until the present

A Mill is recorded in the Doomsday Book of 1086 on the site of the The Old Mill. In the 14th Century it had begun to be known as Slaughter Mill and by the 18th Century had become independent of the manorial estate.

The Ashmolean has worked in close partnership with Worcestershire County Council, other local organisations, and the Keil family, to transform a historic building in the Cotswold village of Broadway, Worcestershire, into

Gordon Russell was a design pioneer – a furniture designer, maker, calligrapher, entrepreneur, educator, and champion of accessible, well crafted design. Schooled in the Arts and Crafts tradition of the Cotswolds he believed that good design has a lasting impact on people’s lives.

The Museum was founded in 1981. Funded by Greater Manchester Police, it not only collects and preserves archive material and objects relating to the history of policing in the Greater Manchester area, but acts as an important resource for community engagement, where visitors can talk to staff and volunteers about policing.

Education

NCCL delivers educational programmes at the Civil Justice Centre and Crown Court in Manchester and at Bolton Magistrates’ Court.

Two hundred years of energy

The National Gas Museum displays historic objects collected by Britain’s nationalised gas industry, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. We have around 4,000 objects drawn from several former regions of British Gas and donated by individuals.

There have always been ideas worth fighting for. Join a march through time following Britain's struggle for democracy over two centuries

The main story of the museum is told in two purpose built galleries located on the first and second floor. The galleries have been divided into seven themes and roughly follow a chronological order over the last 200 years. The story starts with the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 and ends in the present day.

Relive the legend of Robin Hood, Nottingham's legendary favourite son

Welcome to Nottingham Castle - a magnificent 17th century ducal mansion built on the site of the original Medieval Castle - now the city's main museum and art gallery.

A registered charity which cares for and protects abused and ill-treated donkeys and other animals whom you may visit and sometimes pet and feed.

Bassetlaw Museum was created in 1983. Over the following years its collections have quickly grown due to generous donations by local people. The collections include local history, archaeology, decorative and fine art, agriculture, costume and textiles.

The American Visionary Arts Museum celebrates artwork created by self-taught individuals in its spacious gallery with over 4,000 pieces in the permanent collection. The adjacent Jim Rouse Visionary Center houses the museum’s oversized sculptures, art cars and screen paintings, a Baltimore specialty.

AVAM's Seven Education Goals

Numerous prints and photographs, artefacts from famous freemasons such as Winston Churchill, and displays detailing freemason hierarchy and everyday practices are guaranteed to keep you interested. The atmosphere of mystery around the assembly greatly adds to the excitement of the visit. Make sure you book in advance for the full experience!

The museum reconstructs the conditions in educational establishments that taught impoverished children in 1800s Britain. On display, there are numerous unique items, such as desks, ink bottles, and slate boards, as well as objects relating to contemporary leisure and work life. The museum’s crowning glory is its Victorian classroom!

The Magic Circle headquarters hosts a remarkable museum and library dedicated to preserving the craft of magic.

If you’ve always dreamed of travelling in time, this museum is ideal for you

The Geffrye collects objects, images and texts in order to explore the history of English homes from 1600 to the present day.

See and hear the fascinating world of mechanical musical instruments.

That magical musical atmosphere that has been lost and forgotten in today's digital age.

In addition to our two theatre organs, the Organ Theatre contains a unique collection of mechanical (self-playing) musical instruments that our founder, Mr. Charles Hart, began collecting nearly half a century ago.

Visit one of Scotland's most impressive ruined castles

Visit Dunnottar Castle for an unforgettable experience. A dramatic and evocative ruined cliff top fortress in a truly stunning setting. 

Eureka! is a unique place for families and groups to visit, where children aged 0 to 11 are inspired to learn all about themselves and the world around them by playing, imagining, experimenting and – above all – having fun, with the caring grown-ups in their lives.

The park occupies the site of an old manor house that fell into terminal decline after the war and was demolished in 1959. Fortunately, the park has continued in use and has become one of the best parks within the region. The park occupies around eight hectares with a large number of facilities on site.

Thornborough Henges are three neolithic sites where standing stones were sited. They are amongst the most important such sites in Britain and are aligned in the same off-centre alignment seen at other triple-circles in England.

A small local museum in a town once described as a full-flavoured fisher town. Buckhaven’s past importance in the East Coast Fisheries is reflected in the displays housed above Buckhaven Library. Free admission, open as Library. 

St Andrews, the home of golf, is also home to the British Golf Museum.

The museum has over 16,000 exhibits telling the story of golf from its origins in the Middle Ages to the present day.

Learning at the British Golf Museum

The Crofthouse Museum takes visitors back to a time where life’s essentials were of a bare minimum. The House, barn and byre are all accessible under one roof and everything, from the floors to the kitchen appliances, is made with materials found and collected. 

Visit Unst Heritage Centre in Haroldswick and discover the unique story of Unst, the northernmost island in the UK.

Bearing in mind Unst’s special position as the northernmost outpost of the UK, the centre has a display about the lighthouse at Muckle Flugga, and a range of interpretive displays about geology, crofting, fine lace knitwear, the Shelties, etc.

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