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COMMUNITY COHESION A Guide for Citizenship Coordinators BACKGROUND • Emerged after the events of 2001. • DCSF published guidance on the duty to promote community cohesion in 2007. • Became a statutory duty from September 2007. • Applies to faith, age, sexual orientation, social class etc. not just race and ethnicity. • “Promotes a common sense of belonging, positive values, diversity, tackles disadvantage and inequalities, promotes interaction in the workplace, schools and neighbourhoods” (Ted Cantle). DCSF DEFINITION • “By community cohesion we mean working towards a society in which there is a common vision and sense of belonging by all communities; a society in which the diversity of people‟s backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated and values; a society in which similar life opportunities are available to all; and a society in which strong and positive relationships exist and continue to be developed in the workplace, in schools and in the wider community.” SCHOOL DUTY Grouped under three headings: • Teaching, learning and the curriculum. • Equity and excellence. • Engagement and extended services. This duty will be inspected by Ofsted from September 2008. COUNTY STRATEGY • Focus – narrowing the achievement gap and raising standards for all pupils • Link with iCoCo • Pilot group of 9 schools • Conference for school leadership, June 2008 • Partnership with Extended Services • Hubs to be created around the 9 pilot schools • CPD for schools 2008/9 • Development of Finstall Centre RELATIONSHIP TO CITIZENSHIP CURRICULUM • The National Subject Adviser says that “citizenship contributes to community cohesion, CoCo does not reside with citizenship”. • The „more than a subject‟ ethos of citizenship means that we are already engaging with the community and community issues and our work can be built upon. • The „fourth strand‟ Identity and diversity – living together in the UK gives our subject a central place in promoting CoCo within the curriculum. ACTIVE‟ CITIZENSHIP The DCSF guidance states that the term „community‟ has a number of dimensions: • The school community • The community within which the school is located • The UK community • The global community Curriculum citizenship already takes all of these into account. We are in a unique place to be involved in whole-school initiatives to promote any or all of these community dimensions. ACTIVE‟ CITIZENSHIP • Schools are advised to look at their own situation, population and place in the community and then build on existing good practice, using local partners and organisations. • This might include raising awareness in „mono-cultural‟ schools and providing opportunities for pupils to interact with people from different backgrounds. • Your Extended Schools Coordinator will have knowledge of the local community and potential for linkage (although they work whole-school, not just with one area of the curriculum). HOW CAN CITIZENSHIP COORDINATORS CONTRIBUTE? I would suggest: • Make sure SLT are aware of the contribution you can make to whole-school planning and the development of T&L (see TL&C audit for ideas). • Find out what is already happening in your school and get involved (if you are not already!) • Look at the „Identity and Diversity‟ strand and plan some quality work around this (maybe link with another department). • Offer to contribute towards school CPD – perhaps around discussing sensitive and controversial issues in the classroom. CONTACTS IN WORCESTERSHIRE • Martin Allen – EIA (firstname.lastname@example.org) • Tasnim Khawaja – Teacher Adviser EAL (email@example.com) • Jackie Sainsbury – Teacher Adviser EMA (firstname.lastname@example.org) Martin, Jackie and Tasnim are based at the Finstall Centre.
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