On Monday, 31 January, a Democratic Life delegation – led by David Blunkett MP – met with the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove MP, to discuss the review of the National Curriculum and citizenship education’s future.

We presented a robust case for citizenship education’s contribution to schools and communities and the positive impacts it can have on young people’s attitudes towards participation. You can read our briefing for Mr Gove (pdf), which formed the basis of our arguments.

The Secretary of State listened to everything we had to say and seemed particularly interested in the international comparisons we presented and the examples we gave of how a citizenship ethos can improve behaviour in schools. In reference to the curriculum review, he said that ‘the stage is set for a  debate on citizenship’ and assured us that Democratic Life – and everyone else who is concerned for citizenship education’s future – will have the chance to be heard by the review panel.

We hope that Mr Gove will recommend that the review panel speaks to us directly, but in the meantime we’re drafting our response to the consultation document, which we will share when it’s ready.

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• This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011 at 1:21 pm