Citizenship/British Values

Citizenship & British Values

Hyde High School has one of the lowest NEET figures in Tameside, the NEET figures have also been consistently low over the last 10 years. High numbers of our students progress onto Further Education and employment and play an active part in society as a result. This is in part due to a coherent citizenship programme which develops the student’s knowledge and understanding of how the UK is governed and how laws are upheld.

Students also leave Hyde with the knowledge of how local communities function and the role of public institutions in improving communities. The school encourages students to play a positive role in contributing to the life of the school and the local community. In the past the school has also been awarded the intermediate level for international citizenship.

 

British Values Word Cloud

Aims

  • How to stay healthy and safe.
  • Understand the value of respectful and healthy relationships.
  • Know the difference between right and wrong and have a tolerance and appreciation of others’ protected characteristics.
  • Discuss opinions appropriately and to appreciate the views of others.
  • Have the opportunity to develop as an individual outside the classroom.
  • Make informed decisions about their future and where to get reliable advice from.

Citizenship

Through

Strengthening Our Community

  • Strengthening our communities, ensuring better engagement and an opportunity to have ‘a voice’
  • Providing students with the knowledge, awareness and skills in order to play an effective role within the school community and in society both locally and nationally.
  • Developing our students into well informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens who are aware of their rights and responsibilities and those of others.
  • Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our students and their self-confidence and resilience.
  • Encouraging responsible behavior
  • Developing students debating skills and to be able to express their own views on public institutions within the UK
  • Encouraging students to take an active role in their own personal development.

Key Stage 3

Citizenship themes are also embedded into many Humanities lessons. This is made evident to students in specific teaching resources. Mapping across the curriculum has been carried out to link statutory guidelines in all relevant subject areas.

KS3 students also take part in many of the active citizenship projects run across school. All students will participate in a social action project which links Citizenship to Character Development at Hyde.

Year 7 - Community, Rights and Responsibilities

  • Rules
  • Rights and responsibilities
  • Having a voice
  • Democracy in action
  • Social action project/character project

Year 8 - The role of Democracy in Social Change

  • Social inequality and justice
  • British constitution and institutions
  • Political parties and the role of an MP
  • How can I influence government policy even though I am only 13?
  • Social action project/character project

Year 9 - Crime and Punishment

  • Rights and the police
  • Youth crime, young offenders and the law
  • Courts and punishment
  • Money matters, budgeting and finance
  • Social action project/character project

Key Stage 4

All students in KS4 study British Values which covers the following topics:

  • Democracy
  • The rule of law
  • Individual liberty
  • Mutual respect and tolerance
  • Extremism
  • Radicalisation

Additionally, all students at Hyde study RE as part of the core curriculum (Eduqas).  The RE curriculum includes the following citizenship themes:

  • Prejudice and discrimination
  • Freedom of expression
  • Social justice
  • Radicalisation
  • Community cohesion
  • Charity and the role of public institutions
  • Aims of punishment
  • Prison reform

Mapping across the curriculum has been carried out to link statutory guidelines in all relevant subject areas

Extra-Curricular

Active Citizenship is evident through many initiatives run by the student leadership team. The student leadership team is elected via a democratic process. Members of the leadership team identify  a legacy project ‘that will make the school a better place in the future’ and students will work independently or collaboratively to embed their projects. Projects include recycling in school – ‘take it home’ mental health, cultural awareness and student health issues, anti- bullying, internet safety etc.

Students across school vote for a school charity which the school will support. We select from a range of local charities that can have direct involvement with some of the students in school. As well as a local school charity, as a school, students continue to fund raise for a range of national causes like CIN, Save the Children and Red Nose Day

The student leadership team collaborates together  and runs various projects and initiatives including environmental campaigns, keeping students healthy, anti-bullying and tolerance.

To Further develop the skills and responsibilities of being a Students Leader, the Senior SL team have implemented a whole school form captain responsibility to encourage students across all years to work together and build/develop their social and communication skills .

Hyde High School joined the Learn with Lords programme in the Autumn term in 2022, and have benefitted from a number of activities including a visit to the school from Baroness Newlove, where children joined in discussions about a range of issues including the nurses strike, Young Carers and disability support.  Our work with Learn with Lords has continued through extra curricular, and a group of students attended a Learn with Lords Day at Westminster on the date of the general election 2024.  Students were lucky enough to visit the House of Commons and the House of Lords and were involved in a classroom session based around how laws come into practice.  Following this we were attached to a bill which we can now follow as it passes through both Houses and comes into force.  The focus of our work with Learn with Lords has been to create informed and engaged citizens.

For the 2024/25 academic year politics will have a much higher profile!  Our links with the Learn with Lords and Parliament are now fully established, and sign up to our newly relaunched ‘Young Parliament Club’ has been very promising!  We already have a number of exciting things planned such as a visit from Johnathan Reynolds MP and another visit from a member of the House of Lords.  Our first task however is to research and prepare letters to our local MP’s on matters which are important to us i.e. Housing.

Hyde High School has also signed up to UK Schools Parliament Week 2024 in November as a partnership school.  Assemblies will be delivered whole school, further raising the profile of politics and political engagement.  

We have also joined G-EPIC.  This is something that is in its infancy, but looks like an exciting opportunity for Hyde High School.  G-EPIC is a project run by the European Commission and is aimed at raising girls' voices in politics and engaging girls in grass roots politics.  Staff will attend training in October 2024 as a starting point for our involvement in the programme.