Showing posts with label citizenship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label citizenship. Show all posts

Friday 9 October 2015

Registering children as British Citizens - training session Tuesday 13th October

This is an excellent project which tries to circumvent some of the nastier aspects of the UK government's policies regarding the children of EEA and other nationalities whose parents have been granted the right to reside and are being told this right does not automatically apply to their children.

Names of those attending need to be sent by midday on Monday October 12th. Email nic.lane2@gmail.com


Wednesday 9 April 2014

Kensal Rise Library, Copland and Representative Democracy


Guest blog by Guestropod
Anyone following the Kensal Rise Library correspondence on Wembley Matters LINK would be struck by two things:   1. the level of interest in the matter    2. the desire to communicate that interest and the related opinions to councillors, with  the implicit expectation that the elected representatives would respond to them.
A similar level of interest and a similar expectation of a response to their concerns also seems to have characterised  the involvement of Copland students in their opposition to the dismantling of their school and its takeover by the Ark academy business. This opposition was ultimately expressed in a letter which followed up a petition signed by well over 400 students and addressed to Brent Council's Head of Children and Families. Apparently, none of these students had participated in any similar action before and many would have been unaware that it was possible for them to do so. I would imagine that the experience was worth a term's worth of Citizenship lessons.  
The original petition was ‘lost’ by Brent council and further copies had to be provided.  A copy of the follow-up letter went to every Brent councillor. LINK

Out of the 60+ councillors who were sent the letter, I gather that a grand total of 3 (THREE) managed the courtesy of a reply, (2 Lib Dem, 1 Labour).

Anyone teaching in Brent at the 2010 General Election would have been impressed by the level of interest shown by 6th form students keen to use their vote for the first time. The mock election staged at Copland and organised by Mr Allman was supported by local and national politicians and enthusiasm for the breath of fresh air and honesty which Nick Clegg appeared to be offering was palpable. Within a few months most of these students were in further education. And grants were tripled. A more effective way of disillusioning a generation of new voters is impossible to imagine.

None of those kids who signed the Copland anti-academy petition have the vote, so presumably they can be ignored. Those Copland 6th formers who voted Lib Dem in 2010 did have the vote, but they were ignored and betrayed anyway. Those contributing to the Kensal Rise Library discussion on Wembley Matters and elsewhere no doubt all have the vote, probably used it last time and are likely to vote again on May 22nd. It’s good to see the faith they seem to still have in the democratic process and in their elected representatives’ responsiveness.
I would hope that Copland's current and past students could share that faith. But I can also imagine (and sympathise with) the reasons why they might not.

Saturday 27 July 2013

Natalie Bennett supports UKYP 'Curriculum for Life' campaign


Last weekend Green party leader Natalie Bennett signed up to pledge support for the 'Curriculum for Life' put forward by the United Kingdom Youth Parliament.


At a time when Michael Gove is narrowing the curriculum it is noteworthy that school students themselves recognise that education is about more than passing examinations or preparing for employment.

The proposal is in line with the Green Party's ideas on the curriculum which favours education of the whole person.

The UKYP state:
We believe that the place of citizenship education and PSHE in the curriculum should be radically overhauled through a youth-led UK-wide review; they are really important for young people’s growth and development as they teach vital life skills and can be the first steps to engaging young people in political life. Teaching staff should be specifically trained to a national standard to deliver citizenship education following this review.
 
What is it we want?

  • We want a Youth Led Review of Citizenship and PSHE education

  • We want a radical overhaul of the current Curriculum which we feel fails us

  • We want a new curriculum that includes the following subjects:

    • Political education
    • Sex and Relationships education (SRE)
    • Cultural awareness
    • Community cohesion
    • Finance skills
    • Sustainable living
    • Citizenship Education Test
The Pledge for schools to sign can be download HERE

A petition supporting the campaign can be downloaded HERE

Suggestions for the new curriculum can be tweeted using #lessons4life




Saturday 13 August 2011

Riots: The danger of growing inequality mixing with a culture which puts consumerism above citizenship.- Caroline Lucas

As I posted Barry Gardiner's comments on the disturbances earlier it is only fair that I report what Caroline Lucas, the only Green MP, said in the same debate on August 11th:

We reject and condemn the horrendous violence, arson and looting that we have seen on the streets of Britain. But we must seek to understand why this happened to prevent it being repeated. If we stop at denunciations and crackdowns, nothing will be learned about why sections of our own population feel they can riot, loot and treat their neighbours and communities so appallingly.

The bigger picture has to be considered. Britain is deeply unequal. Last year, London's richest people were worth 273 times more than its poorest. Given the growing evidence, from Scarman onwards, that increasing inequality had a role to play in at least some of the rioting, the government must commit to an impact assessment of any further policies to establish if they will increase inequality.


If individuals are defined as consumers not citizens, there is danger that those who cannot afford to consume feel they have no stake in their community and become more likely to turn against it.


The Prime Minister has said this is 'Not about poverty but about culture.' But it is about both. It is about inequality and culture and how dangerous it is when you mix growing inequality with a culture which puts consumerism above citizenship.