Teaching, learning and the curriculum
Making existing work on cohesion more coherent
All schools, whatever the mix of pupils they serve, are responsible for
equipping their pupils to live and thrive alongside people from many different
backgrounds. The balance and focus of experiences in the curriculum will form
the core of the school's promotion of community cohesion. All schools will
already be providing numerous learning experiences which contribute to
community cohesion, but in order to comply with the new duty, schools will wish
to check that all pupils are benefiting appropriately.
There are numerous opportunities in the National Curriculum to ensure that all learners understand diversity from many different perspectives. The interpersonal skills of meeting, working with and learning from others form another key element in schools' work towards cohesion. The task for schools is to establish learning that links the awareness of diversity and these interpersonal skills to the fundamental values of respect, tolerance and cooperation. The audit sheets from this resource help schools highlight areas of learning that may need strengthening in programmes of study.
Other opportunities
Work to promote cohesion can also take place beyond the classroom. Providing a wide range of opportunities, including 'out of hours' activities, open to everyone can help students to feel that they belong, can encourage wider social mixing, develop shared values and can help to meet the Every Child Matters outcomes of 'enjoy and achieve' and 'make a positive contribution'. Events and activities that draw different groups and ages together will help promote an atmosphere of cohesion and cooperation and break down segregation between groups within the school. Major charity events, special days, assemblies and creative performances can all be organised in ways that encourage mixing between different groups and ages of pupils. All of these elements can come together to help form a curriculum for cohesion.
Getting an overview of the curriculum
A planned approach to mapping cohesion work across the curriculum can start
with the QCAs 'Big Picture of the Curriculum'. Initial discussion of
the definition of community cohesion can lead to asking the QCA 'Key
Questions' (see below) and considering how cohesion is embedded in the
overarching whole-curriculum dimensions. Within this framework, the
contributions made by each subject should be considered alongside the
experiences available outside of formal lessons. A rich range of informal
activities creates an ideal ethos for the promotion of cohesion but monitoring
which pupils actually benefit from such activities should also occur. Some
specific areas of learning that contribute to the promotion of cohesion are set
out in the Audit section.
Having arrived at a set of priorities for developing this work, schools may need to consider whether continuing professional development (CPD) for particular staff, or all staff, is necessary.
QCA Key Questions
The QCA key questions are:
1. What are we trying to achieve?
2. How do we organise learning?
3. How well are we achieving our aim?
Who Do We Think We Are? Week
The Who Do We Think We Are? educational programme engages primary and secondary school teachers in the exploration of identity, diversity and citizenship with children and young people: in their schools, local communities and nationally. Who Do We Think We Are? culminates in a week-long series of events and activities each June. See the WDWTWA website.
Related pages and downloads
- Introduction to community cohesion
- Auditing your school's effectiveness in promoting community cohesion
- Do we need a community cohesion policy?
- QCA big picture
- QCA dimensions
Last updated: 29 September 2008
