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Oxford and Cherwell Valley College
Post-16 Citizenship activity at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College
At Oxford & Cherwell Valley College level one learning consists of full-time, holistic vocational provision. We offer a range of qualifications, including beauty, public services, IT, construction and motor vehicle as well as discreet key skills. We have a very strong tutorial programme, devoting a full day per week to the development of a range of 'tough' skills. This year we have developed a robust citizenship programme, although we have had to follow an innovative route to achieve true active citizenship.
When first examining exactly what our citizenship offer should include we discussed with our students their understanding of the subject. What we discovered was that they had almost no comprehension of even the most basic citizenship concepts, and had very little interest in the social and moral backdrop to the subject. This led us to develop our ‘citizenship programme model’, designed to gently build the skills, knowledge and interest needed to become active, engaged citizens.
The model had an initial exploratory stage, which included a large fundraising project. Our students had to research issues of global importance, and decide on a ‘cause’ to support. They successfully rallied the local community to raise an astonishing £3000 for Playpumps, an organisation that installs ‘child powered’ water pumps in rural South Africa. This project not only helped to increase their citizenship skills set but gave them a sense of global empathy, something many of them had never experienced.
We reflected on the experience, and galvanized the ‘tough’ skills learned through a formal qualification, an AQA Personal and Social Development Award. Finally we could move onto the final stage of our model, an active community project. They are focussing on two issues, improving inadequate local sexual health provision and agreeing a ‘compact’ between the police and young people of the area. They have visited ‘Make a Change’ in Seven Sisters, a group of young people who formed a community group to improve conditions on their council estate and are now in the process of working with a range of local decision makers to ensure the success of their projects.
Citizenship coordinator's top tips for setting up post-16 citizenship activity:
- Get support from senior management
- Be prepared to have to motivate both staff and students - not everyone can see the benefit of active citizenship!
- Do what is right for your organisation
How this organisation could help you:
We would be happy to be contacted by phone or email to discuss our project, and are keen to share experiences with similar organisiations.
Contact information
Name of citizenship coordinator: Chris Rowe
Citizenship coordinator’s telephone:
01865 551 637
Citizenship coordinator’s email:
Crowe@occ.ac.uk
Organisation website: www.ocvc.ac.uk
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