Citizenship and Politics

The Citizenship Tutorial Programme is produced by the Social Sciences Department although the course is delivered by form tutors to pupils on a weekly basis. Citizenship education at Yavneh College aims to provide opportunities to:

• Equip every child with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to play an effective role in public life, taking part in decision making and different forms of action.
• Encourage every child to take an interest in topical issues and to engage in debate and discussion to explore their own and other people’s opinions and ideas.
• Develop every child’s critical thinking skills by considering a range of moral, social, political and ethical problems.
• Motivate every child to engage in the active life of the school, communities and wider society, learning how to argue a case on behalf of others as well as themselves and speak out on issues of concern.

A variety of learning styles are employed within the tutorial programme to ensure that in addition to developing their knowledge and understanding of being a citizen, pupils are also acquiring investigative skills which they can utilise in other lessons. The range of learning styles include the use of independent research, quizzes, role plays, comprehension exercises, case studies, group work, discussion and oral presentations.

Curriculum

Key Stage Three (KS3) Curriculum

Topics studied in Year 7 focus on ‘Community Citizenship’

Topics studied in Year 8 focus on ‘National Citizenship’

Topics studied in Year 9 focus on ‘Global Citizenship’

Assessment

AFL (assessment for learning) is used throughout the school and is an integral part of the Citizenship Tutorial Programme.  Assessment of pupil progress is made through:

• Oral and written starter activities
• Directed and undirected questions and answers throughout lessons
• A range of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning activities in lessons
• Plenaries which enable pupils to self-assess their achievement of learning objectives
• Self-assessments which enable pupils to monitor their own progress and achievement
• Peer assessments which allow pupils to evaluate the strengths and improvements other pupils can make to their work.

Sixth Form

AS and A2 Government and Politics (specification Edexcel 8GP01/9GP01)

Students wishing to study Government and Politics must have achieved at least Grade B in GCSE English Language.

Government and Politics A level will appeal to students who have an interest in the world around them and want to know more about society, how it works and how it could be changed; enjoy debate, discussion and argument and are comfortable with the fact that there are no simple ‘rights’ or ‘wrongs’ in politics; like to think independently and want to develop their own views; enjoy weighing up and evaluating evidence in order to assess and communicate ideas and arguments. The course involves student-centred learning, using presentations, debates, case studies, discussions, video and audio-based exercises, note-taking and individual research. Students are expected to read a newspaper regularly and carry out internet research.

AS Government and Politics

The AS course consists of two units, each contributing 50% towards the final AS grade (and 25% towards the full A level grade). Both units are both examined through a 1 hour 20 minute written examination taken at the end of Year 12.

Unit 1:  People and Politics

The examination paper for this unit consists of two structured questions – each question has a mark tariff of 5, 10 and 25 marks.

• Unit 1 introduces students to the key channels of communication that exist between government and the people and encourages them to evaluate the adequacy of the existing arrangements for ensuring representative democracy and participation. In this unit students explore Democracy and Political Participation, Party Policies and Ideas, Elections and Pressure Groups.

• The examination paper for this unit consists of one stimulus-based question which has a mark tariff of 5, 10 and 25 marks and one essay question worth 40 marks.
• Unit 2 introduces students to the major governmental processes within the UK and encourages them to develop a critical understanding of the role and effectiveness of key institutions, and of the relationship amongst them in the context of multi-level governance. In this unit students explore The Constitution, Parliament, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet and Judges and Civil Liberties.

A2 Government and Politics

The AS course consists of two units, each contributing 50% towards the final A2 grade (and 25% towards the full A level grade). Both units are both examined through a 1 hour 30 minute written examination taken at the end of Year 13.

Unit 3: Key Themes in Political Analysis

• The examination paper for this unit consists of three questions worth 15 marks each and one essay question worth 45 marks.
• Topic C: Representative Processes in the USA is studied for this unit, which introduces students to key themes in political analysis. Topics explored in this unit include Political Parties, Pressure Groups, and Racial and Ethnic Policies.

Unit 4: Extended Themes in Political Analysis

• The examination paper for this unit consists of three questions worth 15 marks each and one essay question worth 45 marks.
• Topic C: Governing the USA is studied for this unit, which aims to extend students’ understanding of key themes in political analysis. Topics explored in this unit include The Constitution, Congress, Presidency and the Supreme Court