Claims that citizenship is not being taught properly in schools are not altogether fair, says Ben Dudley. In the run-up to local democracy week, he claims councils are doing much to teach youngsters about the political process. The recent Ofsted report into citizenship teaching has been unfairly presented – with all the emphasis on the failures and not much of the progress which has been made in such a short period of time. The front cover of the report is more balanced. It says: ‘Significant progress has been made in implementing national curriculum citizenship in many secondary schools. ‘However, there is not yet a strong consensus about the aims of citizenship education, or about how to incorporate it into the curriculum. In one-quarter of schools surveyed, provision is still inadequate, reflecting weak leadership and lack of specialist teaching.’ Certainly, there is a lot more work to be done – and councils have a big part to play in this – but many schools and councils across the country have been working together tirelessly to better connect politics with young people. And, as the report clearly states, good progress is being made. As for the aims of citizenship, they are summed up neatly in the report. Sir Bernard Crick, the Government’s former chief adviser on citizenship education, writes: ‘Consider its three strands – social and moral responsibility, community involvement and political literacy. ‘The last is not the least but the whole point. If pupils discuss real political and social issues, they will then want to find out the principles behind.’ A new Ipsos MORI poll, commissioned by the Local Government Association, would back up this claim. It shows just one in three 11 to 16-year-olds has met a councillor or MP, and states that those who have ‘are more likely to express feelings of political engagement and interest’. It probably won’t make you fall off your chair to hear that, at present, most young people do not view local politics as a dominant force in their daily lives. Worryingly, just one-quarter of 11 to 16-year-olds believe their local councillor is the best person to approach in order to change something in their community. So there’s more to be done – but it’s a long process, which has already started. The LGA’s Local democracy campaign is looking to gather and share the good work in this area, issuing councils and teachers with a series of how-to guides and displaying case studies online. For example, Essex CC has taken a leading role in enabling schools to implement citizenship in the curriculum. For the past seven years, schools in the county have been able to call on a dedicated citizenship adviser. And each year, the council invites pupils from its 580 schools to visit County Hall and see for themselves how local democracy works. Spelthorne councillors took part in a Take your councillor to school day and got to know local young people on their own turf. Like many councils, it also organised a political speed dating event, where young people and councillors get together for a series of quick and informal one-to-ones. And in Camden, more than 70 young people attended a Youth question time, a lively discussion with topics including education funding, leisure facilities, voting age and anti-social behaviour. Primary and secondary students in Peterborough entered a council-run Mayor for the day competition, outlining what their priorities would be if they were in charge. The winning primary school pupil received a visit from the mayor to their school, and the winning secondary school student got to shadow the mayor for a day, in the office and at official functions. Meanwhile, young people in Rochford entered a competition to design and mock up a page for the council’s newsletter, focusing on democratic issues. And Hertfordshire CC has teamed up with the local newspaper, inviting budding young journalists to take part in a virtual press conference. There’s a lot of good stuff happening beyond the school gates too. Take Birmingham City Council, which has two young people sitting on the scrutiny committee, and devotes £25,000 each year to be spent by youth forums. For more information on the Local democracy campaign, contact Ben.Dudley@lga.gov.uk or visit the website at www.localdemocracy.org.uk. n Ben Dudley heads the Local democracy campaign at the Local Government Association