Citizenship at key stage 4    (Year 10-11)

• Ask pupils to reflect in pairs on the different roles they play at the moment, eg as pupil, son or daughter, employee, carer. Compile a class list. Pupils identify what work or tasks are associated with the roles, eg schoolwork, housework, delivering newspapers, caring for children, other relatives or neighbours.
• Pupils work in groups to develop questions to be used to interview adults - in school, at home or in the community - to find out what type(s) of work they do, eg paid or unpaid, full-time or part-time, where they have worked, if they have ever moved to find work, if they have retrained to change jobs, what changes they have seen during their working life.
• Pupils use the results of their research, together with data from the internet, newspapers and other media sources, to:
• identify categories of work, eg employment, self-employment, job-seeking, voluntary work, work in the home including caring for children, and consider how people in different roles contribute to the economy and to society
• identify changes and trends in working life and their consequences, eg a shorter working week, the growth of service industries, the decline of manufacturing, the ICT revolution (resulting in the need for retraining and lifelong learning), workforce migration, the introduction of equal rights and benefits for part-time workers, changes in maternity/paternity leave
• consider the implications for their own career paths, eg the need to develop transferable skills and to plan to continue learning throughout their lives, and the value of voluntary community work
• Each group of pupils looks through a selection of newspapers to find articles that discuss work-related issues. How do different newspapers portray the world of work, eg different types of paid and unpaid work, parents who stay at home to look after children, a successful company, an industrial tribunal, a case of bullying at work, a case of unfair dismissal, voluntary or charitable work? How does the media present different industries in the UK, eg manufacturing, farming, banking, teaching, the public sector?
• Groups present their findings orally, in writing or through a presentation using ICT. They could produce a display for other members of the school or wider community.
• Individuals record their own findings and contributions in their citizenship portfolio.

• Pupils work in four groups, considering and discussing their perceptions of one of the following: the rights of employees, eg equal opportunities, health and safety in the workplace; the responsibilities of employees, eg complying with equal opportunities and health and safety legislation; the rights and responsibilities of employers, eg ensuring equal opportunities and health and safety at work. Pupils present their results and conclusions, and identify the relationship between the different groups' findings.
• Pupils who have part-time jobs discuss what they think their own employment rights and responsibilities are. As a class, produce a checklist of employment rights. Give pupils information about employment laws that relate specifically to young people, and discuss the legal age for different kinds of work.
• Working with expert visitors, eg local employers, human resources specialists, Citizens' Advice Bureau advisers, health and safety consultants, pupils identify how rights and responsibilities are clarified in job descriptions and contracts and protected by legislation relating to employment, health and safety at work, equal opportunities, employment protection.
• Using case studies, pupils identify the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees in relation to:
• equal opportunities issues
• health and safety issues
• aspects of the law that have been contravened (civil or criminal)
• sources of information, help and advice
• the role of staff associations and trade unions

• Drawing on the case studies they have examined, pupils carry out a role-play to explore rights and responsibilities in different situations at work. They reflect on the roles they play, considering what is fair or unfair and reasonable or unreasonable, and describe how they would behave in a similar situation, either as an employee, employer or observer.
• Pupils could find out how membership of the European Union affects the workplaces they visit, eg on work experience. They could also ask any local employers they interview about this.
• While exploring the influence of government on working life, pupils could extend the activity to consider how decisions made in the European Parliament affect working life in Britain.
• Groups or individuals investigate in more detail the benefits of and opportunities for working in other European countries, considering whether they would move to another EU country to work. They could also write a magazine or leaflet for key stage 3 pupils, describing the opportunities for working in another European country and how to access them.
• Other investigations that could be carried out during workplace visits or work experience include:
• how the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees are defined
• the profile of the workforce/workplace, eg number of part-time workers, support facilities available (childcare, etc), age profile, mobility of workforce
• the role of trade unions and how industrial relations are managed
• how equal opportunities, eg race and gender issues, are protected, and what happens if they are infringed

• Pupils select examples of their work/achievements for their portfolio. They produce objectives that relate to their future careers and/or life plans.
• If this unit is used at the end of key stage 4, pupils could reflect on the sum of their achievements during the key stage. They could identify the knowledge, skills and understanding they have acquired to help them become active citizens. They could use the end of key stage 4 description (see the programme of study for citizenship), rewriting it in their own words and assessing whether or not they have achieved different aspects of it, whether they have exceeded it, or whether there are areas of knowledge or skills that they still need to acquire if they are to meet the objectives they have set themselves for career or life plans. As they do this, they consider the roles, rights and responsibilities they will encounter beyond the age of 16 as community members, consumers, family members, continuing learners, taxpayers, future voters and workers.
• Pupils consider how they can put their key stage 3 and 4 learning into practice post-16, and begin to identify the kinds of opportunities there may be for continuing their learning through active citizenship.