Model core curriculum
Our model curriculum for Key Stages 3 and 4 are mapped to the Citizenship national curriculum for England and ACT’s nine principles of effective Citizenship education and are exclusively available to School and College members.
Want to refresh your Citizenship curriculum, but unable to find the time?
School and College members automatically receive free access to our core curriculum resources. All units of work are available with comprehensive lesson plans, slides and student resources. They are ready to use and adapt to support you in providing rigorous, progressive and engaging teaching.
Join as a School and College member now to access best practice curriculum planning and lesson delivery.
Curriculum maps
Our model curriculum for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 is mapped to the Citizenship National Curriculum for England, and ACT’s 9 Principles of Effective Citizenship Education.
The model curriculum is sequenced to take your students through all the required content. Knowledge, understanding and skills taught at previous key stages are developed and deepened, while critical thinking and active learning are promoted through the use of overarching key enquiries.
Units of work
The curriculum is made up a number of units of work, which consist of a series of lessons for teaching Citizenship in line with the requirements of the national curriculum. The lessons can be used and adapted to fit with your schoolʼs provision.
Each unit of work has an enquiry question as the focus, which is then broken down into smaller questions that provide the learning focus for each lesson.
Lesson packs
To deliver outstanding Citizenship, you’ll need well-planned, progressive, sequenced teaching that:
- meets the Citizenship programme of study requirements
- stretches and challenges pupils appropriately through meaningful teaching and learning
- provides accurate, informed knowledge.
Our lesson packs provide you with a blueprint for engaging and progressive lessons that deliver the core requirements of the national curriculum for Citizenship. Each lesson pack includes a lesson plan, slides and worksheets.
Lesson plans
Our lesson plans provide you with:
- a lesson overview
- key skills and concepts
- essential teaching guidance
- learning objectives
- a resource list
- tasks
- assessment opportunities
- reflection
Lesson slides and worksheets
Our lesson slides and worksheets give you the key content you need to build your lesson upon. Slides contain core materials and include video links and references to relevant and engaging content, whilst worksheets support easy-to-use activities that enhance learning outcomes.
Key Stage 3
The model curriculum ay Key Stage 3 is sequenced to take your students through all the required content – knowledge, understanding and skills that will allow students to progress to Key Stage 4 and further GCSE study. The model curriculum is designed to promote critical thinking and active learning by using overarching key enquiries as a basis for each scheme.
Through the study of Citizenship, students are taught substantive knowledge in relation to politics, parliament, power and the law, as well as human rights, justice, equality, the economy, communities and the UK’s role in the wider world. The lessons are designed to build Citizenship skills of active participation, political literacy, evaluation, informing others’ opinions, collaborative working, negotiation, planning, media literacy, communication, analysis and investigation, raising awareness and deliberative debate.
Key Stage 4
The model curriculum at Key Stage 4 is sequenced to take your students through all the required content. Knowledge, understanding and skills taught in Key Stage 3 are developed and deepened. The model curriculum is designed to promote critical thinking and active learning by using overarching key enquiries as a basis for each scheme.
Students are taught substantive knowledge on a range of topics including politics, parliament, power and the law. They explore human rights, justice, equality, the economy, communities and the UK’s role in the wider world. They learn to use and apply their knowledge as they develop capacities to be informed, responsible and active citizens.
Students will develop the skills to: think critically about complex issues; evaluate sources and weigh up evidence; problem-solving; take part in debates, advocate their viewpoint and sustain arguments; and take forward different kinds of democratic and responsible action on issues and matters of concern to them.
GCSE Citizenship Studies
To support teaching and learning, both the ACT model core curriculum resources and Oak National Academy curriculum resources created by ACT have been carefully mapped to each awarding body’s GCSE Citizenship Studies specification, ensuring that they align with the required content and skills across all exam boards.
You can download a copy of the map here.
Nine reasons to join us as a School and College member
- Get friendly, expert one-to-one support – from our advisory teachers and ACT Ambassador teachers.
- Enjoy special member rates on CPD sessions – advice and guidance on all aspects of Citizenship teaching, curriculum, assessment and qualifications.
- Access free resources – including guidance and inspiration to support the delivery of Citizenship from primary to post-16.
- Use our core curriculum – our Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 units of work provide best practice curriculum planning and lesson delivery.
- Receive ACT e-news – our regular email updates (around twice a month) keep you up to date with the latest developments in Citizenship education.
- Get ACT’s journal – ‘Teaching Citizenship’ includes in-depth features, news, the latest policy information, case studies, lesson plans and other resources for all involved in Citizenship education.
- Make the most of our website – for easy access to resources, policy and guidance information, and to keep abreast with all things Citizenship.
- Attend discounted courses and conferences – a great way to network! Find details on the events page of the ACT website.
