November 2023 Citizenship Studies subject update
Welcome to your Pearson Edexcel Citizenship Studies November 2023 subject update!
I hope that the second half term is progressing well for you and your learners. I wanted to share some information regarding our Pearson National Teaching Awards, our Citizenship Studies CPD resources and a new exam question guidance resource focusing on Paper 1, Section A. I hope you find these useful!
As always, if you have any queries about anything in this subject update or about our qualification, then please do get in touch with me.
Best wishes,
Susan Currey
Citizenship Studies Subject Advisor
Contact details:
☎ Call: 0344 463 2535
✉ Email: TeachingCitizenship@pearson.com
💻 Book a Teams meeting with me: https://bit.ly/3rEVLx8
General qualifications assessment support
We’ve got a new support page for you to bookmark – General qualifications assessment support. Here we’ll share news information and updates from Ofqual, the Department for Education (DfE), the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and Pearson, relating to the exams and assessments for our GCSE, AS and A level qualifications.
We’ll be updating it regularly so you know you’ve got all the latest announcements, news, support materials and updates to enable you to teach our qualifications, help your students with their assessments and post-results support, to enable them to progress.
Ofqual resilience guidance September 2023
On 21 September 2023, Ofqual published the resilience guidance for centres delivering GCSE, AS and A levels, Project Qualifications and Advanced Extension Award in maths (AEA). We’ve put together a summary of this guidance on our new support page with links through to the full information from Ofqual.
Please do encourage your team members to read through this guidance in full.
The 2024 Pearson National Teaching Awards are now open for entry!
The Pearson National Teaching Awards aim to raise the profile of the teaching profession, highlight the positive impact teachers and school leaders have in our society – with pupils, parents and the wider community, and show teachers how much they are valued.
Entry is free, and the awards are open to all state and independent schools and FE colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
2024 entries are now open, and we want to get as many early entries in as possible. Deadline for applications is 1st March.
A nomination can have a huge impact, not just on those entered, but on the whole community. Become part of the 25 year legacy and enter today at www.teachingawards.com
A 2023 Silver Winner said: “The profession needs to be shouted from the rooftops. They work incredibly hard & dedicate their lives to young people - it’s vital they get the recognition they deserve.”
If you enter before 22 December you will be eligible for early bird feedback on your entry, along with the chance to win 2 x free tickets to one of the prestigious 2024 celebratory events to meet and network with fellow educators.
2024 Categories
- Outstanding New Teacher of the Year, supported by the Department for Education
- Lifetime Achievement, supported by the Department for Education·
- FE Lecturer, supported by the Department for Education·
- FE Team of the Year, supported by the Department for Education
- Headteacher of the Year in a Primary School, supported by Hays Education
- Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School, supported by Hays Education·
- Teacher of the Year in a Primary School·
- Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School, supported by Nord Anglia Education
- Digital Innovator of the Year, supported by Nord Anglia Education
- Primary School of the Year – Making a Difference
- Secondary School of the Year – Making a Difference
- Excellence in Special Needs Education
- Early Years Team of the Year
- Teaching Assistant of the Year·
- Impact through Partnership
- Unsung Hero
Don’t forget to watch this year’s awards live on BBC The One Show from 20th-24th Nov.
Past training content
All training events from this academic year have now been uploaded to the GCSE Citizenship Qualification Page under 'teaching and learning' and then 'past training content'. These include:
- New to Edexcel
- Summer 2023 Feedback
You can access the link to this folder at the link below:
The two events from this academic year are available below:
*As they include exam material from summer 2023, you will need an Edexcel Online account to be able to access these. Your exams officer can organise this for you if you do not have an account.
This resource explores how to approach different exam questions with reference to exemplar answers from across different exam series, focusing specifically on Paper 1: Section A.
*As this resource includes 2023, exam material, you will need an Edexcel Online account to access.
Citizenship action submission
Citizenship action is a planned course of informed action to address a citizenship issue or question of concern and aimed at delivering a benefit or change for a particular community or wider society. This is a required part of the GCSE Citizenship Studies course and students are examined on their action as part of Paper 2.
Each year, centres must certify that candidates have completed their Citizenship Action and submit a form to confirm this.
This must be submitted by 15th May.
The links to the Citizenship Action form and the authentification submission are below:
Citizenship Action Guidance
For further support around Citizenship Action, we have the following guide available to centres:
The Association for Citizenship Teaching offer a range of CPD events aimed to support your teaching.
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Raising Grades at GCSE Citizenship Studies
This CPD session provides teachers an opportunity to work with ACT Teaching Ambassadors focused directly on GCSE lessons. 29th November - 5pm
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GCSE Mock Assessment Moderation
ACT Ambassadors discuss the moderation of assessments following mock exams. 7th December - 5pm
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How to teach about courts and the justice system
This training is supported by representatives from The National Museum of Justice at the Royal Court of Justice and the Supreme Court .
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How to plan a GCSE Citizenship Studies Lesson
This focuses on the key components of a good lesson at GCSE
THE ORWELL YOUTH PRIZE 2024
What does home mean to you? A physical space? A person? A memory? A town? A country? Our planet? A dream? At a time when our idea of home seems under pressure, from the cost-of-living crisis and the housing crisis, to the plight of refugees and the climate crisis, we want you to write about what home means to you.
The Orwell Youth Prize is far more than just a Prize. Every young writer who enters by our feedback deadline of 1st April 2024 is offered personalised feedback from our volunteer readers. We also have resources and inspiration to help you on every step of your writing journey.
This year, we are opening the Prize to all secondary school students, including Year 7s. The Prize is open to anyone in years 7-13 who is at school or college in the United Kingdom.