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Citizenship Foundation: “Teachers welcome the duty to promote community cohesion”

New research conducted by the Citizenship Foundation on behalf of CfBT Education Trust suggests that “nearly all teachers and schools welcome community cohesion and agree personally and professionally with its underpinning values, although they interpret the duty very differently, according to their school context and present practice.”

The Department for Education is emphasising the need for reduced prescription on schools and teachers, and the duty to promote community cohesion is amongst many duties that will no longer be inspected by Ofsted. Nevertheless, this research suggests that many teachers will continue to want to promote community cohesion in the classroom and in the school community.

Alongside this, research conducted by YouGov on behalf of Think Global earlier this year highlights that “three-quarters of parents think it is important for young people to develop the capabilities that they will need to live and work in a globalised world, including: openness to the cultures and perspectives of people from different places and backgrounds (79% say this is important).”

These pieces of research reiterate the conclusions of a House of Lords roundtable hosted by Baroness Walmsley on this subject last year. At the round table, participants emphasised that preparing young people to become active local and global citizens will remain a priority for schools, and suggested several ways in which schools can continue to foster community cohesion locally and globally.

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