Education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools

The Citizen Organising Foundation (COF) is a multi-faith alliance with affiliates throughout
the country which aims to help people in localities to combine to effect the well-being of their
communities by their own actions. Their ‘Iron Rule’ is ‘never to do for others what they can
do for themselves’. TELCO (The East London Communities Organisation) is especially
active both within schools and between schools and local communities. The COF provides
training for teachers and for community activists. [Citizen Organising Foundation,
3 Merchant Street, Bow, London E3 4UJ].
Dynamix is one of the most experienced of several travelling performance groups who offer
role-playing and training activities for schools. They offer work such as Anti-Bullying
Strategies (for the Council for Voluntary Services), participation (for the Local Government
Information Service), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (for Save the Children),
as well as Youth Parliaments for schools and LEAs. [Dynamix, 14 Montpelier Terrace,
Swansea SA16JW.]
Changemakers is a partnership of organisations who help young people between eleven and
twenty-five to get together to set up their own projects to achieve positive benefits for
themselves and their communities. Their book Young People Sharing Their Future gives an
account of activities all over the country. Currently they have a DfEE grant to pilot a model
for activities to provide young people with skills and experience for the world of work.
Together with the thinktank DEMOS, they are organising a series of regional seminars.
[Changemakers, 45 Somers Road, Welham Green, Herts AL9 7PT].
Education Business Partnerships (EBPs) is a network with 147 affiliates in England and Wales
and 18 in Northern Ireland, supported by BT and the DfEE. They try to provide in LEA
areas a single point of contact for business and schools to improve pupils understanding of
and readiness for the world of work. Generally they see their work as part of citizenship.
Some groups have developed well-structured and imaginative role-playing scenarios for
running the governments and economies of imaginary societies, such as the ‘Micro Society’
programme from the Merton Education Business Partnership (Phoenix College, Morden).
We saw classes at Park House Middle School, Wimbledon School making good use this.
[The Secretary, NEBPN, c/o DBEE, Broom Cottages Primary School, Ferryhill, Co. Durham,
DL17 8AN].