News & Stories

Dr Ali Body, Director of Research and Development


Estimated reading time 4 minutes

The Curriculum and Assessment Review places active citizenship at the heart of the National Curriculum. Global Action Plan’s Dr Ali Body explains why this is an essential step forward.

Education shapes not only what children know, but who they become and the kind of society they will create. The Curriculum and Assessment Review recognises this and that learning cannot be separated from life. Education must equip children and young people to understand, question, and improve the world around them. By placing citizenship education at the heart of the national curriculum, the Review redefines what success in education means: not just high grades, but the ability to participate, to care, and to act for social and environmental justice. This is an essential step forward.

It is brilliant to see citizenship so clearly highlighted in the Review, confirming its strengthened role from Key Stage 1 onwards. However, to truly realise its potential, we must ensure that active citizenship - not just knowledge about civic structures – is at the heart of implementation. When education gives children the chance to lead, collaborate, and take meaningful action in their communities, it secures the foundations of democracy and justice that society depends on.

Getting active

The Francis Review draws directly on the Economic and Social Research Council-funded project Educating for Public Good, which I led with Dr Emily Lau (Canterbury Christ Church University) and Dr Lindsey Cameron (University of Kent). Our research calls for a stronger and more consistent focus on active citizenship across primary education, ensuring all children - from the earliest years - have opportunities to learn about their rights, responsibilities, and the power they hold to shape their communities and the wider world.

The review’s explicit recognition of active citizenship as central to learning represents an important shift. It places civic participation, social justice, and environmental responsibility at the heart of what it means to be educated in the 21st century - and it could not come at a more critical time.

Beyond kindness and charity

Active citizenship is about more than kindness or charity; it is about participation, agency, and justice. It is when children take what they learn about society and apply it to real issues - leading projects, influencing decisions, and shaping solutions alongside others. It can mean pupils investigating local air pollution and campaigning for cleaner air, writing to MPs about housing conditions, or developing projects to reduce food waste and support their community.

Through these experiences, children learn that their voices matter and that collective action can create real change. They develop empathy, confidence, and a deep understanding of fairness. This is not just preparation for adult life - it is democratic life.

At Global Action Plan, we see this in practice every day through our Good Life Schools programme. When children take part in projects that tackle environmental and social challenges, they are learning about sustainability - but also about democracy, teamwork, and the power of working together for the common good.

Done well, such education shapes not only what learners know, but also who they are and who they understand themselves to be. To borrow from Jon Alexander, this is about young people identifying as Citizens, rather than Subjects or Consumers.

From policy to practice

The Review provides a vital foundation for change, but to make this vision real, active citizenship must remain central. It is not enough to teach civic structures or good behaviour - children must have opportunities to learn beyond the classroom, engaging directly with their communities and taking meaningful action that connects learning with life.

Our Educating for Public Good research shows that active citizenship flourishes through partnerships - when schools collaborate with charities, NGOs, and community organisations that bring expertise, lived experience, and real-world relevance into learning. These partnerships transform abstract ideas about democracy and justice into lived experiences, helping children see how collective action can make a difference in their own neighbourhoods.

Teachers and pupils are hungry for this change, but they need time, training, and policy support to make it possible. And our research shows that NGOs and charities have a vital role as co-educators - helping design participatory projects, share best practice, and create opportunities for all children to engage as active citizens.

A shared responsibility

Embedding active citizenship from the start of schooling is not just an educational reform; it is a democratic and moral imperative. It builds the skills, confidence, and values our society needs - curiosity, compassion, critical thinking, and care for people and planet.
When every child, in every community, experiences what it means to make change and contribute to the common good, we lay the foundations for a more equal, sustainable, resilient, and prosperous future.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review gives us the framework. Now comes the collective task of bringing it to life - ensuring that citizenship remains not only taught, but lived. Because when children learn that their voices matter and their actions count, education becomes the most powerful force we have for strengthening democracy and achieving social and environmental justice..