Citizenship and emerging awareness

One of the most valuable parts of this stage for us was the feedback and responses of the children to the units of study we had developed. As a group we explored and challenged our own opinions and prejudices and those of the various communities to which we belong. During the unit on Social Inclusion we compiled a list of 'who gets left out of our society'. The class made lists, without prompting, of excluded groups and constructive ways towards making our society more inclusive.

Who gets left out:

	People with disabilities
	Children with difficulties reading and writing
	The homeless
	People from different cultures and refugees
	Victims
	People with drug and alcohol problems
	Poor people and elderly people
	People who are sick or who have mental health problems

How can we make our society more inclusive?

	Make our buildings, including schools, more accessible
	Talk to people in school, have a buddy system
	Schools should teach more about other cultures and religions
	There should be more health education
	Build cheaper housing
	Extra help for children in class with learning difficulties including more access to computers and smaller class sizes
	Try and make friends
	Try not to leave people out
	There should be better health care for people who are ill
	There should be things to do in the community for people who are poor or on their own with children

Who could argue with these lists, especially the constructive ideas? Teachers prompted none of these answers. The children went on to design an inclusive classroom.

An inclusive classroom would have:

	More space in class
	More computers
	Books and resources written in Braille and put on tape
	More teachers!
	A variety of learning areas in class
	Fewer children in the class

The Unit on Effective Learning produced a list of constructive ideas worthy of teacher trainers!

	Involvement, taking part in what we do, acting things out
	Drawing, use drama, make up a song or a poem, use TV, watch a video or film or use the Internet, use equipment

We also heard some of our ideas rephrased in a reflective way as though they had really been absorbed and become the children's own:

	Do something fun and interesting! Listen to explanations! Keep trying and don't give up! Start with something simple! Take your time and be patient! Have fun while you are learning! Get some support!
	COLLABORATE!

Learning about our rights, and the responsibilities that are inseparable from them, was another area of study that produced positive results. The children began to understand how their behaviour and attitudes affect the rights of others. It would be wonderful to say that each pupil, having participated in the Units, respected their fellow human beings and adopted their rights and responsibilities as a code for their lives. Of course this did not happen so simply, absolutely and immediately. One group of boys found it particularly hard. However, each child did move on in his/her own way. Many became much more confident in their approaches to each other and to their schooling. Some also developed quite sophisticated abstract knowledge of rights and responsibilities. We were able to use all these developments as a backdrop for dialogue about behaviour issues in and out of class.

Pupil consultation and involvement had become our classroom's norm and it seemed to be working. Our pupils' target attainments and their attendance were at least sustained and in most cases actually improved. Creative writing and oral communication seemed to be stimulated particularly significantly.

Keeping parents on board

Throughout the project we had the full support of the parents. We held a workshop to explain what was to happen in class and what this would mean in terms of their child's learning throughout the year and the learning they could do at home. Every parent gave us their full support and we kept communications open with regular newsletters, meetings and phone calls whenever necessary. Many parents were enthusiastic about their children participating in a motivating opportunity to learn and develop confidence that would offer them experiences beyond the normal primary school programme.

The challenge in the project, its ups and downs, helped the children to understand about the need for perseverance, determination and hard work in achieving hopes and ambitions - 'following a dream', even a dream that initially had no funding! Some of the children did not believe that we could actually make a film. We, as a class group and as a school with positive external partners, made it happen.