The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues (JCCV) recently commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to undertake an independent survey of schools that were ‘subscribed’ to character education. The report (Iyer, Albakari and Smith, 2020) provides evidence that supports the Jubilee Centre notion that prioritising character education in schools supports pupils in their... Continue Reading →
In this blog, elementary school teacher and 1st year MA Character Education student, Rebecca Daniels, reflects on her experiences of character education and explains how she hopes her studies will help to benefit students, the school and the wider community. Rebecca has taught for 8 years at a small, pre-K through 12th grade school in... Continue Reading →
In its first inspection under the new Ofsted Education Inspection Framework, Aylesford School in Kent has been praised for its focus on character education. Receiving an overall grade of ‘Good’, inspectors commended the transformation of the School since its last inspection. In particular, the report states that ‘Leaders have a strong focus on building character... Continue Reading →
In this blog, 1st year MA Character Education student, Cristy Guleserian, explains the approach to character taken by Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. Cristy discusses her role as Director of Principled Innovation and why she chose to study on the MA Character Education. What is your role at Mary Lou Fulton... Continue Reading →
In the current climate many schools are looking at new and innovative ways to provide online learning or support to their students. When you search the Internet there are many examples of materials for core academic subjects but staff at Northampton Academy secondary school wanted to ensure that their character education programme, which Ofsted had... Continue Reading →
On the 5th April 2020, HRH Queen Elizabeth delivered a rare public special address concerning the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst the address was watched live by an estimated 24 million viewers in the United Kingdom alone, it has been viewed, heard and read by millions more in the major news outlets around the world. Like... Continue Reading →
An online CPD programme The Jubilee Centre has recently launched the Leading Character Education in Schools online CPD programme. Drawing on and highlighting the work of 8 leading schools, the free CPD programme provides a comprehensive overview of both the theory and practice of character education leadership within primary and secondary school settings. The pilot, conducted... Continue Reading →
The MA Character Education is a part-time distance learning programme run by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues. The Centre is proud to welcome students from around the world who come from a range of sectors, including education (both formal and non-formal), voluntary and business. In this Virtue Insight blog, 3rd year MA Character... Continue Reading →
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement, on the 20th of March, that all schools were to close for the foreseeable future, many parents and guardians will find themselves in a challenging and unprecedented situation. There are fantastic sources for academic support and ideas for educational activities, with many schools providing materials for their students. However, this... Continue Reading →
As a teacher, I know the importance of sharing good practice with colleagues, especially those new to the profession. So I was delighted when I was invited to deliver a training session on character education to trainees from the Colmore Partnership Teaching School Alliance (CPTSA) and the South Birmingham School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) Course.... Continue Reading →
Why character education? As an NQT, I was admittedly rather naive to the pressures of accountably and external burdens on teachers’ performance and workload. Undeniably, teacher workload is at unprecedented levels, with the recent Department for Education (2019), Teacher Workload Survey showing teachers were working on average 49.5 hours a week. This plants a seed of doubt... Continue Reading →
As the Christmas festivities edge ever closer and the dark nights dim down upon us, families, friends and loved ones will be coming together to celebrate this special time of the year. For me, the countdown to Christmas officially begins with the release of the John Lewis & Partners Christmas advert on television. The John... Continue Reading →
Through an empirical investigation, the recent publication of the Religious Education Teachers and Character report contributes to two ongoing debates in the academic literature surrounding RE. The first of these debates is whether subject material in RE should be morally neutral, and the second is whether RE teachers themselves should strive to be neutral or... Continue Reading →
Recently, the Department for Education (DfE) released a new non-statutory Framework Guidance to schools on character education. The Framework Guidance is intended for use by school leaders and teachers when considering the rationale for character education and the practicalities of provision and delivery. Given that the new Ofsted Inspection Handbook recognises the importance of a... Continue Reading →
Character Education in the UK Character education has received considerable attention within British educational debate over the last decade, most recently becoming a key objective in Ofsted’s new framework for schools. This recent inclusion in the Ofsted framework, under the personal development heading, requires schools to profile the activities and opportunities they are offering for... Continue Reading →
“This idea that it can’t be taught as well – you can’t become tougher and have a better character and personality and more resilient – it can be.”Gary Neville The ‘Class of 92’ a term most English football fans have come to associate with the all-conquering Sir Alex Ferguson Manchester United team of the 1990s... Continue Reading →
July 30th marks the United Nations (UN) ‘International Day of Friendship’. The authors of the UN webpage state that friendship is essential to forming mutual trust and overcoming all of the world’s challenges, disasters, and divisions. However, despite recognising and affirming the importance of friendship, it is not entirely clear what the UN means when... Continue Reading →
Amid a summer of remarkable and compelling professional sporting action, last week, Amanda Spielman, the Ofsted Chief Inspector, called on the government to do more to increase sport provision in schools. This call comes amid concerns across England that sport and physical education are being cut out of the school curriculum, as schools focus budgets... Continue Reading →
A thorough response to this question would take many more words, and hours, than a blog post. However, having just spent a few days in Boston with leading Character Education advocate Karen Bohlin, I wanted to briefly reflect on some of the more pertinent lessons that I took away from the experience. Karen is a... Continue Reading →
‘You know that if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything’. Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, echoed Alexander Hamilton as he called upon those present at the SSE Arena, Wembley, for WE Day UK 2019 to ‘inspire those who stand for nothing, to stand for something – and to stand with you.’... Continue Reading →
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