Peers are upset because the government has allowed citizenship education in schools to “degrade to a parlous state”. 

Wednesday saw a report published by the House of Lords Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement, entitled The ties that bind: citizenship and civic engagement in the 21st Century. Members of the committee include David Blunkett and Estelle Morris, both of whom proved enthusiastic supporters of citizenship during their stints as education secretary.

As Martin George reported in Tes during the week, their lordships have blamed the neglect of citizenship on the low esteem in which it’s held. They identified a fall in the number of trained citizenship teachers, complained that the subject had been downgraded in the national curriculum and criticised the government’s confusion of “fundamental British values” with its counter-terrorism policies.

Citizenship, as a subject and as a focus, has disappeared from many schools. But should we deplore that fact?

Here, I depart from the usual orthodoxies about citizenship. I’ve never believed that citizenship should be designated a “subject”, let alone taught in formal lessons. On the contrary, it should be lived and practised.

Here, I risk giving offence. I’ve met some great citizenship teachers (not many: they are a rare breed); they’ve impressed me with their passion and commitment to citizenship. Nonetheless, I think we’re going the wrong way about it.

Some 15 years ago, while attempting to advise the government on citizenship, I heard an Ofsted representative bewail the fact that teachers weren’t taking citizenship seriously as a subject. “Of course they aren’t,” I replied. “It’s been shoehorned into the national curriculum; people don’t yet know what it is, and it simply hasn’t gained acceptance.”

The reply was astonishing: “But it’s statutory: they have to take it seriously!” 

If in doubt, legislate and inspect! The lords fell into that trap this week, claiming Ofsted should not judge “outstanding” a school that doesn’t demonstrate good citizenship provision. That’s a blunt instrument, lousy policy and poor education.

So what is citizenship? The government’s statement of fundamental British values gives us a start.

Citizenship is important. But it’s a concept, a state of mind and a vital element of ethos; it shouldn’t be distorted into a discrete subject to be taught in the classroom.

Here’s my blueprint: instead of requiring schools to stick citizenship into the subject timetable, the government should encourage every school to appoint a teacher to be in charge of “service”.

Where I’ve seen it done well, this approach has led to altruism, and generosity has become a part of the school’s heart. Students in schools with active service programmes do much more than, for example, encouraging sixth-formers to help primary pupils with reading, or even visiting lonely old people. Those activities are fine, but service should go further and deeper.

Imaginative, challenging service programmes stimulate young people to become agents of change within their local communities and more widely. They may choose to lead cultural or health initiatives, or create gardens in green spaces where there is dereliction and decay, thus restoring a local environment.

Braver still, they may work with homeless people, addicts or those suffering abuse, even in challenging settings. Moreover, encountering people in dreadful circumstances may spur them to become politically active and fight for necessary societal change. The sky’s the limit.

Active citizenship is about participation, engagement, altruism, political activism and courage. How much better than devising a pseudo-academic subject for Ofsted to check.

I don’t seek to offend committed and hardworking citizenship teachers, but they’re not helped by politicians’ narrow view of citizenship.

You can’t claim to be an active citizen without being engaged in service. So why not start there?

Dr Bernard Trafford is a writer, educationalist and musician. He is a former headteacher of the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, and past chair of HMC. He is currently interim headteacher of the Purcell School in Hertfordshire. He tweets @bernardtrafford