Curriculum – Government and Politics

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Curriculum – Government and Politics

Government and Politics

The Curriculum

Curriculum Intent

The study of Government and Politics at A level is an academically rigorous subject that will develop analytical skills as well as ability to write essays, formulate arguments and engage in debate. Students’ attitudes and opinions of the world around them will be challenged and they will be nurtured into developing their views of the world. Through the study of the British Political system students will gain a deep understanding of the society and structures of power within which they will live as adults. This includes the study of Parliament’s functions as well as law and the judiciary, analysis of pressure groups and the study and evaluation of the British constitution. Students will therefore be personally equipped to thrive in the next stages of life and develop them into active citizens who can inspire change and lead within their communities. Through the study of global politics and power structures students are encouraged to think critically about the most pressing challenges to mankind including climate change, conflict, human rights, poverty and global governance. Students will be forced to re-examine their world views, become independent thinkers and develop their empathy for citizens of the globe. Their study of Global Politics in year 13 will extend to analysing the power of states and the impact of the UN and other world organisations. The programme of study in Government and Politics will challenge and inspire students and ultimately lead them into a lifelong engagement with society and current affairs which is both personally fulfilling and conducive to building a generation capable of coping with the challenges and changes that will inevitably face them. The students of Government and Politics will gain the world view, analytical ability and depth of understanding that will truly set them apart in their future endeavours.

What does it feel like to be a student in the Government and Politics Department?

The study of Politics is a deeply enriching and rewarding experience. In the course of your study you will learn to question the world around you, think more deeply about the world and key global crises such as conflicts, human rights abuses, climate change and the causes of poverty. In the study of these topics you will develop empathy and knowledge of key global crises facing the international community. You will learn about the current political parties as well as studying the philosophical ideologies behind them which will give you a deeper understanding of your own political identity and thus develop your own original and unique beliefs. The complex nature of British Politics will give you an insight into our rich history and unique traditions and political processes.

You will also have the opportunity to take part in extra- curricular learning including visiting Parliament and the Supreme Courts, taking part in Model UN competitions and running mock elections in school. Students of politics also enjoy writing articles on political issues to submit to our termly Social Sciences magazine in school. We have also had the opportunity for students to travel to New York and Washington to take part in the Global Young Leaders competition which is an incredibly inspiring and competitive international event.

The study of Politics demands a commitment to keeping up with current affairs which will help develop your understanding of the world and of accessing news which will set you on a path for life-long learning and reading. The key skills in Politics include the development of your ability to debate and analyse conflicting viewpoints which will force you to engage with others with opposing views and encourage resilience as well as the ability to reflect and adapt. The focus on debate and current affairs means students of Politics will experience lessons that are thought provoking and engaging. The emphasis on reading, debate and analysis of political philosophy are academically rigorous and will prepare you well for undergraduate study. Many students of Politics have gone on to study at Oxbridge, Warwick, York and many more Russell Group establishments, with many opting for pursuing the study or Politics, courses in International Relations or PPE. Overall, you will leave the course with a greater understanding of the world and of your position within it.

Please click on the button below to download the assessment policy for Government and Politics.

Download Department Assessment Policy

Journey

Government and Politics Curriculum

A-Level (Years 12 - 13)

At Southend High School for Girls we teach a curriculum that is ambitious and takes students on a learning journey beyond the A-Level specification for Government and Politics. The SHSG Government and Politics curriculum is what we believe will expose and challenge students to a cultural capital in Government and Politics that is the best that has been thought and said in this subject.

The Government and Politics curriculum is planned and delivered using the intellectual framework of the classical education model, the Trivium:

  • Grammar (Knowledge and skills) knowledge, learning by heart, subject terminology, cultural capital
  • Dialectic (Enquiry and exploration) debate, question, challenge, analyse, evaluate
  • Rhetoric (Communication) essays, speeches, performances, presentations

Pre-requisite or helpful knowledge from Key Stage 4

Students will be building upon essay writing skills and analytical skills developed in their studies at Key Stage 4. No prior political knowledge is required.

The topics below have been chosen as they reflect the ambitions of the Edexcel specification, and as a Grammar school, also challenge students beyond the specification. They have been carefully sequenced in this order to build a student’s learning journey to achieve the aims of our Government and Politics intent. Along the way students are assessed and topics will be revisited in assessments to keep each stage of this learning journey alive.

Year 12

Term 1

(Half term 1) –

Teacher 1 – 12D 6 lessons a fortnight
Teacher 2 – 12B 6 lessons a fortnight

Paper 2
1. Constitution topic introduction

1.1 The nature and sources of the UK constitution

  • History/ 5 main Sources of the constitution
  • Historical documents
  • Twin pillars of the constitution
  • Unitary v federal

1.2 How the constitution has changed since 1997.

1.3 The role and powers of devolved bodies in the UK, and the impact of this devolution on the UK.

1.4 Debates on further reform.

  • Further devolution
  • Bill of Rights
  • Codification
  • End of unit test

2 Parliament topic

2.1 The structure and role of the House of Commons and House of Lords.

  • Introduction/ mapping of both houses, what do they know?
  • Selection of members

2.3 The legislative process.

Flow chart set as half term homework

Teacher 3 – 12B 3 lessons a fortnight
12D 3 lessons a fortnight

Paper 1

1 Democracy and pressure groups

  • 1 Current systems of representative democracy and direct democracy.
  • 2 A wider franchise and debates over suffrage.
  • 3 Pressure groups and other influences.
  • 4 Rights in context.
  • End of unit test

 (Half Term 2) –

Teacher 1 – 12D 6 lessons a fortnight
Teacher 2 – 12B 6 lessons a fortnight

2.2 The comparative powers of the House of Commons and House of Lords.

Functions of parliament overview

  • Function 1 – representation
  • Function 2 – scrutiny (work of Select Committees and Public Bill committees)
  • Function 3 – accountability (PMQs)
  • Function 4 – opposition

3 PM and executive topic

  • 1 The structure, role, and powers of the Executive.
  • 2 The concept of ministerial responsibility.

Research task set as Christmas homework:

  • 3.1 The power of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. PM case studies pre and post 1997.

Teacher 3 – 12B 3 lessons a fortnight
12D 3 lessons a fortnight

2 Political Parties

  • 1 Political parties.
  • 2 Established political parties
  • 3 Emerging and minor UK political parties.
  • 4 UK political parties in context.
  • End of unit test

Term 2

 (Half term 1) –

Teacher 1 – 12D 6 lessons a fortnight
Teacher 2 – 12B 6 lessons a fortnight

PM and executive topic

  • 3 The Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

4 Relationship between branches

  • 4.1 The Supreme Court and its interactions with, and influence over, the legislative and policy-making processes.
  • 4.2 The relationship between the Executive and Parliament.

Teacher 3 – 12B 3 lessons a fortnight
12D 3 lessons a fortnight

3 Electoral systems

  • 3.1 Different electoral systems
  • 3.2 Referendums and how they are used
  • 3.3 Electoral system analysis
  • End of unit test

(Half term 2) –

Teacher 1 – 12D 6 lessons a fortnight
Teacher 2 – 12B 6 lessons a fortnight

  • 3 The aims, role and impact of the European Union (EU) on the UK government.
  • 4 The location of sovereignty in the UK political system.

PPES last two weeks

  • 1 Week revision
  • 2 weeks for PPEs
  • PPE Feedback lesson

Teacher 3 – 12B 3 lessons a fortnight
12D 3 lessons a fortnight

Finish Topic 1 – 3

PPES

  • 1 Week revision
  • 2 weeks for PPEs
  • PPE Feedback lesson

Term 3

 (Half term 1) –

Teacher 1 – 12D 6 lessons a fortnight
Teacher 2 – 12B 6 lessons a fortnight

Core ideologies: To be delivered using booklet format with independent study options to accommodate lesson disruption.

Liberalism

  • 1 Liberalism: core ideas and principles
  • 2 Differing views and tensions within liberalism
  • 3 Liberal thinkers and their ideas

Conservatism

  • 1 Conservatism: core ideas and principles
  • 2 Differing views and tensions within Conservatism
  • 3 Conservative thinkers and their ideas

Teacher 3 – 12B 3 lessons a fortnight
12D 3 lessons a fortnight

4 Voting and the media

  • 4.1 Case studies of three key general elections.
  • 4.2 The influence of the media.

(Half term 2) –

Teacher 1 – 12D 6 lessons a fortnight
Teacher 2 – 12B 6 lessons a fortnight

  • One week work experience

 

Socialism

  • 1 Socialism: core ideas and principles
  • 2 Differing views and tensions within Socialism
  • 3 Socialist thinkers and their ideas

Global Politics

  • Introduction and Reading list
  • Case study 1 – Rwanda
  • Case study 2 – Srebrenica
  • Extension/Summer work: Case study 3 – Sierra Leone

Teacher 3 – 12B 3 lessons a fortnight
12D 3 lessons a fortnight

  • One week work experience

Unit 3B topic 1

  • 1 The state: nation-state and of national sovereignty.
  • 1.1 Characteristics of a nation state and of national sovereignty.
  • Nation-state – political community bound together by citizenship and nationality.
  • National sovereignty – the state’s absolute power over citizens and subjects.

Year 13

Term 1

(half term 1) –

Teacher 1 

State Sovereignty and Global Politics introduction – 6 set lessons

1.1 The state: nation-state and of national sovereignty.

1.1.1 Characteristics of a nation state and of national sovereignty.

  • Challenges to state sovereignty, and the advantages and disadvantages of state sovereignty.

4.4 Different systems of government.

  • The characteristics, examples and consequences for global order of democratic, semi-democratic, non-democratic, autocratic states, failed states and rogue states.

4.5 Development and spread of:

liberal economies

  • rule of law
  • democracy.

4.6 The ways and extent to which the changing relationships and actions of states in relation to power and developments address and resolve contemporary global issues, such as those involving conflict, poverty, human rights and the environment.

Exam questions and essay planning

End of Unit test

Human Rights

  • Defining human rights
  • Critique of Human Rights
  • Review of case studies and introduction of humanitarian intervention
  • HI arguments for and against
  • Global governance and human rights
  • UN Peacekeeping
  • International courts – Ad hoc courts recap and Rome Statute
  • ICC case studies and analysis
  • ICJ – role and impact on HR
  • Regionalism and Human Rights
  • End of unit test

Teacher 2

Nationalism topic – content set as Summer homework

  • Core ideas and principles
  • Different types of nationalism
  • Nationalist thinkers and their ideas

Realism/ Liberalism

  • Morgenthau- study key principles of realism
  • Liberalism key beliefs recap and contrasting
  • Anarchy and Chaos
  • Conflict

(Half term 2) – 

Teacher 1 

 Globalisation

  • The process of globalisation
  • Defining three types of globalisation
  • Perspectives of globalisation
  • Economic Globalisation
  • Political Globalisation including international law
  • Cultural globalisation
  • Impact of globalisation on state sovereignty
  • Advantages and disadvantages of globalisation on global issues

Poverty

  • Poverty introduction and definition
  • North South divide
  • Globalisation impact on poverty

Teacher 2 

UN – political global governance

2.1 Political

2.2.1 The United Nations (UN).

  • Origins and development of the UN, including its 1945 charter.
  • Role and significance of the UN to include the Security Council, General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, International Court of Justice including their strengths and weaknesses.

2.2.2 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

  • Role and significance of NATO including its changing role, particularly since the end of the Cold War, and strengths and weaknesses.

Term 2

 (half term 1) –

Teacher 1

PPEs

 

Economic global governance

  • Bretton woods
  • WTO
  • IMF/ WB (Note JBN to cover SAPs and theories of accumulation)
  • G8 G20
  • IGOs cause poverty – UN SAPs, Debt etc
  • IGOs alleviate poverty – MDGS/SDGs, HIPC, services provided via WB and IMF
  • Regional organisations poverty action
  • Theories of accumulation

Global Civil society and role of NGOs

Teacher 2

Two weeks PPEs

5.1 Regionalism

5.1.1 The different forms.

  • Growth of regionalism and regionalism in different forms, including economic, security and political.

5.1.2 Debates about and the reasons for and significance of regionalism.

  • The relationship between regionalism and globalisation.
  • Prospects for political regionalism and regional governance.
  • The impact on state sovereignty

(half term 2) –

Teacher 1

Environment

  • Tragedy of the Commons
  • Successes/ failures of international conferences
  • UNFCCC/ IPCC
  • International environmental law and obstacles
  • Shallow/ deep ecology

Teacher 2

Power and Developments

4.1 Different types of power.

4.2 Differing significance of states in global affairs and how and why state power is classified.

4.3 Polarity.

Term 3

(half term 1) –

Teacher 1

Finish content and revision

Suggested timings:

X 4 lessons on Component 2 topics

X 8 lessons on Global politics topics

Teacher 2

Finish content and revision

Suggested timings:

X 2 lessons on component 1 topics

X 2 lessons on political ideologies

X 2 lessons revising global politics

Achieving outstanding outcomes in Government and Politics – knowing and remembering even more than what is expected in a grammar school Key Stage 5 curriculum

Our assessment practice at SHSG reflects on how successful students have been in knowing, remembering and doing more through the above topics.

To go beyond what is expected of a Government and Politics student in Key Stage 5 and achieve outstanding outcomes in Government and Politics, students should read widely, engage with the material listed in the reading list, keep up to date with current affairs and read high level articles and essays, learn key language and subject specific terminology.

Recommended reading in Government and Politics for A Levels (Years 12 – 13)

Government and Politics-specific language to master in Upper School (Years 12-13)

  • All required technical terminology can be found in the glossary of the Edexcel specification online. This also provides definitions for each key term.
  • Definitions and extra use of the key terms is also outlined in the three textbooks students are given for the three key content areas- British Politics, Key Political Ideologies, and Global Politics.
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