Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast: Simon O’Connor

At Citizens School, they believe that it’s important to reset education and learning to meet 21st-century needs, preparing students for jobs that haven’t yet been created and teaching them to become entrepreneurs.

As Sir Ken Robinson said, “The educational system today is archaic, it is cohort based and emerged in the time of the Victorian Industrial Revolution and was designed to cater for that time in history not today’s social reality.” That is why Citizens School has been designed with a fresh and unique perspective; one that is suited to the individual needs of each child, giving them the freedom to explore themes, widen their interests, and choose the paths that will allow them to attain their full potential.

A visionary school at the heart of a new education hub that encompasses a teacher training foundation, wellbeing centre and a EYFS to Key Stage 5 school, all conceived, designed and developed in the UAE by Al Zarooni Emirates Investments, Citizens School is set to do things a little differently. This means getting away from ‘an educational system built on the idea that everybody’s mind works in a similar way and the objective is to retain information and use it. traditionally, is to impart knowledge through teaching and explanation in formal subject classes. However, at Citizens, they realise that the days of learning from a single source are long gone. Nowadays, children have instant access to knowledge. Therefore, Citizens School teachers will be fittingly referred to as ‘mentors,’ because, in addition to providing instruction and sharing knowledge, they focus on putting that knowledge into practice, nurturing creativity, and fostering personal development to motivate students to improve their abilities.

In the same way, students are to be referred to as ‘learners’. This approach gives learners significantly more options in the classroom, affording

Around 60% of future jobs haven’t been developed yet. 40% of nursery-age children in schools today will need to be selfemployed to have any form of income (Source: WEF Future of Jobs Report)

them greater flexibility and autonomy and, as a result, more engaged learning. Citizens School understands, too, that to be genuinely effective, choice must be embedded in the curriculum from the start. Giving children choices from an early age can help them develop a sense of belonging, independence, and ownership over their education - the classroom becomes their domain.

THE POWER OF CHOICE

Citizens School will re-structure and re-imagine the standard approach to education, with students being encouraged to explore their passions, interests and curiosities, in an environment of teamwork, inclusivity and mutual respect. The school believes in the power of choice, innovative thinking, and cutting-edge research, and is dedicated to providing a fuller and more gratifying experience for the younger generation. It will be a wide-ranging sort of education that caters to learners with various learning styles and interests. Citizens School’s main goal is to provide a more participatory, modern, and interesting learning experience for young people.

Equipping children with a rich, connected bank of knowledge and skills relevant to the 21st-century, Citizens School has partnered with Blenheim Schools, part of the Chatsworth Schools group – one of the leading school groups in the UK – to provide an experience-based, inclusive curriculum bespoke to each child’s strengths and approach to learning. The curriculum, called the Citizens’ Tapestry, will be unique to Citizens School pupils.

Using the UK National Curriculum as its standard, the Citizens’ Tapestry is a first-of-its-kind, custom-built curriculum that builds upon the blueprint with six key threads – Mindset; Entrepreneur; Health & Wellbeing; Sustainable Leadership; Global; and Digital Literacy – forming the pattern of its comprehensive, holistic, inclusive, and fun education system. The engaging and demanding curriculum will successfully educate and create aspirational, confident, resilient young people who will give back to their community and make major contributions to the future success of the world at large.