To continue on from their successes in 2011, this Valentines Day (Feb 14th) HIV360° launched a year-long educational project to help teachers incorporate HIV education into their teaching via a range of activities. The project revolves around the topic of UNAIDS' 3 Zeros: Zero New HIV Infections, Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS-Related Deaths. Young people and their teachers were asked to pick a 'Zero' of their interest or work their way through all 3 in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the HIV epidemic and the many ways in which it can impact on our global society. Throughout this teachers and their students were encouraged to make use of the extensive, multi-disciplinary lesson plans; collaborate with their peers around the world (via Rafi.ki); take part in a number of campaigns; get creative and even contribute to a newspaper publication.

What are the expectations of 21st-century education?

Considering young citizens of school age, the global debate indicates that ultimately the answer tends to be broadly the all-round or holistic development of each person.   Key to achieving this is thoughtful nurturing of the different aspects of individuals and their talents, at home and at school – and hence the SPIES!

A huge emphasis has been placed on the prevention of last month's riots occurring again in the future. Strategies have been put in place that will encourage students during their transition from primary school to secondary and fifty million pounds was pledged by Mr Nick Clegg at the Liberal Democrat conference that will facilitate this. But how can we find new ways of adapting the PSHE curriculum to help prevent such events from occurring in the future?

It would perhaps be fair to say that within the curriculum itself, more emphasis needs to be placed on being a model citizen and a good member of the community.

On 21 July 2011, Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools, launched a review of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education stating that “The aim of the review is to consider the essential knowledge and awareness that pupils need to be taught, so that they understand the world around them and are able to manage their lives, now and in the future.”

In May 2011, the Department for Education stated that “Citizenship gives pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding to play an effective role in society. It helps them to become informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens aware of duties and rights. It promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, making them more self-confident. It encourages pupils to play a helpful part in the life of their school, community and world.”

Globalisation and rapid, continuous technological change are presenting enormous challenges and making education ever more critical in preparing students for work and citizenship. In modern knowledge economies, education is not only the main driver of growth but a key social equalizer. However, it is vital that matters are kept in perspective so that education not only raises academic performance but also develops and nurtures the personal growth of children and young people by embracing domains such as their emotional wellbeing, their attitudes, their self-esteem and social competencies and their abilities to communicate well, since all these capacities are essential to each individual’s long-term happiness, relationships and attainment, whatever his or her role in today’s complex and extensively interconnected ‘global village’.

There is no doubt that education leaders around the world are deeply aware of the challenges of creating appropriate education systems for today’s new era of rapid change and globalisation and recognise that education excellence is essential to the future success of individuals as family members, in the workplace and as informed, participatory citizens in their local communities and within society at large. Effective schooling aims to educate the whole child, with PSHE education and Citizenship being two of the key components in the mix towards achieving this.

PSHE Education and Ethical Citizenship provide opportunities for some of the essential building blocks of young lives today and our legacy for the future.

The dramatic film based resource ‘Young Offender: Freedom or Detention?’, addresses behaviour and offending problems for teenagers, and has become such a popular resource that it now has its very own website: www.youngoffender.co.uk.

The purpose of the site is to show people what others are doing and to become a forum for exchange of ideas and good practice.

The Young Offender resource uses the film 'Lee’s Story' to explore the choices, decisions and actions of a 17 year old repeat offender and the ensuing consequences. This is a powerful drama that raises many issues, making it a valuable resource for every school. Complete with a detailed teacher book and lesson guides, the resource can be used to support a broad range of provision. This is why we have created its own website, to provide a showcase and an opportunity to share ideas.