Character & Citizenship Education

Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) and National Education / Social Studies (NE/SS) Department

The Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) aims to develop in our students:  

Our CCE programmes are anchored on our School Values of Responsibility, Integrity, Self-discipline and Empathy (RISE), Social Emotional Competencies and the 3 Big Ideas of CCE, Identity, Relationships and Choices. We aim to develop our students to be gracious citizens – confident, well mannered and kind.

The CCE programmes adopt a “Head-Heart- Hands” approach.

Head – Through the various curricula - CCE (Form Teachers Guidance Period), CCE (Mother Tongue Languages), Social Studies and Growth and Benefit Mindset Modular CCA , students learn values, social competencies and National Education explicitly. These curricula help students to grow in knowledge, develop skills and learn values through examining issues that are of concern to Singapore and the world in which we live in. In-class opportunities are provided for students to apply the core values and social emotional competencies.

Heart –We win our students’ hearts over through sharing and bonding activities during festive celebrations, National Education Commemorative events, such as Total Defence Day, International Friendship Day, Racial Harmony Day and National Day, to inspire hope and instill pride. We give recognition to students who can be role models to other students to help them feel good about themselves and for others to learn from and aspire to be. We build a school culture with a strong focus on care and inclusivity where every teacher, regardless of what subjects they teach, are all CCE teachers. Our common language is premised on the Growth and Benefit Mindset. Our teachers prepare Good Morning School (GMS) presentations, to expose our students to topics and issues outside of the curriculum, broaden our students’ horizons and help them to make connections of their learning across the total curriculum.

Hands –Students practise values through their participation in Co-curricular Activities (CCA), Values-in- Action (VIA) activities and National Education events. Student participation in the planning and implementation of some aspects of CCE, such as in VIA projects, gives them the space to be heard, and to play an active role in what and how they learn, hence providing opportunities for them to develop agency or self-directedness, responsibility and ownership of their learning. 

Partnership with parents
Parents are the first care-givers in developing good character of their children. The development of character and citizenship dispositions in our students is influenced by what happens in school, in the family and in the wider community. There is active partnership between school and home when what is taught and learnt in school is reinforced at home. “Family Time” in the CCE (FTGP) and CCE (MTL) lessons provide suggestions for activities which allow parents to bond with their children and support their children’s development. These activities, such as “Family Chat Time!” and “Family Activities” also enable parents to partner with schools in this meaningful journey of supporting your child/ward in his/her learning of social-emotional competencies and values.