Civitas: The Institute for the Study of Civil Society was founded by David G. Green and Robert Whelan early in 2000 as an independent think tank. It is a British registered charity (No. 1085494[1]), financed by private donations. It receives no government funding and has no affiliations with any political party.
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The stated underlying purpose of Civitas is to deepen public understanding of the legal, institutional and moral framework that makes a free and democratic society possible.
They state that what they do is:
The think tank describes itself as "classical liberal" and "non-partisan". Its director David G. Green writes occasionally in The Daily Telegraph and its deputy director Anastasia de Waal frequently contributes to the Guardian's Comment is Free.[2] Its areas of policy interest include:
Ruth Lea is part-time Director of the Manufacturing Renewal Project and Norman Dennis is part-time Director of Community Studies.
Books
Crime
Education
Family
Health
Immigration
Manufacturing
Civitas provides teaching material and guest speakers for schools, in particular on family structure and on the EU.
Civitas’ EU Project aims to deepen public understanding of the European Union institutions that govern us and to promote political awareness and debate about the EU among students. The project publishes a series of balanced and comprehensive factsheets on the European Union tailored to A-level curricula, which includes supplementary worksheets and monthly updates of events from within the EU. Civitas also arranges high-profile speakers for talks and debates in schools on the subject of the European Union, and hosts an annual National EU conference in London.
The think tank was responsible for setting up the New Model School Company , operating fee-paying primary schools intended to be more affordable than standard private schools. The company now has three schools, the basic premise of them being a "traditional, no frills education".
Civitas also runs Civitas Schools , supplementary schools that run on Saturday mornings and after school hours. The schools teach English and maths to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, emphasising traditional approaches such as phonics. Starting with Bengali children in Bethnal Green, there are now eighteen supplementary schools in King's Cross, Hammersmith, Camberwell, Keighley, Birmingham, Great Yarmouth and Bradford providing classes for approximately 400 children per week.
In addition, Civitas is pioneering Core Knowledge UK. Gradually developed and refined by teachers and educational specialists, the Core Knowledge Sequence UK is a year-by-year outline of the specific and shared content and skills to be taught in Years 1 to 6. The Core Knowledge Sequence UK is the backbone of the Core Knowledge UK curriculum, a springboard for learning that provides the foundation for a sound, well-rounded education in the arts, humanities and sciences. The first Core Knowledge UK resource book is What Your Year 1 Child Needs to Know.
London Boxing Academy Since 2006 Civitas has been a partner in the London Boxing Academy Community Project which undertakes the education of students who have been excluded from their mainstream schools. The course combines academic work with sport, and aims to help students to achieve success in GCSEs.
Young Civitas for Medics , a new society founded by medical students for medical students, has been launched with the help of the Civitas Health Unit. The society aims to plug a gap in the medical curriculum by providing an open and impartial arena for students to learn how the NHS works and debate the future of health policy