British Values
In accordance with The Department for Education, we aim to actively promote British values in schools to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils are encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance and understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law.
The Key Values are:
- democracy
- rule of law
- individual liberty
- mutual respect
- tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
British Values
After a PSHE workshop on British Values, children in Year 5 looked at each British Value and the ways in which our school demonstrates them. Here is some of the artwork they produced to represent the values in our school:
How do we develop children’s understanding of British values?
We develop and teach an understanding Democracy by:
- giving children the opportunity to make choices day to day such as choosing school dinners and activities within lessons
- facilitating a democratic process for electing School Council representatives, Sports Ambassadors, House Captains and Deputies
- teaching about the democratic process in Britain, at both a local and national level
- taking turns in class, at dinner time and in after school clubs
We teach and develop understanding of the Rule of Law by:
- drawing up and implementing our class charters which have clear and agreed rules
- teaching children an understanding of human rights and responsibilities
- teaching and implementing our behaviour and reward ladder to deal with any behavioural incidents, bullying incidents and other forms of negative and discriminatory behaviour, but also reward and recognise the positive examples we see in and out of school
- the implementation of our school rules and values in assemblies and lessons
- teaching children about the process of rule-making and the part that citizens play in making laws and rules in our society
We teach individual liberty and combat discrimination by:
- teaching the idea of freedom and choice
- providing before and after school provision and extra curricular activities which provide opportunities for all children
- teaching and applying our R.E. curriculum, which promotes British Values and is inclusive of different faiths, as well as Christianity
- educating children on individual and cultural and religious differences
- teaching children an understanding of their human rights and responsibilities
- holding discussions in lessons; R.E., English, PSHE and other subjects, and encouraging an environment in which children can listen to, respect and understand the beliefs and opinions of others
We develop and teach personal and social responsibility by:
- encouraging children to take on the responsibilities in a buddy system such as playground buddies, reading buddies, Year 6/EYFS buddies and staff buddies
- encouraging children to take responsibility for their own possessions, behaviour and work, both at school and at home and to always do their personal best in all aspects of school life
- creating opportunities within classes for children to take on monitor roles which assist in the daily running of the classroom
- using ICT and PSHE lessons to educate children on the safe use of technology and how to keep safe in and out of school
We develop and uphold respect for British Institutions by:
- encouraging a link between the school community and local groups, such as Police, Fire service, our local church and charity groups and, where possible, invite individuals to speak and educate the children on their roles in society
- teaching children in assemblies and PSHE/history lessons about local and national news, politics and events which have an impact on the pupils and those around them
- celebrating festivals and special events from different faiths, cultures and charities, e.g. World Book Day, Easter, Christmas Nativity, Children in Need, Harvest festival