British Values
Fundamental British Values General statement
Our school recognises our responsibility to prepare children for life in modern Britain and is committed to ensuring that the fundamental British values are introduced, discussed and lived out through the ethos and work of our school. We value the diverse backgrounds of all pupils, staff and families and celebrate these through a wide range of lessons and events, teaching tolerance and respect for each other, the differences in our community and the wider world.
We are committed to fostering tolerance, individual liberty, the rule of law, democracy and mutual respect for all.
We ensure that our federation:
- Gives children the opportunity to explore values and beliefs including religious beliefs, and the way in which they impact on peoples’ lives;
- Encourages children to explore and develop what engages themselves and others;
- Gives children the opportunity to understand human feelings and emotions, the way they impact on people and how an understanding of them can be helpful;
- Develops a climate or ethos within which all children can grow and flourish, respect others and be respected;
- Accommodates difference and respecting the integrity of individuals;
- Promotes teaching styles which value children’s questions and give them space for their own thoughts, ideas and concerns;
- Enables children to make connections between aspects of their learning;
- Encourages children to relate their learning to a wider frame of reference, e.g. asking ‘why’, ‘how’, and ‘where’, as well as ‘what’ and ‘when’. All curriculum areas provide a vehicle for furthering understanding of these concepts and, in particular, our RE, PSHE and Citizenship lessons may provide excellent opportunities to deepen and develop understanding. All pupils are encouraged to embrace these concepts with enthusiasm and are expected demonstrate a good understanding of their application to their own lives.
- Provides an understanding of agreed sense of right and wrong with the confidence to stand up for what individuals believe in;
- Teaches children to act with honesty;
- Teaches respect and consideration for others and an appreciation of their uniqueness and qualities;
- Teaches a responsibility for self and others;
What are British Values?
The Government emphasises that schools are required to ensure that key ‘British Values’ are taught in all UK schools.
Actively promoting ‘British Values’ also means challenging pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British values.
At our school, values of tolerance and respect permeate all areas of school life. This engenders a climate within which pupils feel safe and secure and facilitates the fulfilment of potential. Pupil voice plays an integral part in driving the school forward and school rules at different levels are seen as the foundation upon which this can be achieved.
Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our Little Oaks Committee, School Council, Pupil Mentorship and Pupil Conferencing.
Examples of activities
Tolerance: Collective Worship is fundamentally Christian in character, but recognises that those attending may have a wide range of faiths, or none. Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs is achieved through enhancing pupils understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity. Collective Worship and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying have been followed and supported by learning in RE and PSHE.
A range of Religious Celebration Days take place across the federation each year so that we are able to celebrate festivals around the world.
Assemblies introduce work around civil rights through Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Nelson Mandela.
Democracy: The elections of School Councillors based solely on pupil votes; Monthly meetings of the School Council ensuring the reinforcement of democratic processes, the application of freedom of speech and group action to address needs and concerns; Pupils have an opportunity to acknowledge a child in their class to receive recognition.
All posts for pupils in school are decided through democratic means e.g. Understanding of the differences between local and national roles for politicians; Opportunities to consider freedom and World War 1 through remembrance celebrations – assembly; Books are purchased reflecting the various issues in our world: tolerance, equality, different faiths;
The Rule of Law: The importance of Laws, whether they be those rules that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through Collective Worship. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind boundaries, rules and laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences should rules and laws get broken.
We visit the Houses of Parliament every two years so that pupils in UKS2 learn first-hand about the rule of law and democracy. They also take part in a Governments and Leaders unit of work during Year 5 and 6.
Pupils learn a sense of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ through the setting of classroom rules – within an overall behaviour policy with its clear rewards and sanctions; School and class rules are shared with parents and carers at ‘meet the teacher’ sessions;
Assemblies introduce work around civil rights through Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Nelson Mandela;
PE lessons promote the concept of fair play; Sporting events, a range of visits and use of outdoor education centres are planned to ensure children’s experiences are broad, meaningful and varied; Anti-bullying focus/range of events and activities.
We have annual visits from agencies/community such as the Fire Service and the Police.
Individual Liberty: Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment.
As a school we educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and empowering education. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are guided on how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and PSHE lessons.
Whether it be through choice of challenge, of how they record or participate in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices. Examples of activities: Pupils are aware of their freedom to make choices, to do the right thing;
Pupils are encouraged to make the right choice through being made aware of consequences of choices and actions; Subject leaders interview pupils about their learning and achievements – so that individual learning styles can be taken into account and reflected in teaching and learning;
Stories in assemblies reflect the theme of liberty;
Mutual Respect: Part of our school ethos and behaviour policy has revolved around curriculum drivers such as ‘Respect’, and pupils have been part of discussions and collective worship related to what this means and how it is shown.
All staff model mutual respect in their dealings with one another, with children and parents, with a focus on manners; Through the deciding of class charters to share differing beliefs; Respect points for politeness; Fundraising for charities; Leadership commitment and monitoring to ensure there is consistency in class approaches to this work; Posters around the school promote respect for others; Agreed classroom rules, as well as behaviour policy; The concept of ‘fair play’, being magnanimous in defeat and participation in activities that promote kinship and affiliation with others are actively promoted in school; Tolerance of those of Different Faiths.
Mutual respect is also taught within formal PSHE, R time philosophy and RE lessons and on an informal nature throughout the school days. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety policy and PSHE work on keeping myself safe
Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school. Collective Worship where stories, images, events & music promote agreed and accepted values; Behaviour Policy supports respecting difference; PSHE Programme with a focus on respect and tolerance of difference; Debating is a regular part of lessons and pupils listen to contrasting viewpoints as is Philosophy; Ensuring that tolerance is promoted through diverse resources – e.g. books that describe different religions, family circumstances etc. that deal with potential racist or homophobic issues;
All incidents of racism or any form of bullying related to disability, religious or other issues are recorded and dealt with in line with agreed procedures; The RE curriculum reflects all world religion and is taught across the school; Staff and governor representation that celebrates diversity and tolerance and the school community; The celebration of religious differences and similarities through a focus on Christmas, Easter, Eid, Holi, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Diwali etc.
British History within the Curriculum
Our school offers a range of curriculum topics which have strong links to Britain both past and present, for example ‘Governments and Leaders’, ‘World War Two’ and ‘Beyond the Palace Doors’. As a federation, we encourage knowledge of current affairs that are significant to us as a nation – we subscribe to Picture News and this is shared both as a whole school in assembly every week and then in class to further reflect on what is happening around the world.
We benefit from our Olympic legacy through the Sports Premium funding, which has greatly enriched our sports provision in school; Across all years, there is a strong focus on the work of famous British figures both past and present; these include Florence Nightingale, Edith Carvell, Winston Churchill and Queen Victoria.
The children enjoy learning about people from the past and in particular those who have had an impact on the modern world and our community; A number of activities are planned in school to mark the centenary, including a Remembrance Day Service, wreath-laying at the memorial and money-raising events for our armed forces charities; Daily acts of collective worship/ whole school assembly. In line with regulation our assemblies are “wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character”.
