Promoting 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
Democracy
- Children are involved in Democratic processes e.g. voting for School Councillors, Eco Councillors. The School Council have visited the Houses of Parliament to deepen their understanding of our democratic government and we have serving MPs come into school to discuss the meaning and importance of democracy.
- The school council itself is led by a member of staff and adheres to democratic processes, reporting its actions to the Senior Leadership Team.
- Pupils are listened to and help shape the direction of the school. Year 6 pupils complete a Leavers’ Survey annually and this feeds into school improvement priorities.
The Rule of Law
- The importance of rules are consistently reinforced throughout school and are exemplified in our ‘Behaviour in School booklet and Behaviour and Anti-Bullying Policy.
- School has links with the local police and we have worked together on projects to promote pupil safety. The police have delivered assemblies in school.
- We have a clearly structured behaviour policy which all stakeholders understand and follow. We regularly review behaviour incidents in school and share these with key stakeholders.
Individual Liberty
- Pupils have key roles and responsibilities in school, such as Year 6 Team Captains and School Monitors who choose to perform their roles of responsibility.
- 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 our curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.
- The aims, ethos and vision statement are embodied in all that we do in school.
Mutual Respect
- Pupils are taught what mutual respect is and what it means. Our Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum embodies values of Mutual Respect through units of learning such as Going for Goals and Good to Be Me.
- Respect is our first Golden Rule – this underpins the expectations in our ‘Behaviour in School’ booklet.
- Our Year 5 Buddies, to the Year 2 pupils entering juniors, and the Reading Buddies, from the local secondary school, both promote mutual respect between pupils across different Key Stages.
Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
- Our R.E curriculum provides a broad and balanced education on a range of faiths, religions and cultures, including visits to multicultural places of worship.
- We have a growing number of children for whom English is an additional language (E.A.L) and actively use school resources to promote their learning and integration into our school society. ü We teach specific PSHE units of learning delivered based on ‘Living in the Wider World.’ ü We have visiting students from other European countries and visitors from various faiths who share their language and culture with our pupils.