British Values

Mutual Respect

Mutual respect is the acceptance of others with consideration of their feelings, wishes and rights.

Mutual respect is at the heart of our values.  Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others.  All members of the school community treat each other with respect. We continually reinforce the importance of respect whilst understanding what it means and why we must show it.  We incorporate the importance of respect into everything we do.

Democracy

Democracy is where decision-making occurs through a democratic process: where there are elections and voices are heard through a chosen person.

Children have many opportunities for their voices to be heard. We have an elected school council which meets regularly to discuss issues raised in class council meetings.  The children’s voices are heard through questionnaires which are organised and carried out by the school council: this ensures every child’s voice is heard.

Rule of Law

Rule of law is where everyone is accountable to the law which is essential for everyone’s wellbeing and safety.

The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when exploring making the right choices through school assemblies.  Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws: that they govern and protect us; the responsibilities that this involves; and the consequences when laws are broken. We encourage pupils to take ownership of not only their school but also of their own learning and progress.  This encourages a heightened sense of both personal and social responsibility and is demonstrated on a daily basis. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message.

Individual Liberty

Individual liberty involves having independence and making our own choices.

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 pupils to make choices safely, through provision of a safe environment and empowering education.  Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and PSHE lessons.  Through the provision of a safe, supportive environment and empowering education, we provide boundaries for our pupils to make choices about: learning challenges; participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities; choice of enrichment time activities; our design of working walls. Our pupils are given the freedom to make choices.

Alongside rules and laws, we promote freedom of choice and the right to respectfully express views and beliefs.  Our pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are taught how to exercise these safely.

Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

Tolerance is the prevention of discrimination through an understanding and acceptance of the different faiths and beliefs

We place a great emphasis on promoting diversity with the children.  Assemblies and lessons are regularly planned to address this issue either directly or through the inclusion of stories and celebrations from a variety of faiths and cultures.  Our RE (incorporated into our Learning Experiences) reinforces this as we learn about different faiths and beliefs and the meanings of these.

Being British

We value and celebrate being part of Britain.  We recognise, value and celebrate international and British events throughout the year. These are wide ranging and include Harvest Festival, Remembrance Day, a Christmas Carol Concert, the Nativity, Easter celebrations, Mothering Sunday and Trooping the Colour. We also explore different faiths and beliefs and compare this to being British. This ensures we can develop spiritually and deepen our understanding of the world we live in.