All schools have a duty to actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs.
As a Unicef Silver Rights Respecting School, we see the crucial work of promoting these values as working directly alongside our Rights Respecting values.
As a school we have made the Pledge to Commit to achieve the Anti-Racist Schools Award.
Within our school community, our efforts to promote fundamental British values are designed to prepare learners for life in modern Britain and be positive citizens. Opportunities for our learners include:
- Throughout the curriculum, helping our learners understand the importance of children’s human rights
- Learning about the importance of challenging discrimination, and how to do this respectfully and safety
- Understanding how we can influence decision-making by taking part in democratic processes such as the termly School Council, using Votes for Schools and Change.Org and writing to MPs to enable our learners to have their voices heard on current affair issues that they might feel passionately about
- Visits from our local MP, visits to the Houses of Parliament and visits from charities and organisations that promote British Values
- Recognising our freedom under British law to choose different faiths and beliefs
- Understanding that the law is there to keep us safe and is also there to uphold Children’s Rights
- Creating and reviewing the School Charter
- Engaging with Awareness Days and Events that promote tolerance and equality
- Implicit and explicit teaching of Kindness, Respect and Equality, as set out in the school’s Positive Behaviour Policy and our School Charter: these are words that are modelled throughout the school by our staff
Our duty to actively promote fundamental British values means that we always present political views to our learners in a balanced way. We are also responsible for challenging prejudice or extreme opinions and behaviour, and will always do so in a kind and respectful manner.
As part of this responsibility, protective measures are in place to protect all our learners from exposure to extremist views. Please feel free to contact the school if you would like to know more information on this.
As well as British Values teaching opportunities within the curriculum, our staff are careful to model the values of kindness, respect and equality that we would like our learners to have. Kindness and Respect are at the centre of our School Charter. It is very rare for there to be incidents of bullying within the school but, should this happen, through subjects such as PSHE and PSD we teach children to keep themselves safe, and where to seek support should they need to. Please see our Positive Behaviour Policy for more details.
