British Values

British Values are a key part of our curriculum and learning. As part of this, learning promotes the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

This can be seen specifically within PSHE and RE lessons, weekly Picture News collective worship, and termly British Values collective worship but also through our Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development which is the over-arching umbrella that encompasses personal development across the whole curriculum.
 

Our learning enables pupils to:

• develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence;
• distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England;
• take responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of our school and their homes and to society more widely;
• acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England;
• promote tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling students to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures;
• encourage respect for other people; and
• encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England.

Through the promotion of British Values, children in our school will gain:

• an understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process;
• an appreciation that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their wellbeing and safety;
• an understanding that there is a separation of power between the executive and the judiciary, and that while some public bodies such as the police and the army can be held to account through Parliament, others such as the courts maintain independence;
• an understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law;
• an acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour; and
• an understanding of the importance of identifying and combatting discrimination.

We aim to do this in a way that primary-aged children can understand and empathise with. For example, when electing children to represent their peers, inviting visitors in to school to speak to the older children about their personal experiences of religious intolerance, and collectively deciding on classroom rules that all will follow.