The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our children and the upholding of British Values are integral to our school ethos of preparing our children to be successful global citizens and to upholding our school value of RESPECT: for ourselves, for others and the environment. SMSC and British Values are woven into all aspects of our school curriculum.
The Department for Education has introduced a statutory duty for schools to promote British Values more actively from September 2014, and to ensure they are taught in schools. There are four key British Values:
- Democracy
- The rule of law
- Individual liberty
- Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
As well as actively promoting British Values, the opposite also applies: we would actively challenge pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British Values, including ‘extremist’ views. We uphold the Equality Act which guarantees that there will be no discrimination against any individual or group under the protected characteristics; for example religion and belief, race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age or similar.
At Allerton Bywater Primary School, we actively promote the British Values in the following ways.
Democracy
- Every year, we hold elections for our school Values Ambassadors through a democratic election process, electing two representatives from each class. Ambassadors have the responsibility to uphold the rights of all children in school; they sit on recruitment panels for new staff and have projects to contribute to school and community improvements.
- Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through their ambassadors, pupil questionnaires and informal conversations with school staff during the day.
- We discuss global issues and political systems through assemblies, PSHE lessons and units of our curriculum.
The rule of law
School rules and expectations are clear, consistent, fair and regularly promoted. We explicitly teach the difference between rules and rights using our three school rules:
- We follow instructions
- We keep ourselves and others safe
- We use respectful language and actions
- Pupils are always helped to distinguish right from wrong in the classroom, during assemblies and on the playground using restorative practice techniques.
- Pupils enjoy visits from authorities such as the Police, Fire Service, Ambulance, etc., who reinforce the importance of the rule of law.
- During Religious Education lessons, rules for particular faiths are thought about, or during other school subjects, there is respect and appreciation for different rules and ideas, e.g. How do we make good choices? What does it mean to be a Sikh/ Jew or Muslim?
- Our Behaviour and Anti-Bullying policies set out a zero-tolerance baseline for any form of aggression, abuse or violence, which extends to pupils, staff and parents and carer
Individual liberty
Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are taught how to exercise these safely, such as in our e-safety sessions and PHSE curriculum. Through the provision of a safe, supportive environment and empowering education, we provide boundaries for our pupils to make choices safely; for example:
- Choices about how they record their learning in lessons
- Evaluation of their learning within lessons through self assessment, peer marking, feedback and target setting
- Choices around the participation in extra-curricular activities
- Vulnerable pupils are protected and stereotypes challenged. A strong anti-bullying culture is embedded in the school and any form of bullying is challenged and addressed.
- Pupils have key roles and responsibilities in school e.g. School Ambassadors, Y6/Class Reception Buddies and Play Leaders.
Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
- Respect is one of our five core school values: for ourselves, for others and for the environment. The pupils know and understand that it is expected that respect is shown to everyone, adults and children.
- Our culturally rich and diverse global curriculum enables us to discuss and respect differences between people, such as differences of faith, ethnicity, disability, gender or sexuality and differences of family situations;
- Through our curriculum units, we develop awareness and appreciation of other cultures through, for example, considering artistic cultures from other parts of the world, using stories from other cultures in English and studying communities around the world, e.g., Different Places, Similar Lives, Living Together.
- In RE, we learn about different faiths; we share stories from different faiths, celebrate festivals, and promote links and visits with local faith communities and places of worship. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school.
- In PHSE, we enable discussions involving identity, society and equality, covering such subjects as community, discrimination and prejudice and belonging including homelessness and migration.
- Whole school assemblies are used to share stories and celebrate festivals from different religions and cultures; we discuss global issues affecting different communities and enjoy music and art from around the world. We are regularly visited by the local clergy and we visit our local church of St Mary's twice a year.
Useful Links and Documents
