St Vincent’s Nursery
Fundamental
British Values
A Parent’s Guide
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What are ‘British Values’?
‘Britain is made up of small individual groups with many
various cultures, races and religions, and we need some
umbrella to stand under that gives us an identity
together… By British values, we mean basic human
values.’
(Gouldsboro, 2015, pp.49-50)
Introducing British values to young children is just the same
as introducing them to their human rights and
responsibilities.
The British values are:
Democracy
Children have the right to
participate
in
making
decisions about things that
concern them and they
should be encouraged to
strive to meet their full
potential.
The Rule of Law
Children have the right to
think what they want the
right to freedom. However,
they
also
have
the
responsibility to ensure that
they don’t stop others from
enjoying their rights.
Individual Liberty
Children have the freedom to
make choices and voice
opinions; they have the right
to think and believe what
they want and to choose
their own religion.
Mutual Respect & Tolerance
Children are helped to learn
about
similarities
and
differences between people,
taught to respect the views
and beliefs of others and
helped to appreciate why
they should not discriminate2
against anyone.
What do British values mean for early years settings?
British values are embedded into UK education legislation.
According to the Education Act 2002, it is our responsibility as
early years’ practitioners to deliver a ‘broad and balanced
curriculum which promotes the
spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and
physical development of pupils and
prepares them for the opportunities,
responsibilities and experiences of later
life’.
Promoting British values in early years’ settings is about more
than activities and resources; it is the leaders’ responsibility
to ensure that British values are promoted through the ethos
of the setting and its policies and procedures.
It means creating an environment where children are treated
fairly and parents are included and involved; supporting
children to become independent thinkers whilst guiding them
to develop a sense of right and wrong; planning learning
experiences around the needs and interests of the individual
children; but most of all
encouraging children to have
their own ideas, make their own
choices and express their own
opinions.
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British Values at St Vincent’s Nursery
Democracy
 Encouraging children to know
their opinions count and their views
are important through following their
interests for topics and activities

Encouraging children to make decisions together, form
positive
relationships
and
consider one another’s feelings
through sharing and turn taking
during activities

Providing opportunities for
children to vote between choices of activity – e.g. choosing
the theme for their role play area, choosing a book for
story time or a song for song time

Modelling fair treatment by ensuring all children have
equal opportunities – e.g. assigning Mealtime Helpers,
sending home travelling animals,
recognising achievements through
Achievement Boards etc.
4
Rule of Law

Encouraging
children
and
practitioners to work together to
create
rules
–
e.g.
implementation of Golden Rules
in the rooms

Teaching children to understand their own and others’
behaviour and feelings, and the consequences – e.g.
through Emotions Boards, using
expressive arts such as paint or music to
express emotions etc.

Exploring the difference between right
and wrong and supporting the children
to learn how to distinguish it – e.g.
through reading stories, playing games
etc.
5
Individual Liberty

Providing opportunities for children to develop their selfesteem and confidence in their own abilities – e.g. by
sharing
achievements
and
successes through Star of the
Week,
or
by
promoting
independence through mealtime
self-service, putting their own
coats / shoes on etc.

Giving children freedom of expression – through role play,
puppet shows, singing and rhyme
time; encouraging children to
participate in circle times and make
positive contributions; allowing them
to express themselves through art
and music

Encouraging children to develop a positive sense of
themselves – through talking about their likes and dislikes,
reflecting on and celebrating
their differences, bringing in
family pictures from home
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Mutual Respect and Tolerance

Working as a group to create an environment that
includes, values and promotes different faiths, views,
cultures and races – through display boards and positive
images around the room, and resources that are available
in the room (e.g. books, jigsaws,
dressing-up
clothes,
musical
instruments
etc.);
considering
different cultures within our menus;
signs, books and posters that are in
different languages to develop
children’s sense of belonging
 Encouraging children to learn about
other faiths, cultures, traditions and ways of
life – e.g. through celebrating festivals and
special days, different types of family units,
different occupations etc.; inviting parents
into the nursery to share their skills, culture
or traditions

Encouraging children to learn about the world around
them – through making links with the community (e.g.
outings to local places); using
books, posters and pictures to
learn about places far away
(e.g.
buildings
in
the
construction area)
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