British Values
Promoting British Values at Radwinter C of E Primary School
The DfE have recently reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and
rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values
of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and
tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”
At Radwinter these values are reinforced regularly and are underpinned by our own
School Christian Values of Respect, Service, kindness, Fairness and Forgiveness
Throughout the school, British Values are central to all we do and are promoted in a
wide variety of ways. Below are just some aspects of school life that enable children
to get a sense of these fundamentals as they move on through their time at school.
Democracy:
Children, parents and staff have many opportunities for their voices to be heard at
Radwinter. Democracy is central to how we operate.
An example is our School Council. The election of the School Council members
reflects our British electoral system and demonstrates democracy in action:
candidates make speeches, pupils consider characteristics important for an elected
representative, pupils vote in secret etc. Made up of two representatives from each
class, the School Council meets regularly to discuss issues raised by the different
classes. The council is able to genuinely effect change within the school; in the past,
the School Council has been actively involved in helping to design and choose the
school logo and improving the quality of our school meals and snacks. The Council
are actively involved in recruitment and in providing teachers with feedback, such as
providing a review of themed weeks.
Other examples of ‘pupil voice’ are:
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children have the opportunity to nominate others to receive a values in action
certificate
using Pupil Feedback forms, children are asked to respond and reflect on the
teaching and learning
There are also numerous opportunities that are provided for children to
exercise a vote whether it is choosing school team names or making more
simple day-to-day choices.
Democracy is embedded within our school curriculum, for example, in the learning
about the Magna Carta in Year 6. However, political dimensions of our topics are
explored wherever appropriate to do so.
We actively teach children about their rights and responsibilities as British Citizens;
both on a national level and also a global level. This is underpinned by school
collective worship that often looks at issues surrounding human rights across the
globe.
We share examples of stories linked to democracy, discussing the challenges faced
around the world and in history; for example, looking at ‘equality’ linked to the
suffragettes and women’s rights around the world today.
All children are actively encouraged to participate in class discussion and in their
learning. This is promoted by our use of effective questioning techniques.
Mutual Respect
As one of our school values Respect underpins our ethos and everything we do at
Radwinter. Our pupils know and understand that it is expected and imperative that
respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have, and to everything,
whether it is a school resource or a religious belief. Children learn that their
behaviour choices have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All
members of the school community should treat each other with respect.
Bullying of any kind is not tolerated and our approach to dealing with bullying
incidents is enshrined in our Anti-Bullying policy.
Children are taught about how to develop respectful relationships in a wide variety of
ways including through our PSHE curriculum. We also promote mutual respect in the
online world as set out in our E-safety and Acceptable Use policy that is seen and
signed by all stakeholders.
We hold collective worship that celebrates difference and other cultures. These help
to build understanding of different people and their belief systems that may hold both
similarities and differences to our own.
Equality is promoted in every aspect of school. We actively promote gender equality
and teach the children about racial equality. In collective worship, we look at key
figures that have been part of the struggle to establish equality for all and examine
where in our own country, as well as others, where inequality might still exist.
We take opportunities to establish positive views of different groups in society,
examples of this include our work during Faith week where we had visitors from a
variety of different faiths talking to children about their beliefs, customs and ways of
life.
We have participated and will continue to join in cluster project days that include
children and staff from the cluster schools working together to achieve a common
goal.
Our link with a special needs school in Africa via the Vision Africa charity, is a
mutually beneficial international alliance that enables both staff and pupils from each
school to learn about each other’s practises, cultures and values.
Some pupils carry out the role of ‘play leader’ at lunchtimes where they help to
organise activities with other pupils in order to enable them to have enjoyable
playtimes. This fosters a mutual respect between all parties across a range of ages.
The charity work that children participate in is extremely valuable in helping them to
develop a respect for others whilst also supporting the development of their role as
active citizens in the wider society. They have a great deal of input into which
charities we will support throughout the year and help to plan activities that will raise
both money and awareness.
Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
During PSHE lessons, children learn to accept and embrace difference and to
understand how individuals feel. This work crosses all potential barriers of faith and
religion. Supporting this, children’s RE lessons enable them to develop a growing
understanding of different cultures and beliefs. The more children learn about
religions, the more likely they are to understand different people’s motivations and
feelings, thereby enabling them to be more tolerant of those cultures and beliefs that
differ from their own.
Our Equalities Policy ensures that people of all religious beliefs, genders, ethnicities,
abilities or any other differences are offered the same opportunities to thrive at our
school.
International projects such as leaning about Christmas traditions around the world
help to develop children’s experiences and understanding of other countries and
their traditions, cultures and beliefs. Other learning that supports this is through the
teaching of French and sharing of other languages; for example, International
Languages Day.
Both in collective worship and in class, religious tolerance is strengthened through
the celebration of different religious festivals such as Holi, Chinese New Year, Eid
and Christian celebrations. Sometimes, stories are shared or personal experiences
of either the staff or children spoken about in order to develop a greater depth of
understanding of religious identities.
A great deal of the curriculum at Radwinter supports the developing of children’s
international knowledge and we celebrate this in Multicultural Week where children
learn about different localities in considerable detail, immersing themselves in the
culture and beliefs of people around the world.
Rule of Law
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. At the start of the school year, each class discusses and sets its own set of
class rules, a set of principles that are clearly understood by all and seen to be
necessary to ensure that every class member is able to learn in a safe and ordered
environment.
Children and parents sign home/school and E-safety agreements that set out the
expectations for pupils’ learning and behaviour. These commitments mirror the
expectations set by society and function as a set of rules to enable positive
participation in school life.
Through our PSHE curriculum, children are taught about emotional wellbeing and
how their individual choices can affect those around them. By encouraging children
to take responsibility for their own choices, we are promoting the ownership of
behaviour and adherence to the rule of law in wider society.
The local PCSO occasionally visits school to talk to the children, establishing good
behaviour expectations for outside of school and also talking to the pupils about how
to stay safe. This helps the children to see that there are police services to help
uphold the law and to protect them.
In year 5, children are taught how to safely ride a cycle, ensuring that they follow the
rules of the road.
Children are taught about laws in connection to the Computing curriculum; for
example, children learn about copy write and plagiarism.
Year 6 children participate in the ‘Crucial Crew’ event to learn about a whole range of
activities linked to the Rule of Law as well as their responsibilities towards their own
safety and that of other people. This supports their curriculum work where they are
given age appropriate information about what is and is not legal in regard to drug use
and relationships.
Individual Liberty
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Alongside rules and laws, we promote freedom of choice and the right to respectfully
express views and beliefs. Through the provision of a safe, supportive environment
and empowering education, we provide boundaries for our young pupils to make
choices safely; for example:
choices about what learning challenge or activity
choices about how they record their learning
choices around the participation in extra-curricular activities
Our 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 esafety and PSHE lessons and collective worship.
Children’s achievements are celebrated in collective worship to instil in them a sense
of worth and create ambitious pupils who believe in themselves and their self-worth.
Children are taught about making ‘good’ choices and have a full understanding that
they are the ones that make choices about how they act, whether those choices are
well made or not.
In Year 6 children take on jobs that help to make the school function well. They apply
for the roles and so freely choose the way they will contribute to our community.
Children also participate in groups that help to develop them as citizens. For
example, the school Eco Council helps the school to improve its environment.
Individual liberty has our School Values as its foundations. They help the children
and staff to understand what the key features of a healthy positive environment are
and enable individual freedoms to be maintained and respected.