British Values Week

David Cameron Prime Minister writing in the Mail on Sunday:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/british-values-article-by-david-cameron

‘The values I’m talking about – a belief in freedom, tolerance of others, accepting personal and social responsibility, respecting and upholding the rule of law – are the things we should try to live by every day. To me they’re as British as the Union Flag, as football, as fish and chips. Of course, people will say that these values are vital to other people in other countries. And, of course, they’re right. But what sets Britain apart are the traditions and history that anchors them and allows them to continue to flourish and develop’.

At Edgware Primary School we believe in celebrating British Values.

The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy.

We have created a spiral curriculum through which children will learn about the five key areas of British values:

1. Democracy
2. The rule of law
3. Individual liberty
4. Mutual respect
5. Tolerance of other faiths and beliefs

We recognise that our school is a multi-language, multi-cultural and multi-faith community. It is important that the children in our school understand the importance of tolerance, understanding and respect for each and every one within our school and wider community. The curriculum encourages the children to explore and share their values and beliefs as well as learn about others. We do this through regular RE sessions, language of the month assemblies, special projects (Y5/Y6 – Challenging Racism), School Council and speciality weeks.

Edgware Primary is committed to preparing students for their adult life beyond primary school so that our children can fully integrate into the world in which they live.

Our aims are to:

• enable students to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence;
• enable students to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England;
• encourage students to accept 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 the school and to society more widely;   
• enable students to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England;
• further 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

The curriculum is a tool which enables us to look at natural features of the British landscape, famous British people and aspects of British life both past and present. We make sure that within the curriculum there are opportunities to learn about key historical events or people who changed or influenced laws. 

As well as this, we cover the 5 areas of British Values.

Democracy:

Democracy is promoted within the school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our School Council. We also encourage children to share their views during ‘pupil voice’ meetings held with Senior Leaders. At these meetings, children have an opportunity to talk with staff openly and share with them achievements and concerns.

The Rule of Law:

Our school behaviour policy helps us to teach the children the behaviour rules of our school. Our School’s golden rules are regularly shared with the children and are part of our behaviour policy. These are:

• Show respect and good manners at all times
• Follow instructions with thought and care
• Care for everything and everyone

Children are encouraged to take part in creating class rules at the beginning of the academic year and we regularly take opportunities in weekly assemblies to share key behaviour rules: the importance of right from wrong; making choices about our behaviour and consequences of poor behaviour. Pupils are also taught the value and reasons behind laws; the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken both in the real world and in the school. Visits from authorities such as the Police and the Fire Service are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message. We also cover different types of rules within the curriculum. Examples of these are: e-safety assemblies and anti-bullying.

Individual Liberty:

Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school we educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make choices safely. This is reflected in the decisions they make about their behaviour and their learning.

Mutual Respect:

Part of our school ethos and behaviour policy has revolved around Core Values such as ‘Respect’, and pupils have been part of discussions and assemblies related to what this means and how we can be respectful every day. In all year group assemblies we have dealt with the issues of respecting others, learning about different backgrounds and beliefs, appropraite and inappropriate language. We teach about tolerance and understanding and we learn about other children’s cultures and religions through respectful questions which help us to find out more about individuals and groups of people who belong within our school community. 

Being in a school which is culturally diverse, we work closely with pupils to help them understand their place in a culturally diverse society. Assemblies and discussions involving prejudices and racism and have been followed and supported by learning in RE and PSHE. Each year group will cover different religions and will visit places of worship. We also invite in visitors to talk about their religions. We cover British Values, where we look at all the different groups who live in Britain and the United Kingdom and how our school is a reflection of this.

Here is what the children learn about during British Values Week. 

British Values Overview Curriculum Document