British Values

In line with DfE guidance, we promote British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. As a Church of England school, we have a set of values to which we work and these values intertwine with the British values to ensure our children develop into responsible, outward -looking, caring and compassionate human beings with a sense of self and a sense of the world around them.

We promote ‘British Values’ through our spiritual, moral, social and cultural education and distinctly Christian ethos, which permeates through our school’s curriculum and supports the development of the ‘whole child’. We recognise that such development is most successful when those values and attitudes are promoted by all the staff and provide a model of behaviour for our pupils. British Values have been identified as:

Democracy

The ability to communicate is the most important area of learning. We aim to give our children a voice. We empower our children to have a voice through democratic processes - we hold a whole school election for the school council rather than a class based approach. We provide the school council with the voice to take ideas and suggestions to school and to leadership. Children all have a voice in their learning and curriculum. Having ownership of and knowing you are listened to is important, by valuing each ‘voice’ and by listening and responding to that voice we demonstrate that we support democracy and liberty.

Rule of Law

We begin our school year with Citizenship Week – a time when children set their own class rules and expectations before they are shared with parents. We make sure children understand the importance of rules and why we all adhere to them. We help children make decisions and choices that are acceptable to the school community and society at large. Children are helped to learn to manage their behaviour and take responsibility for their actions. Staff are committed to providing a consistent and predictable environment within the school and beyond. We can help children to understand the connection between actions and consequences. This type of environment enables our children to feel safe and secure; this in turn, promotes the optimum conditions for learning to take place.

Individual Liberty

Children are encouraged to become good and valued citizens. We do this by supporting each child to become as independent as possible. We endeavour to demonstrate that everyone has rights; this includes the right to say ‘No’ when appropriate. Some pupils will be able to take responsibility for particular roles and to understand that with certain rights a certain level of responsibility follows. Learning to do things independently is an important part of learning to understand yourself. We support others by participating in local community and national events and charitable events. We believe that by engendering a caring and helpful environment and by learning to be independent can boost and nurture a healthy self-esteem.

Mutual Respect

We promote each child’s inclusion, where possible, in a range of activities and settings and locations. Events and circumstances are planned for children to go into the community to meet with a range of people in a variety of situations which include: sports events, community events and shared participation with other schools within and beyond our cluster. We have close links with our local church and diocese. Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs We serve a community where each person is respected and valued equally without regard to ability, gender, faith, heritage or race. Cultural appreciation and development forms part of our curriculum. We place great emphasis on providing encounters and participation in events and celebrations to broaden all pupils’ experiences and awareness of others. Our Worship helps all children to find out about themselves and others linking their lives to the communities in which they belong. The themes cover areas such as: friendships, helping others and celebrations from a range of faiths and world events. Visits to differing places of worship also engender a respect and understanding of differing belief and worship practices. Children are encouraged to experience British Culture through our curriculum themes. As a school we take part in local sporting activities which helps to instill ‘fair play’ and engender a ’team spirit’. The staff work closely with parents, carers and other professionals to ensure that the children in our school are happy, well cared for and enabled to learn the skills they need to live a fulfilling life as part of their community.