British Values
Promoting Fundamental British Values.
In accordance with The Department for Education, we aim to actively promote British values in schools to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain.
Our children are encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance and understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law.
At Ethelbert Road Primary School we promote these values through our school ethos/aims and through our diverse curriculum. We raise awareness in assemblies, using Picture News which is designed to provide opportunities for children to learn from our world and develop respect for other’s beliefs, feelings and faiths. With links to British Values, our assemblies encourage exploration, discussion, challenge and inspire children to learn!
We also promote the British Values through our strong sense of community and our community links, as well as addressing issues within our curriculum learning, circle time activities and everyday school life. These values underpin our approach to citizenship.
The Key Values are:
- democracy
- rule of law
- individual liberty
- mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
Democracy
Democracy is embedded at the school. Pupils are always listened to by adults and are taught to listen carefully and with concern to each other, respecting the right of every individual to have their opinions and voices heard. Pupils also have the opportunity to air their opinions and ideas through our School Council and 'Pupil Voice'. The elections of the School Council are based solely on pupil votes, reflecting our British electoral system and demonstrating democracy in action.
The Rule of Law
The importance of laws whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, are consistently reinforced. We make our rules clear and fair, which are deeply embedded in our work every day. Each class also discusses and sets its own rules, based around the school rules of ‘Be Kind’, ‘Be Safe’ and ‘Be Ready’. We ensure they 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. Our 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.
We celebrate showing respect for our community by awarding House Points for positive behaviour. In addition to this, values are celebrated through our Celebration Assembly, we’re children are given Star Bear Award in KS1 and Star Award trophies in KS2. We celebrate children’s achievements both in and outside of school during weekly assemblies and on our website, newsletters and Facebook page. Our whole community comes together to celebrate our achievements.
Those whose behaviour falls short of expectations are asked to reflect on their actions and consider the impact it had on others using restorative justice. They are encouraged to take responsibility for themselves and their actions through learning opportunities.
Our Buddy Scheme supports the implementation of our rules around bullying and to empower our children to help each other. Year 6 have Year R Buddies and Year 5 have Year 1 Buddies in order to teach them our rules and how to be good citizens.
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 our pupils to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and an empowering education. Our pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely. Examples of this can be clearly seen in our e-safety learning, our PHSE programme “Lifewise”, our assemblies, including those based on the First News, where children discuss and debate current topics, through choice of challenge; of how they record; of participation in our numerous extra- curricular activities. Throughout the school our pupils are given the freedom to make choices.
Mutual Respect and Tolerance of Those With Different Faiths And Beliefs
Respect is one of the core values of our school. The pupils know and understand that it is expected and imperative that respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have and to everything, however big or small. The core value of Respect at Ethelbert Road Primary School underpins our work every day both in and out of the classroom.
Through our rich texts and classroom displays children are immersed in how to show mutual respect and tolerance. The six central Ethelbert values of of Creativity, Respect, Cooperation, Happiness, Self Belief and Curiosity help us develop a range of skills to help children succeed such as being able to empathise with others, being able to reflect on situations and actions, being resilient and ready to take risks, to be confident and independent. These values are embedded into everyday school life.
Children across school have Recognition Boards, where their name or picture is moved onto the board when an adults recognise their positive behaviour against the daily/weekly theme.
Ethelbert Road Primary School enhances pupils' understanding of different faiths and beliefs through religious education studies; PHSE work; visits to other schools in different settings; welcoming visitors from other schools that are not predominately white British and enjoying a depth of study during themed weeks. Beliefs, traditions and customs will be studied in depth, with visitors being invited in to our school to enrich and extend understanding. Through this, our pupils gain an enhanced understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society.