british values

Promoting Fundamental British Values.

The Department for Education introduced a statutory duty for schools to promote British values more actively from September 2014, and to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils 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.

The Key Values are:

Democracy;
Rule of law;
Individual liberty;
Mutual respect;
Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs;
Positive contributions to life in Modern Britain.

At Holgate Primary School, we actively promote British values through:

Focusing on and showing how the school’s work is effective in securing these values;
Challenging pupils, staff or parents who express opinions contrary to British values;
Create opportunities throughout the academic year to actively learn and celebrate different values.

Democracy – what do we do?

To support our children’s understanding of Democracy we encourage children to know their views count, value each other’s views and values and talk about their feelings through:

Having school forums such as Wellbeing, Maths, Sports, and Handwriting that children apply to be on and work alongside SLT and School Leaders to drive initiatives through school.
A curriculum which highlights Democracy throughout History e.g. Romans, Greeks, World War II etc…
Engaging in Collective Worship which promotes the idea of Democracy around the world e.g. Bonfire Night, D-Day, The UK Parliament etc…
Delivering a PSHE curriculum through Talking Points which promotes the idea of Democracy e.g. ‘What is voting?’, ‘Why do we have to pay taxes?’, ‘What does it mean to make a choice?’
Involving our children in the recruitment of staff

Mutual Respect and Tolerance – what do we do?

To support our children’s understanding of Mutual Respect and Tolerance we ensure our children acquire an understanding, appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures. They learn about similarities and differences between themselves and others and among families, faiths, communities, cultures, and traditions and share and discuss practices, celebrations, and experiences by:

An RE curriculum which promotes faiths, cultures, and communities around the world.
A curriculum which highlights Mutual Respect and Tolerance e.g. Homelessness, Plastic Pollution, Plant-based food etc…
Delivering a PSHE curriculum through Talking Points which promotes the idea of Mutual Respect and Tolerance e.g. ‘How can I compromise?’, ‘What is a community?’ ‘What does prejudice mean?’ etc…
Promote an awareness of different faiths and beliefs through Collective Worship e.g. Hajj Pilgrimage, Lent, Yom Kippur etc…
Having an ‘Equalities Policy’ that ensures this permeate through our schools.
Having very visual displays throughout school which promote Mutual Respect and Tolerance of different faiths, cultures, and communities.

Individual liberty – what do we do?

To support our children’s understanding of their Individual Liberty so that they know they are free to think as they see fit and understand that they have the freedom to make choices with the knowledge to know that they are accountable for their actions we:

Promote the importance of protected characteristics and respect and tolerance around these.
Delivering a PSHE curriculum through Talking Points which promotes the idea of Individual Liberty e.g. ‘What should equality look like for an LGBTQ+ community?’, ‘Is it ok to be different?’ ‘What is a marriage?’ etc…
Having very visual displays throughout school which promote Individual Liberty and protected characteristics.
Promote an awareness of Individual Liberty through Collective Worship e.g. PRIDE, Inspirational LGBTQ+ people, etc…
Encourage our children to make choices in a safe and supportive environment within and beyond school.
Set up home/school agreements that children sign up to.

Rule of Law – what do we do?

To support our children’s understanding of Rule of Law we ensure that our children understand that school rules are used to mirror society laws and that these must be respected. We promote learning of Rule of Law through:

A curriculum which highlights Rule of Law throughout History e.g. Robin Hood and the Outlaws, The Egyptians etc…
Engaging in Collective Worship which promotes the idea of Rule of Law around the world e.g. The Battle of Hastings, School rules, Road Safety etc…
Having a clear behaviour policy that is explained to all
Delivering a PSHE curriculum through Talking Points which promotes the idea of Rule of Law e.g. ‘What does it mean to be anti-social?’, ‘What should you do if you break a rule?’ ‘Is it right or wrong?’ etc…
Ensuring that our children are provided with regular opportunities to reflect on their learning and their behaviour.
Having outside providers such as Trip and Organising visits from the police service to reinforce the message of right and wrong

Positive Contributions to life in Modern Britain – what do we do?

To support our children with their positive contributions to life in Modern Britain we ensure our children look after their learning environment ensuring that they are provided with opportunities to show care and concern for living things and take on roles of responsibility by:

Engaging children in assemblies led by a local pastor.
Providing opportunities for children to participate in Harvest Festival and other events that enable our children to donate to those less fortunate.
Having a forum of Community Champions who lead events and work alongside members of the school’s wider community.
Running school sponsorship days such as Christmas Jumper Day, Jeans for Genes Day and Red Nose Day to raise funds for those less fortunate than ourselves.

Please see an overview of our Assembly coverage during this academic year - Updated half-termly.