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. 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

The government set out their definition of the British values in the 2011 Prevent strategy, and they were reinforced in 2014.

At St. Michael's, these values are reflected within our school vision and we reinforce them through the life of our whole school. Our collective worship reinforces these values, as does our broad curriculum. The British values are taught through PSHE, SMSC and RE, and are reinforced through subjects such as History and Geography.

How should we help our children prepare for adult life as citizens of Britain?
 

• Through developing their self-confidence and self esteem.
• Through developing their understanding of right and wrong, and their respect for the law.
• Through encouraging them to take responsibility for their behaviour.
• Through encouraging involvement in our local community and wider society.
• Through encouraging respect for the public services and institutions of Britain.
• Through promoting tolerance of and respect for all cultures and faiths.
• Through encouraging participation in the democratic process.

British Values Afternoon - April 2024

To support the children even further in their understanding of British Values, on Monday 22nd April'24, we collapsed the timetable for the afternoon and - working in mixed age groups - all children participated in a carousel of activities focusing on British Values.

The aim of the afternoon was:
- to highlight / revisit the British Values
- to provide opportunity for pupils to articulate their knowledge and understanding of the British Values
- for children to explore what they do both in and out of school to reinforce their understanding of British values

Democracy - with Mrs Parfitt
Here the children worked as a democratic team to complete a Quiz about Democracy, wherein the pupils voted on which they thought was the correct answer. Then the fun really started: they debated on what they would change about the school if they could vote on it democratically? Would they change (some of) the timings of the school day? Would they change the subjects they learned? Would they change lunchtime activities? Collective Worship? Etc. etc. Again, all decisions were voted on democratically. And in the course of this the children learned about the power of shared decision making.

Rule of Law - with Mr Hirons
Here the children played a simple PE-style game - working as teams to put bean bags in a central hoop - but a game in which the rules kept changing. And changing. Until finally the rules were abandoned altogether. Naturally chaos ensued. And in the process the children learned that "if one person breaks the rules, other people then break the rules and everything goes wrong", "we need laws to live by".

Individual Liberty - with Mrs Legge
Here the children learned that Individual Liberty means that we are free to do things as long as they do not take away someone else’s freedoms or break the rules or laws. To achieve this they were then presented with a series of scenarios, (e.g A boy decides that he wants to play with the bike at nursery, so he takes it away from the girl who is already playing with it; A girl thinks school is really boring so decides not to go anymore; A father is late taking his children to school so decides to drive at 35 mph in a 30mph zone to get there quicker.) where the children discussed which they thought were acceptable expressions of liberty and which were unacceptable in that they take away other people’s freedoms or break the rules. If it was unacceptable, the the children were asked to explain why.

Mutual Respect - with Mrs Bradshaw 
The children were shown an image of two children shaking hands before a football match with the words 'Mutual respect'. Two pupils then went to the front and modelled this moment. We built up to it, with the two pupils doing a warm-up and some stretches. Other pupils were encouraged to make suitable crowd noise. We then asked: 'Why do players shake hands before a match?' and established the handshake is a way of showing you intend to play fairly and value your opponents: 'A handshake is a mark of respect. And mutual respect - respect between one another". Then they watched a short video clip about two pupils from another school - Amelie and Shaeya - and what they found out when they asked people in their school community what respect means to them.
 

British Culture - with Mrs Reindorp

The children worked in small groups to explore "What do you think being British means?", "Are there certain things that make you a British person? Perhaps it's a tradition you follow, the values you have - or maybe it's a British person in history you identify with." The children then brainstormed all the things they think of when we say Britain (eg. food, places, traditions, people, sports, etc.). Here the children learned "what makes living in Britain special and unique".

How Does St. Michael's Develop Children’s Understanding of British Values?

We uphold the British value of Democracy by: 

• facilitating a democratic process for electing pupil leadership roles, including school councillors and the running of the council.
• teaching about the democratic process in Britain, at both a local and national level. We teach about communities and pressure groups, how children can participate in these and make changes to life at all levels from local to global.
• taking turns in class, at dinner time and in after school clubs.
• facilitating visits from local politicians for children to learn more about democratic systems.

• surveying pupils and parents regularly and the results of those surveys inform aspects of the School Development Plan.

• encouraging children to voice their opinions in formal and informal ways. (suggestion boxes, questionnaires)

We uphold the British value of The Rule of Law by:

• teaching children an understanding of human rights, in particular the UNICEF rights of the child.

• having clear rules and expectations of behaviour and a Whistle Blowing policy which is adhered to by all pupils, staff and other stakeholders.

• teaching includes e-safety, road safety and caring for the environment.

• promoting strong attendance and punctuality and all stakeholders are aware of the importance of being at school.

• following, respecting and understanding the need for different rules in different situations, i.e. PE lessons, school visits, classrooms and the playground.

• celebrating pupils with positive learning behaviours.

• arranging visits from emergency services and MPs/councillors, reinforces the rule of law and the reasoning/purpose behind them.

• supporting pupils in regulating their own behaviour to make choices for the well-being of themselves and others.​​​​​​​

• teaching children to learn about the process of law-making and the part that citizens can play in that process.
• implementing our procedures and protocols for dealing with any behavioural or bullying issues and the very rare incidents of racial, homophobic and other forms of discrimination, which demonstrates to pupils that we take these issues very seriously, mirroring the attitudes of British society.
   

We uphold the British value of Individual Liberty by: 

• teaching children to take responsibility for their own behaviour
• teaching an understanding of the concept of freedom and choice.
• teaching children how to safely exercise their rights and personal freedoms

• encouraging children to respectfully express their views and beliefs.

• teaching children an understanding of human rights, in particular the UNICEF rights of the child, through collective worships and class lessons.
• support our pupils to become as independent as possible, including through our PSHE lessons and experiences such as trips and residentials.
• exposing children to a range of experiences and future career opportunities

• providing opportunities and encouraging pupils to take part in a broad range of extra-curricular activities including; sports, drama, dance, art, and reading.

We uphold the British value of Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those with Different Faiths and Beliefs: 

• providing our extra-curricular provision, which offers equal opportunities for all children, boys and girls, and children with Special Educational Needs in sport and other areas.
• holding discussions in RE, English and other subjects, which allow children to develop respect for the opinions, values and beliefs of others.
• teaching our RE curriculum, which instils values of understanding, tolerance and respect for others, including those of other faiths.
• emphasising, since St. Michael's is situated in an area which is not greatly culturally diverse, the promotion of diversity with the children. Collective Worships are regularly planned to promote this British value through the inclusion of stories and celebrations from a variety of faiths and cultures.
• encouraging members of different faiths or religions to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school. We welcome parents from different cultures and faiths to share their knowledge and experience with us in class, worships and special events.
• Our teaching of Religious Education where children learn about different religions, their beliefs, places of worship and festivals.
• Learning about different societies and cultures through Geography and History topics.
• Marking and celebrating significant religious festivals and current affairs.
• Organising international days and other special days where children learn about other cultures.

We also support pupils to develop Personal and Social Responsibility by:

• expecting children to demonstrate responsibility in many ways in school, e.g. pupil leadership roles.
• expecting children to take responsibility in every class for a variety of roles which assist in the running of the classroom.
• encouraging children to have responsibility for their own possessions, behaviour and work, both at school and at home and to always do their personal best in all aspects of school life.
• teaching children about courageous advocacy and encouraging them to be involved in or lead activities for social or environmental change.
   

We also respect British Institutions by:

• celebrating many British festivals and special events, e.g. Remembrance Day, November 5th, Christmas, Easter, World Book Day, Children in Need, Red-nose day etc.
• inviting representatives regularly from various groups, such as Police, charities and the local church to visit our school and talk to the children in both lessons and Collective Worship.
• teaching about the structure and work of Parliament, keeping children informed of major and minor events which can be discussed. Teacher training and children visits to Parliament.

In all our provision, both academic and otherwise, we endeavour for our school community to develop an understanding of British values and a strong desire to uphold them both now and as future British citizens.