British Values
British Values
Teaching and Promoting British Values at Princes Risborough Primary School
The curriculum in all British primary schools must actively promote fundamental British Values. This means that British Values must underpin and weave through all areas of school life.
The DfE have reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”
The government set out its definition of British Values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy, and these values were reiterated in government guidance issued in 2014.
At Princes Risborough Primary School, British Values are embedded throughout our curriculum and the wider personal development opportunities that we offer our pupils. Throughout our school, British Values are promoted in a wide variety of ways and link closely to our own school values. Below are just some of the aspects of school life that enable children to learn about these fundamental values as they grow throughout their school journey at PRPS.
Democracy: a respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic process
Curriculum – Our pupils learn how to share their opinions in a respectful way, thinking about how they can defend their points of view and how these can be peacefully challenged. Pupils learn about the advantages and disadvantages of democracy and how this works in Britain.
School Council - Each September each class decides by vote which pupil they wish to elect on to the School Council. The School Council meets at least once a half term to discuss school improvement and issues that have been raised. These meetings provide a way for children’s voices to be heard and for their opinions to influence important decisions made in the school. They are able to affect change within the school, such as deciding on which charities the school will support through fundraising initiatives.
Voting - There are also numerous opportunities that are provided for children to exercise a vote, whether it is choosing school House Captains, Sports Council representatives or simply making more day-to-day choices, such as voting for a book to be read at storytime.
Assemblies - We actively teach children about their rights and responsibilities as British Citizens, both on a national and global level. This is underpinned by regular whole school/key stage assemblies which often focus on issues surrounding human rights across the globe. We share examples of stories linked to democracy, discussing the challenges faced around the world and in history; for example, looking at equality linked to the suffragettes and women’s rights around the world today. All children are actively encouraged to participate in class discussion and in their learning.
Stakeholders - We also ensure that all stakeholders, including parents, feel their democratic responsibility. We have an open-door policy and welcome regular feedback from parents and carers. We always aim to work in close partnership with our pupils and families and act decisively on feedback, such as holding parent forum meetings.
Mutual Respect: a respect for and tolerance of different faiths and religious and other beliefs
School Values – Our pupils are taught to respect others regardless of their individual differences. Bullying of any kind is not tolerated and our approach to dealing with bullying incidents is evident in our Anti-Bullying policy and through whole school events such as Friendship Week and Odd Socks Day.
Curriculum - Children are taught about how to develop positive and respectful relationships throughout our curriculum and in particular during PSHE lessons. We also promote mutual respect in the online world as set out in our E-Safety Policy and Acceptable Use document that is seen and signed by all stakeholders at Princes Risborough Primary School.
School Rules - Mutual respect is at the heart of our values and everything we do at PRPS. Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All members of the school community learn the importance of treating each other with respect.
Play Leaders - Year 5 and Year 6 pupils train as Play Leaders to work with children in Reception and Key Stage 1, helping to form friendships that support the younger pupils in feeling safe and happy in our school environment. These friendships are built on mutual respect.
Assemblies – We hold regular assemblies to celebrate difference, a range of cultures and respect for each other regardless of our differences. Through these we help the children to build understanding and respect of different people and their belief systems which may be similar or different to our own.
Individual Liberty: support and respect for the liberties of all within the law
Curriculum- Children are taught about rights and responsibilities in our PSHE sessions and also as part of our assembly programme. The PRPS values form the basis of our assembly programme. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our Computing and Online Safety lessons.
Assemblies - Children’s achievements are celebrated in assemblies to nurture their self-worth and confidence. Pupils are encouraged to share their ambitions and visitors to assemblies help to foster these aspirations.
Children are taught about making ‘good’ choices and have a full understanding that they are responsible for the choices they make and how they act. This is also instilled through our Behaviour for Learning policy.
Roles and Responsibilities - In Years 5 and 6, children take on roles and responsibilities that help to make the school function well such as junior librarians, House Captains or Head Boy/Girl. They apply for the roles and so freely choose the way they will contribute to and shape our whole school community.
Rule of Law: respect for the basis on which the law is made and applies in England and supports equality of opportunity for all
School Values and Golden Rules - The importance of laws, whether they are those that govern the class, the school, or the country, is consistently reinforced at PRPS. Pupils are taught from an early age the three Golden Rules of the school. Pupils are taught the values and reasons behind rules and laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message. The Behaviour for Learning Policy is based fundamentally around British law and what it means to be a good citizen of our own school community and our wider local, national and global community. Children learn that behaviours such as racism, fighting or bullying will not be tolerated.
Curriculum - Pupils are supported to be able to distinguish right from wrong and how to resolve conflict. They understand how to be moral and what this looks like in our school. In Year 5, children are given the opportunity to be taught how to safely ride a bicycle, ensuring that they follow the rules of the road.
Whole School Commitment - Children and parents sign home/school and E-safety agreements upon entering PRPS. These set out the expectations for pupils’ learning and behaviour. These commitments mirror the expectations set by society and function as a set of rules to enable positive participation in school life.
Ethos - our Equalities Objectives state the expectations for all members of our school community to promote equality, the principle of equal treatment for all people, irrespective of their gender, ethnicity, disability, religious belief/non-belief, sexual orientation, age, marriage or civil partnership and pregnancy or maternity status. To promote and celebrate diversity, we promote how we are all different but we are all equal through whole school events such as Odd Socks Day. We also expect staff to challenge discrimination.
Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
Curriculum – We are a community school and welcome all pupils. We celebrate the diversity of our whole school community and educate our pupils about the diversity in the world around them. We actively promote this through our celebrations of different faiths and cultures. We strongly encourage and welcome members of different faiths and religions as visitors to share their knowledge and experiences with the children. Pupils have the opportunity to visit a range of places of worship that are important to different faiths throughout their time at PRPS.
PSHE lessons ensure that children learn to accept and embrace difference and to understand how individuals feel. Supporting this, RE lessons enable the children to develop a growing understanding of different cultures and beliefs through a planned progressive curriculum based on the Bucks RE syllabus.
The more children learn about religions, the more likely they are to understand different people’s motivations and feelings, thereby enabling them to be more tolerant of those cultures and beliefs that differ from their own.
Ethos - Our Equalities Objectives ensure that people of all religious beliefs, genders, ethnicities or any other differences are offered the same opportunities to thrive and succeed at our school. We really do welcome and value all pupils, families and staff at PRPS.
Our School Values are:
Perseverance
Respect
Possibilities
Sharing
Our Golden Rules are:
Have kind hands and feet
Use kind words
Follow adult instructions