This is our school and we are family.

Let us promise together, that this shall be a place where we love one another as sisters and brothers.

Let us promise together, that this shall be a happy, peaceful place where we can learn about the world around us.

Introduction:

The DfE have recently 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 have been reiterated this year in Promoting Fundamental British Values as part of SMSC in Schools, DfE November 2014.

Our curriculum intent is outlined through these seven aims:

1. To enable children to become happy, secure and enthusiastic life-long learners and achieve personal success/greatness

2. To make children the centre of everything we do, where they are challenged and supported through a broad, balanced and creative curriculum

3. To broaden children’s life chances through expanding their vocabulary

4. To support children in developing secure skills and knowledge across a broad range of subjects

5. To develop an environment and school ethos where individual needs are respected and diversity celebrated

6. To build a sense of self-worth, personal responsibility and respect for one another

7. To place the school at the heart of local society, encouraging a caring and supportive partnership between children, their families and the wider community.

All of our work on British Values is underpinned by our 3Rs:

• Respect and take care of ourselves
• Respect and take care of others
• Respect and take care of the environment and the world in which we live

One of the ways that these aims are lived daily and implemented fully into our curriculum and school ethos is through our ‘High Five’, which serves to empower children with positive guidance through a loving, caring Christian environment. Our work as a UNICEF Rights Respecting School also reinforces the work we do to promote British Values, as evidenced by the articles below:

Democracy:

We have a student council which has two representatives from each class, who are voted for at the beginning of each year by their class mates. The student council meets regularly with staff who lead them to discuss issues raised in class council meetings.

Each council has the chance to vote for the charities which the school supports and helps to decide on the fund raising activities. In addition to this, as Church of England Schools, we are committed to support the Children’s Society and Christian Aid charities annually. This is an example of how British Values are interlinked. Each council is genuinely able to effect change within school as can be seen through meeting minutes and their participation in activities such as appointing new teaching staff. As part of our curriculum, there is an annual democracy day which coincides with the children’s voting day for student council. On this day, the children progressively develop their understanding of democracy and the role it plays in their lives.

At the start of every school year, the children are able to put forward their views about the school. Issues arising from this are fed into the school improvement plan.

Each class has a Collective Worship Representative who work alongside the RE Leaders to take ownership of Collective Worship and Reflection Areas around school. Each class is given the opportunity to voice their ideas and expectations to the Representative which are shared in regular meetings.

Two of our schools are also part of the Mini-Police scheme which sees our volunteers voted into office by their peers to work alongside PCSOs, tackling local issues important to them and their community. There are also numerous other councils and groups for the children to be part of where child can make their thoughts and opinions heard such as: Green Team, E-Cadets, Curriculum Council and Sports Council to name just a few. In Upper Key Stage 2 children also have opportunity to take positions of responsibility, such as monitor roles, play leaders and peer mediators.

The Rule of Law:

The importance of laws, whether they are those that govern the class, the school, or the country, is consistently reinforced at our schools.

As Rights Respecting Schools, children devise a Class Charter in conjunction with their teachers. Children and adults sign to say that they will follow the charter which focus on rights and responsibilities.

Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind rules and laws. They learn that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken.

Visits from authorities such as the local Clergy, Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message. Religious Education throughout the school uses examples of religious texts to help pupils to be guided by the teachings of Jesus and other religious figures of authority to influence their behaviour and life choices.

Pupils’ pride in their school is shown by their excellent conduct, manners and punctuality. This is evidenced by lesson and general observations in and out of school as well as discussions with pupils and feedback from feeder schools and places we visit. This has been achieved through the embedding of our core Christian values, supportive parents/carers and trustees/governors and high expectations of behaviour and learning from ALL staff. Our pupils can all articulate our school values and their learning targets, which are prominently displayed around the school and can talk about how these values relate to their behaviour and relationships within school.

The concept of Respect and Take Care is central to the way we live our lives in school. We respect and take care of ourselves, we respect and take care of others, we respect and take care of our school and take care of the environment and God’s world in which we live.

Individual Liberty:

Pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment.

As a Trust we educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make informed choices, through a safe environment and an empowering education.

The pupils’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development is well developed. We encourage our pupils to achieve their very best and to broaden their education to enable them to make informed decisions later in life as broad-minded and knowledgeable citizens. Pupils can reflect on their experiences in school, demonstrating imaginative and creative approaches and their curiosity for learning. They have a well-developed understanding of right and wrong through the use of positive role models within school, the local community and world religions. Our embedded Christian Values enable them to understand potential right and wrong choices.

Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights, responsibilities and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through Collective Worship, our eSafety and PSHE lessons.

We aim to have a strong Anti-Bullying culture in our schools. Any issues are dealt with swiftly and a restorative justice approach is used. (See Behaviour and Bullying Policy on website.)

Whether it is through our approach to our curriculum, a choice of challenge, how they record their work or participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices throughout their time at the school.

Pupils are taught at an age appropriate stage about health, medicines, drugs, relationships and puberty. Year 2 pupils are taking part in Zippy’s Friends, an international programme that helps young children - five, six & seven year olds - to develop coping and social skills.

Mutual Respect:

Mutual respect is at the heart of our values.

Through our carefully chosen daily Collective Worship themes, PHSE lessons (using SEAL resources) and circle times, children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and responsibilities and those of others.

All members of the school community treat each other with respect and care.

We have a raft of policies including SEND and Equality, agreed by all stakeholders which reinforce our commitment to valuing individuality and inclusion of all.

Our schools have a reputation for sporting excellence.

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs:

We actively promote diversity through our learning about different faiths and cultures.

Collective Worship, Religious Education lessons and PSHE lessons reinforce messages of tolerance and respect for others.

Members of different faiths and religions are invited into school, to share their experiences, knowledge and faith to enhance learning for all age groups. Where possible, the children visit places of worship that are important to different faiths including the local Church.

Being part of Britain:

We value and celebrate being part of a multicultural Britain. Although we are guided by the Christian Liturgical calendar and fully celebrate the key events including: Harvest, Advent, Christmas, Mothering Sunday, Lent, Easter and Saint’s Days. We also show respect for and learn about key events from other cultures and Religions such as Diwali, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah, Hajj, Chinese New Year, Passover, Ramadan, and Hanukah.

We also celebrate national events such as the Queen’s birthday, the Olympics and Paralympics.

Further, children learn about being part of Britain from different perspectives.

Geographically, they learn about their local environment and compare it with different places all around Great Britain, celebrating the diversity of people, faith, customs and landscape.

Historically, the children learn about British history. This spans across many centuries and includes; the Viking settlers, The Great Fire of London, World War 2 and many famous British people, saints and inventors.