Promoting Fundamental British Values at

Mapplewells Primary and Nursery School

 

Introduction:

 

The DfE reinforce their requirement “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 are reiterated in Promoting Fundamental British Values as part of SMSC in Schools, DfE November 2014.

The Department for Education defines British Values as follows:

 

• Respect for democracy and support or participation in the democratic process

• Respect for the basis on which the law is made and applies in England

• Support for equality of opportunity for all

• Support and respect for the liberties of all within the law

• Respect for and tolerance of different faiths and religious and other beliefs

 

 

Our school reflects British values in all that we do.  We aim to nurture our children on their journey through life so they can grow into safe, caring, democratic, responsible and tolerant adults who make a positive difference to British society and to the world. We encourage our children to be creative, unique, open-minded and independent individuals, respectful of themselves and of others in our school, our local community and the wider world.  

 

At Mapplewells Primary and Nursery School these values are reinforced regularly and actively promoted in the following ways;

 

Democracy:

 

We have a School Parliament which has two representatives from each class.  Each year the new Parliament is elected following a whole school voting process.  The Parliament meets regularly to discuss issues raised by their fellow class mates and to decide on ways to improve our school.  The members are genuinely able to effect change within the school, for example they were involved in making improvements to the school lunchtime menu.  They also choose the charities which the school supports and help to decide on fund raising activities.

 

The children take part in an annual pupil questionnaire where they are able to voice their opinions of the school, including the areas which they feel are already successful and those which they feel could be developed further.  The children are also consulted on their ideas for the School Development Plan and their suggestions will form part of the key actions conducted by relevant staff.  Some of the ideas put forward by the children have already been acted upon, for example new playground equipment and the purchasing of I-Pads and new laptops for each class.

 

The Rule of Law:

 

The importance of laws, whether they are those that govern the class, the school, or the country, is consistently reinforced Mapplewells Primary and Nursery School.

 

Pupils are taught from an early age the 5 rules of the school, namely ‘The Mapplewells Golden Rules’:

 

1. We work hard

2. We listen

3. We are honest

4. We look after ourselves and each other

5. We look after our environment

 

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 Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message.

 

Pupils’ pride in the 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. Through working closely with our parents and governors, and by all staff having consistently high expectations of behaviour and learning, we have embedded our school values and created a culture of belonging and pride. Our pupils can all articulate what it means to be a Mapplewellian and can talk about how this relates to their behaviour and relationships within school.

 

Individual Liberty:

 

At Mapplewells Primary and Nursery 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 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 have high aspirations for their future.  Our children have a well-developed understanding of right and wrong through the use of positive role models in school and they understand right and wrong choices.  We aim to develop responsible and caring members of society who will be able to reflect on their experiences in school and use them to help make informed choices. 

 

Our children are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised on how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and PSHCE lessons. We aim to have a strong Anti-Bullying culture at Mapplewells Primary and Nursery School. Any issues are dealt with swiftly and a restorative justice approach is used. Children are also taught at an age appropriate stage about health, medicines, drugs, relationships and puberty. The school has a SRE policy in place and each year our Year 6 children take part in the D.A.R.E program. 

 

Our children are encouraged to have a voice and make choices throughout their school life; whether this is through the KWL approach to our curriculum, the choice of learning challenge during lessons, or the participation in our varied extra-curricular clubs; pupils are given the freedom to make choices and experience the consequences of them.

 

Mutual Respect:

 

Mutual respect is at the heart of our values.

 

Through our assemblies, PHSCE lessons (using SEAL resources) and circle times, children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others.  All members of the school community treat each other with respect as exemplified in the Golden Rule ‘We look after ourselves and each other’.  Our SEND and Equality policies, and their implementation, reinforce our commitment to valuing individuality and inclusion of all.

 

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs:

 

We actively promote diversity through our learning about different faiths and cultures. Assemblies, Religious Education lessons, Anti-Racism Education Project (AREP) sessions and PSHE lessons all reinforce messages of tolerance and respect for others.

 

Our school is located in a predominantly white British community and we are therefore very aware of the need to promote tolerance and understanding of different cultures. If we are to prepare our children to become tolerant and respectful members of the culturally diverse Britain of today we must equip them with a broad knowledge and an acceptance of difference.  To this end we have introduced weekly RE assemblies which focus on one of the 6 major faiths each half term.  Members of different faiths and religions are invited into school, to share their knowledge and to enhance learning for all age groups. Where possible, the children also visit places of worship that are important to different faiths.

 

Being part of Britain:

 

We value and celebrate being part of Britain. In general terms, we celebrate traditions throughout the year; for example, Harvest festival, the Christmas nativity and Easter and we also celebrate national events such as the Queen’s jubilee and the London Olympics.

Geographically, our children learn about their local environment and compare it with different places all around Great Britain, celebrating the diversity of people, customs and the landscape.  Historically, our children learn about British history. This spans across many centuries and includes; the Viking settlers, the Tudors, The Great Fire of London, World War 2 and many famous British people.

A core element of our curriculum is encouraging our children to keep up-to-date with current affairs.  Our children watch a daily episode of ‘Newsround’ in class and are also requested to bring in any newspaper articles which interest them, be it locally, nationally or internationally.  This material provides a plethora of opportunity to promote British Values.  When discussing the events in the articles, the choices made by individuals and the subsequent consequences, we are able to reflect on how our moral compass and values influence and guide how we feel and react to them.