British Values
The Department for Education has published guidance (2014) on promoting British values in schools to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain.
The guidance aims to help both independent and state-maintained schools understand their responsibilities in this area. All have a duty to ‘actively 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. These values were first set out by the government in the ‘Prevent’ strategy in 2011.
Democracy
A culture built upon freedom and equality, where everyone is aware of their rights and responsibilities.
At Bartley, we have the school council, eco warriors, accountants and other roles which have a direct impact on the children's lives. These children are voted into their role by their peers in an election style ballot.
Respect and Tolerance (Celebrating Individuality)
Respecting the values, ideas, and beliefs of others whilst not imposing our own on others.
Our RE (and wider) curriculum teaches us to 'disagree well' so that we can hear and understand each others' viewpoints, respect that our beliefs and opinions might be different, and learn from each other to create our own personal worldview. We understand that we are more similar than different and that diversity should be celebrated.
In our recent prayer day, one of our activities explored how we are similar but different and we all created little characters to represent our community.
Rule of Law
The need for rules to make a happy, safe and secure environment to live and work.
At Bartley, the children all took part in reviewing the behaviour policy and school rules. Each class has a class charter which is created during a discussion about rights and responsibilities. Every child signs the charter as an agreement to uphold the rules as best they can. There is a clear flowchart of what happens if rules are broken.
PCSO Williams regularly visits the school to address any issues as they arise. There is a junior PCSO lunchtime club for children who want to learn about the law and the role of a police officer.
Individual Liberty
Each of us has the freedom to make our own choices and do what we want, within reason.
Within our PSHE and RE curriculum in particular, we discuss the effect that our words and actions can have on other people - both positive and negative. We consider times in our lives when we have been hurt and how this makes us feel beyond the moment. If someone is upset, we use a restorative justice approach, when we can, to try and show empathy for the person and put right what we have done wrong.
