At Croft Community School, we value the diversity of the backgrounds of all pupils, families and the wider school community and strongly believe in upholding British values through all aspects of our school provision.
What is meant by British values?
Learning about British values forms a key part of pupils’s spiritual, moral, cultural and social education.
The DfE states that there is a 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 five British values that the Government has identified for schools to focus on are:
- Individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
- Developing personal and social responsibility
- Respect for British Institutions
Croft Community School reflects British values in all that we do. We aim to nurture our pupils 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 and the wider world.
How should we help our pupils prepare for adult life as citizens of Britain?
- Develop their self-confidence and self esteem.
- Develop their understanding of right and wrong, and their respect for the law.
- Encourage them to take responsibility for their behaviour.
- Encourage involvement in the community and wider society.
- Encourage respect for the public services and institutions of Britain.
- Promote tolerance of and respect for all cultures and faiths.
- Encourage participation in the democratic process.
How does our school develop pupils understanding of British values?
We uphold the British value of Democracy by:
- facilitating a democratic process for electing Pupil Voice and Head Pupil.
- teaching about the democratic process in Britain. We teach about communities, how pupils can participate in these and make changes to life at all levels.
- taking turns in lessons and at lunch time.
We uphold the British value of the Rule of Law by:
- teaching pupils an understanding of human rights
- teaching pupils to learn about the process of law-making and the part that citizens can play in that process.
- implementing our procedures 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 and work to identify and combat discrimination by:
- teaching an understanding of the concept of freedom and choice, pupils choose their own enrichment activities.
- teaching our RE curriculum, which instils values of understanding, tolerance and respect for others, including those of other faiths incorporating visits to places of worship such as local mosques and synagogues.
- offering equal opportunities for all pupils.
- holding discussions in subjects, which allow pupils to develop respect for the opinions, values and beliefs of others.
We uphold the British value of developing personal and social responsibility by:
- expecting pupils to show responsibility in many ways in school including being playground ambassadors, library ambassadors, running tuck shop .
- expecting pupils to take responsibility in class for a variety of roles which assist in the running of the classroom.
- encouraging pupils to have responsibility for their own possessions, behaviour and work and to always do their personal best in all aspects of school life.
- delivering lessons about keeping safe on the internet to all our pupils.
We uphold the British value of respect for British Institutions by:
- celebrating festivals and special events, e.g. Remembrance Day, Christmas, Easter, World Book Day, Children in Need, Red Nose day etc.
- teaching about the structure and work of Parliament, keeping pupils informed of major and minor events which can be discussed.
At Croft Community School, 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.
