Promoting British Values at Princess May

At Princess May Primary we 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 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 have been reiterated this year (2014). At Princess May these values are reinforced regularly and in the following ways:

Democracy

Democracy is embedded at the school.  Children are always listened to by adults and are taught to listen carefully and with concern to each other, respecting the right of every individual to have their opinions and voices heard.  Pupils also have the opportunity to air their opinions and ideas through our School Council and regular questionnaires.  The elections of the School Council members are based solely on pupil votes, reflecting our British electoral system and demonstrating democracy in action. (The new school council will be responsible for displaying our British Values around the school in child friendly speak.) We actively promote British values through ensuring that our broad and balanced curriculum planning and delivery includes real opportunities for exploring universal values. Princess May is currently applying for the International School Award, as a means of providing our pupils with an insight into different cultures and countries, preparing them for life in a global society. 

The Rule of Law

The importance of Laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through school assemblies. We have recently updated our behaviour system ‘Stay on Green’. This now includes a parent text messaging service, which assists the school in keeping parents informed about both positive and negative behaviours. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind 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. Our UKS2 pupils have the opportunity to become a Junior Police Cadet. Junior Police Cadets is a national scheme, of which we are part of a pilot programme working with primary schools.

Individual Liberty

Within 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 choices safely, through provision of a safe environment and empowering education.  Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and PSHE lessons. Whether it be through choice of learning challenge, of how they record, of participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.

Mutual Respect

Mutual respect is at the heart of our values. 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. The children know and understand that it is expected and imperative that respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have and to everything, however big or small.

Tolerance of Different Faiths and Beliefs

Princess May is situated in an area of great cultural diverse, therefore we place a great emphasis on promoting diversity with the children. Assemblies at Princess May are regularly planned to address this issue either directly or through the inclusion of stories and celebrations from a variety of faiths and cultures. Our RE and PSHE teaching reinforce this. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school. Children visit places of worship that are important to different faiths. Through this our children gain an enhanced understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society.

Every year, at Princess May, we proudly celebrate our schools cultural diversity through our Carnival and International evening. Parent community groups are encouraged to work with the school to showcase the many different cultures that make up our school community, through food tasting, fashion shows, music and dance.