British Values

Alongside our core Christian Values, we work hard to promote the fundamental British Values, defined as:

Democracy

The Rule of Law

Individual Liberty

Mutual Respect and Tolerance of Different Faiths and Beliefs.

Promoting British Values

Our government believes that, 'British society is founded on fundamental values and principles, which all those living in the UK should respect and support. These values are reflected in the responsibilities, rights and privileges of being a British citizen or permanent resident of the UK. They are based on history and traditions and are protected by law, customs and expectations. There is no place in British society for extremism or intolerance.'

We support this view of British society at St Faith’s Church of England Infant and Nursery School. Through our teaching of these British Values, we aim to help children become well-rounded members of the society through:

• enabling children to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence
• enabling children to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England
• encouraging children to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely
• enabling children to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England
• furthering tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling children to acquire an appreciation for and respect for their own and other cultures
• encouraging respect for other people
• encouraging respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England.

These British Values are promoted throughout our curriculum and across the whole school. They also underpin Collective Worship, special events and cultural celebrations. Below are some examples of how each of the British Values is promoted within our school.

Democracy

In our St Faith’s family, we aim to promote this British Value by demonstrating how democracy works by discussion, decision-making and voting, and is a valuable preparation for future life in our democratic society.

Examples of democracy include:

• Encouraging children to know their views count and their opinions are important e.g. following the children’s interests for topics and activities.
• Encouraging children to make decisions together e.g. when sharing a group toy, like a large train set.
• Encouraging children to see their role in the ‘bigger picture’ e.g. linking to being a part of our St Faith’s family, class, group, school, community etc.
• Providing opportunities for the children to vote between choices of activity e.g. choosing a theme for their role play area, choosing a book for story time or a song for song time by a show of hands.
• Providing the children an opportunity to be in and vote for the School Council.
• To ensure that we all listen to and value everyone’s opinion, both children and adults.

The rule of law

To help children understand how society cannot operate without a set of laws, the children are guided to develop a firm understanding of the important of our rules of Ready, Respectful and Safe. They help us learn and develop in a safe and nurturing environment. Other examples include:

• Encouraging adults and children to create group rules together, discussing the need for rules and how they should be administered e.g. the need for rules to keep everyone safe and happy.
• Teaching children to understand their own and others’ behaviour and feelings, and to know that actions have consequences.
• Working together to create an environment where actions are consistently followed through e.g. following class rules, follow-ups on discussions and choices explored after taking a group vote.
• Encouraging and supporting children to learn how to distinguish right from wrong.
• To know that there are certain boundaries in school that we must adhere to.

Individual liberty

We aim to promote this British Value by individual freedoms to choose faiths, beliefs and likes and dislikes. In our St Faith’s family children have opportunities to make individual choices and express their opinions safely and appropriately. This develops their character, self-belief and their sense of empathy.

Examples of individual liberty also include:

• Providing opportunities for children to develop their self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities e.g. share achievements and successes, in class, whole school and in the wider community.  
• Encouraging children to try a range of different activities and opportunities and to discuss and select their own preferences.
• Providing activities for all children to engage in and actively challenge gender-specific activities.
• Encouraging children to develop a positive sense of themselves.
• Children to know they have a voice, and their opinion is valued and they are listened to.

Mutual Respect

Through developing tolerance and mutual understanding, children are encouraged to respect themselves and to respect the rights of other people. This principle underpins our Social and Emotional Communication Policy and is put into practice in the classroom, around school, in the playground and through Collective Worship.

Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

We are lucky to have a school community that comprises of children and staff from a wide range of different cultures, languages, backgrounds and faiths. We celebrate this through our themed work, Religious Education, Collective Worship, through visiting different places of worship and welcoming visitors who can support our children in visualising the world we live in. We aim to promote mutual respect and tolerance by demonstrating respect and tolerance towards other beliefs and faiths. For example:

• Working as a family to create an environment that includes, values, and promotes different faiths, cultures, nationalities and views.
• Providing opportunities for the children to make links with the wider community e.g. outings to local places, inviting family members or speakers to visit or links with a local charity e.g. Lincs2nepal.
• Encouraging children to learn about other faiths, cultures, traditions, families, communities and ways of life. We encourage the children to share their experiences and allow the children to recognise similarities and differences between themselves and others, e.g. learning about festivals and special days, different types of family units, different occupations and places around the world.
• Encouraging children to learn about the world around them, both locally and further afield, e.g. local trips, using books, stories, posters and videos to learn about places far away, cultural days, local events and activities and national celebrations.