Promoting British values at Freegrounds Infant School

As a Rights Respecting School we believe that...

We actively promote positive, inclusive values. These British Values include democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect for and acceptance of those of different faiths and beliefs. We believe British values are those values expected of anyone living in Britain, regardless of their nationality, culture or religious belief.

Our ethos reflects these values. We place great emphasis on building positive relationships in school, amongst the children themselves and between staff and children. We strongly believe that children should not merely be taught such values but that they should be embedded into school life and how we do things.

We strive to support our children to develop into confident, happy, successful young adults who have empathy towards and an understanding of others.

The information below reflects how Freegrounds Infant School works to promote positive values through the ethos and life of the school, for example through a broad and balanced curriculum, and through social, moral, cultural and spiritual development.

Daily Collective Reflections link to British values and lessons consider teaching and learning about, through and for the rights of children with the help of Nick the Rights Respecting Ninja.

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. Children have the opportunity to give their opinions and ideas through our School Council and annual pupil voice questionnaires. The elections of the School Council are based solely on pupil votes, reflecting our British electoral system and demonstrating democracy in action. Children also engage in debates, as part of our ’dilemma on the door’ discussions to learn how to argue and defend points of view. Our School Councillors and UNICEF ambassadors act as representatives of peers to reflect their rights and opinions.

The Rule of Law

The importance of laws, whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout our school day, through our school assemblies and also when dealing with behaviour in school. Our positive behaviour policy seeks to hold children, parents and staff in partnership to build on cooperation and mutual respect. We encourage our children to distinguish right from wrong and help them to understand that living under the rule of law protects individuals. Our children are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and consequences when laws are broken. Visits external agencies such as the Fire Service also help to reinforce our messages. We welcome and invite parents to share stories of their careers or journeys to promote aspiration.

 Individual Liberty

Within school, children 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 our children to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and an empowering education. We support them to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence. Our children are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely; examples of this can be clearly seen in our online safety and PSHE lessons and conveyed by our children who act as UNICEF ambassadors. We implement a strong anti-bullying culture, one that is embedded throughout the year and curriculum and pride ourselves on being a listening school, where children take ownership and responsibility for their part in developing cooperative relationships through our values of Respect and Team work.

Mutual Respect

At the heart of our whole school ethos is a commitment to a set of core attitudes that we believe contribute to individuals being able to live happy and successful lives within the communities to which they belong. Our Values are taught through assemblies and PSHE sessions and form a key part of our daily dialogue across the school. Respect is deeply embedded in all that we do: pupils know and understand that it is expected and imperative that respect is shown to everyone and to everything, however big or small. Children are awarded bricks to place on our value wall for demonstrating any of the values and when the whole school has collected them we vote for a reward.

Our school frequently participates in learning activities which promote mutual respect including offsite visits. For example to local museums, the local area, the farm and local places of worship.  We take part in various fundraising charity events to raise awareness and respect for difference and those in need including local food banks, the NSPCC, Jeans for Genes and Children in Need. Regular visits and assemblies from our local vicar, visits to St Johns church and the Vedic Hindu temple in Southampton encourage spiritual awareness and understanding.

In addition to these activities our children are given regular opportunities to learn within their community and beyond, each time an emphasis is placed on respecting those with whom they come into contact as well as their surroundings. A very wide range of extra-curricular clubs are offered at Freegrounds Infant School. These clubs provide another opportunity for mutual respect to be fostered in attitudes and manners, both amongst those participating from their own setting, and any visiting staff or teams.

Our PSHE and RE curriculum includes opportunities to link British Values, Spiritual Moral Social Cultural (SMSC) themes and school values. Our progression of curriculum skills is based on respect and welcoming difference and follows Coram Scarf, which has been integrated into teaching and learning. These values are developed and encouraged at playtimes and lunchtimes and throughout the school day. We support our children with a shared language around emotions through the use of Trick Box and the Zones of Regulation approach.

Our SMSC characters.

Meet our school friends: Carla the cultural chameleon, Sasha the spiritual spider, Milo the moral mole and Simon the social stag beetle. They help us with our social, spiritual, moral and cultural development and they are teaching us how to be confident, happy and successful global citizens for the future.