^{Norwood Primary School - September 2014}

Promoting British Values at Norwood Primary School

The Department for Education state 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 government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy and these values were reiterated by the Prime Minister in 2014.  At Norwood Primary School these values are explicitly taught and regularly reinforced through the following strategies.

• taught explicitly through Personal, Social, Health and Emotional (PSHE)
• taught explicitly through Religious Education (RE)
• Exploring and promoting British Values through planning and delivering a broad and balanced curriculum
• opportunities to actively promote British Values through our assemblies
• whole school systems and structures such as electing and running a successful School Council.
• challenging pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British Values, including ‘extremist’ views

At Norwood Primary School we uphold and teach pupils about the British Values which are defined as:

• Democracy
• Rule of Law
• Individual Liberty
• Mutual Respect
• Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

Democracy

Democracy is an important value at our school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our School Council. The elections of members of the School Council are based on pupil votes. The children have worked together and agreed a set of codes which we at Norwood Primary School actively work and live by; these are our 3 School Rules and our Star Philosophy and are actively used by children and adults to influence others’ behaviour.

School Rules

Star Philosophy

The Rule of Law

The importance of laws and rules, whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days. Our ‘Positive Discipline Strategy’ is aligned to an agreed set of codes (see above) and if children are given verbal warnings this is always set against the agreed school behaviour code. 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 are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message.

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 our pupils to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment, a planned curriculum and an empowering education. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our e-safety teaching and PSHE lessons. Pupils are given the freedom to make choices , e.g. signing up for extra-curricular clubs, choose the level of challenge in some lessons and are becoming increasingly more involved in child-led learning.

Mutual Respect

Respect is one of the core values of our school. This can be seen and felt in all part of our school community and is a significant contributing element of our school ethos. Our children know and understand that respect is an expectation and that it is vital respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have and to everything, however big or small. The core value of respect at Norwood Primary School underpins our work every day both in and out of the classroom. Children and adults alike, including visitors are challenged if they are disrespectful in any way. Values are highly visible around the school and can be seen in posters, certificates, our agreed rules and philosophies as well as our school ‘Families’.

Tolerance of Those with Different Faiths and Beliefs

This is achieved through enhancing pupils’ understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity in our local community.  As a Peterborough school, we live within a rich and diverse city; however, currently our school roll does not reflect the composition of our wider community.  Therefore we strategically plan our curriculum, assemblies, experiences, visits and visitors to enable children to develop a better understanding of the city in which they are citizens.