At Taylor Road Primary 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.

The Department of Education 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”.

Our school reflects British values in all that we do. We aim to nurture our children 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.

What is meant by British values?

Learning about British values forms a key part of children’s spiritual, moral, cultural and social education. The five British values that the Government has identified for schools to focus on are:

• Democracy.
• The rule of law.
• Individual liberty.
• Mutual respect
• Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

How does our school develop children’s understanding of British values?

How we uphold the British value of Democracy:

• Facilitating a democratic process for electing school councillors and the running of the council. All children can put themselves forward to their classmates.
• School Council members discuss current issues within the school and get ideas from their class members. They feedback results from meetings and make plans on how to spend school money. E.g. for new break-time equipment. They also come up with ideas to raise funds for charities. E.g. they plan activities for Children in Need.
• Teaching about the democratic process in Britain, at both a local and national level. We teach about communities and pressure groups, and how children can participate in these and make changes to life at all levels from local to global.
• Taking turns in class, at dinner time, break times and in after-school clubs.
• having opportunities for elections and processes where pupils are encouraged to vote that are embedded into our curriculum. One example of this was when the pupils voted on school lunch menus. Additional opportunities are identified in line with local and national events e.g. voting for the best picture book (local libraries event)
• Children also have a voice via the classroom ‘Help Box’ where they can raise concerns and share ideas.
• The children were responsible for the development of our House System, voting for House names and designing House logos.
• Pupils also have the opportunity to have their voices heard through pupil questionnaires/surveys and pupil conferences.
• The principle of democracy is explored in the History and RE curriculum as well as in assemblies.
• Disagreements are handled carefully, with pupils being encouraged to listen to each other and agree on a mutual resolution. We use the Restorative Approach to behaviour management
• KS2, Year 5 study the Greeks – origins of democracy.

How we uphold the British value of the Rule of Law:

• Our STARFISH values are integral to our behaviour for learning policy and enable our pupils to effectively understand the difference between right and wrong. Pupils are supported to distinguish between right and wrong in the classroom, during assemblies and on the playground and are instrumental, through consultation (using a restorative approach), in identifying their appropriate rewards and sanctions.
• Implementing our procedures and protocols 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.
• Class rules and celebration of adhering to these rules through Class Dojos and celebration assemblies
• Help pupils to distinguish right from wrong by using the restorative approach
• Assemblies by the local PCSOs to understand that living under the rule of law protects individuals
• Visits from Fire Service /Police
• Refer to the Equality Act 2010 as part of our PSHE Scheme (Jigsaw)
• Internet safety rules are taught and discussed with pupils

How we uphold the British value of individual liberty

• Providing our extra-curricular provision, which offers equal opportunities for all children, boys and girls, and children with Special Educational Needs in sports and other areas.
• Holding discussions in RE, English and other subjects, which allow children to develop respect for the opinions, values and beliefs of others.
• Within school, pupils are actively encouraged, and given the freedom to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment.
• Children have a choice for signing up for extra-curricular clubs, choosing the level of challenge in some lessons and becoming increasingly more involved in child-led learning. A further example is where foundation stage children have the opportunity to choose their extended learning through adult-guided child-initiated play.
• Pupils are supported to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence through STARFISH values
• Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely, e.g. through e-safety teaching and PSHE lessons
• Freedom of speech is modelled through encouraging pupil participation.
• Vulnerable pupils are protected and stereotypes challenged.
• A strong anti-bullying culture is embedded in the school. Anti-Bullying Week - classroom activities and discussions
• Achievement of Positive and Peaceful Places award
• Pupils have key roles and responsibilities in school e.g. Librarians, Eco-warriors
• Assemblies cover discussions about self-respect and self-worth and the value of individuality so that children see that they are each important in their own right
• Children are strongly encouraged to develop independence in learning and think for themselves
• The school’s use of the Restorative Approach encourages children to reflect on their wrong-doings and consider alternatives to their behaviour
• In R.E., we learn about the differences and similarities between religions and that the key values are based on peace, love and respect
• All staff have attended Prevent Training
• Pupil Voice questionnaires are undertaken to enable pupils to express their opinions on certain subjects in school Teaching an understanding of the concept of freedom and choice e.g. teaching MAARF (Slavery) as a topic in Year 6.
• Teaching children an understanding of human rights, in particular the UNICEF rights of the child, through assemblies and class lessons.

How we uphold the British value of mutual respect:

• implementing our school and class charters which have clear and agreed statements, and ensuring that the children know their rights and respect the rights of others.
• Through the PSHE and RE curriculums pupils are encouraged to discuss and respect differences between people.
• Assemblies and discussions involving prejudices and prejudiced-based bullying have been followed and supported by learning during Anti-Bullying week and in PSHE lessons.
• Respect for each other is modelled by all staff towards the pupils and each other
• Respect covers self-respect, respect for family, friends, and other groups; the school, the locality and the environment (e.g. Eco-warriors lead litter picking activity)
• See Equality Policy and Pro Friendship (Anti-Bullying) Policy
• Children’s behaviours around the school demonstrate their understanding of respect
• Different types of family structure are discussed in RHE
• Pupils carry out ‘peer assessment’ in lesson, particularly English and Maths lessons
• We have a yearly remembrance assembly. Children also take part in classroom activities relating to this.

How we uphold the British value of tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs:

• Tolerance is one of the core STARFISH values of our school. This can be seen and felt in our pervading ethos in school.
• Links and visits are promoted with local faith communities and places of worship. E.g. Members of different faiths or religions are invited to school to share their knowledge and enhance learning within assemblies and in class
• Parents are invited to all major religious festival assemblies (e.g. celebration of Eid, Vaisakhi, Holi, Diwali etc.)
• Celebrating many British festivals and special events, e.g. Remembrance Day, November 5th, Christmas, Easter, World Book Day, Children in Need, Red-nose Day etc.
• We follow the Leicester City Agreed syllabus for R.E. - our R.E. curriculum reinforces the importance of understanding and respecting different faiths and beliefs.
• Through the PSHE and R.E. curriculums pupils are encouraged to discuss and respect differences between people such as differences of faith, ethnicity, disability, gender or sexuality and differences in family situations.
• We offer a culturally rich and diverse curriculum in which all major religions are studied and respected and global dimension work is embedded in many of our Curriculum Maestro Topics.
• Our PSHE Curriculum (Jigsaw) covers differences in people and tolerance of others
• We rotate talk partners to give children opportunities to work with children with different strengths, opinions and beliefs.