British Values
At all schools in The Keys we take very seriously our responsibility to prepare children for life in modern Britain. We ensure that the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs are introduced, discussed and lived out through the ethos and work of the school.
Through RE, PSHE, spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development, we are able to make real links between the values of our pupils and the lives of others in their community, country and the world in general. Through our curriculum we teach about democracy, civic responsibility, rules and laws, the monarchy, equality, values, environmental awareness and understanding of other faiths.
Being part of Britain
As a Trust, we value and celebrate the diverse heritages of everybody. Alongside this, we value and celebrate being part of Britain. In general terms, this means that we celebrate traditions, such as customs in the course of the year and we value and celebrate national events.
Mutual respect and tolerance of others in action
• Be kind, friendly and respectful to everyone in school
• Holding weekly achievement and celebration assembly
• Helping pupils to acquire an understanding of, and respect for, their own and other cultures and ways of life
• Celebrating the fusion of cultures in our family of schools
• Challenging prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour
• Organising visits to places of worship
• Children of different faiths and religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school
• Developing links with other faith communities
• Discussing differences between people, such as differences of faith, ethnicity, disability, and gender and differences of family situations, such as young carers
• Providing nurture spaces for our pastoral support which includes provision for children (sometimes with outside agencies) to develop specific social and emotional skills.
• Challenging pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to the values we hold as a school, including ‘extremist’ views.
Democracy in action
• Supporting pupils to reflect upon their rights and responsibilities
• Teaching pupils how they can influence decision-making through the democratic process
• Pupils voting in elections for School Councils
• Encouraging pupils to become involved in decision-making processes and ensure they are listened to in school – this is achieved through our School Councils
• Pupils voting on which charities to support
• Helping pupils to express their views
• Enabling pupils to have their voices heard through our School Councils and pupil discussions
• Modelling strategies on how to resolve perceived injustice
• Encouraging pupils as leaders throughout the school: School Council and Young Leaders programme
Rule of law in action
• Implementing our school Key Code which ensures that behaviour is consistently good
• Ensuring school rules and expectations are clear and fair
• Pupils acting as ambassadors for the school when representing the school outside e.g. educational visits, sports tournaments
• Helping pupils to distinguish right from wrong
• Helping pupils to respect the law and the basis on which it is made
• Using Therapeutic Thinking approaches to resolve conflicts
• Arranging safety visits e.g. Louis Taylor Road Show, fire safety, police, online safety
The importance of rules/laws at every level - class, school, or the country, are consistently reinforced on a daily basis. We also link our school rules to stories about Jesus’ work and the choices he made when discussing behaviour through school collective worship.
Individual liberty in action
• Encouraging pupils to take responsibility for their behaviour, as well as knowing their rights
• Marking and feedback enables pupils to know their successes and what the next steps are for learning
• Supporting pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence
• Challenging stereotypes
• Implementing of a strong anti-bullying culture
• Taking part in enrichment clubs
Within our family of schools, 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 we advise how to exercise these safely, for example, through our Online Safety and PSHE lessons.
Core Values
At Alder Grove Church of England Primary School, kindness, forgiveness, courage, perseverance, service and truthfulness underpin our school ethos and behaviour policy. These core values will form part of discussions and collective worship related to what this means and how we will see them in action in our community.
In the Trust, we value the diverse ethnic backgrounds of all pupils and families and undertake a variety of events and lessons to celebrate these and they are built into our whole school curriculum map. We have found this approach to be enriching for all parties as it teaches tolerance and respect for the differences in our community and the wider world. Underpinning all of this are a range of curriculum topics which have strong links to British values.
Over the past few years as a school, we have celebrated topics such as:
• The Platinum Jubilee anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II where all year groups were given the opportunity to develop their understanding of the British Monarchy through the school’s curriculum.
• Commemorating a life of Service of Queen Elizabeth II following her death in 2022.
• Celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III.
• Remembrance Day is marked locally with other schools in our community.
• Festivals of major world religions that are pertinent to our school community.
• We place great emphasis on having traditions and special events throughout the school year. This is to create opportunities for performance; to bring the school together as a community; to raise money for charity and to create a sense of belonging.