British Values at Hollingwood Primary School
The DfE have stated the 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.’
Hollingwood Primary School is committed to serving the community and surrounding areas. At Hollingwood Primary School we recognise the multi-cultural, multi- faith and ever changing nature of the United Kingdom. We consider British Values to be essential to our everyday lives so that the young people in our care grow up to be well-rounded, responsible, considerate and caring human beings. We promote them as part of our duty as educators to encourage free-thinking and reasoned decision making, whilst engendering tolerance and understanding amongst everyone in our school community. The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy, and these values have been reiterated by the government last year. At Hollingwood these values are reinforced regularly and in the following ways: volunteering in the community, assemblies which tackle themes of discrimination, visitors to the school and topic themes which raise important questions about life in Britain.
Democracy is common within the school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our school council. The councilors are chosen democratically within each class. The theme of democracy is explored in assemblies throughout the year. The children also lead assemblies within class and whole school to share their views about how they should model democratic practice. They have had a visit from the local MP and visited the local council offices to discuss this theme further. The children are very active as volunteers within the community and engage regularly with external groups ie Friends of Hollingwood Parks, the TRA and canal trust. Community projects have involved the children in litter picking, working in a local nursery, tidying a boat garden near the canal, baking mince pies as a Random Act of Kindness and fundraising for local projects. All of these activities promote the school's approach to the interdependency of our local community and the democratic principles underpinning it.
The Rule of Law
The importance of Laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout each school day. Our ‘Go for Gold’ behaviour ladder deals with behaving in a mature and responsible manner with additional rewards on offer to those pupils who show positive behaviour. The way in which ‘Go for Gold’ is managed allows certain pupils more individual privileges and those that break our shared code time to reflect on the impact of their action on their learning and that of their peers. 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 help reinforce this message. The school's behaviour system closely links to the school's adherence to the 3Rs. Children are very clear about their responsibilities to this ethos and understand that restorative responses and reflections are important.
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 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, responsibilities and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and P.S.H.E. lessons. The school’s three ‘R’s: Respect, Resilience and Responsibility provides an excellent framework through which pupils can assess their behaviours and attitudes towards ‘everyday school life’ and be shown role models within their class and key stage. Assembly themes allow staff to introduce and revisit themes which tackle race, diversity and equality of opportunity.
Respect for one another is underpinned by our three ‘R’s’. Teachers welcome children daily into the school and begin every day by greeting all pupils with ‘Good Morning’. This sets the tone of mutual respect throughout school, across the whole day. Peer-marking and evaluation of one others’ learning in relation to success criteria are all ways in which this is reinforced as part of everyday practice.
Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs
Hollingwood Primary School is situated in an area which is not particularly culturally diverse, therefore we place a great emphasis on promoting diversity with the children. Assemblies in both the infants and juniors are regularly planned to address this issue either directly or through the inclusion of stories and celebrations from a variety of faiths and cultures. Our R.E., P.S.H.E., curriculum coverage and teaching reinforce this. We are currently looking at how this can be extended through partnership with different community groups and various places of worship. The school's renewal of International Schools status and also participation in the Kindred Spirits programme supports the work already in existence to develop Global Citizenship. (Please see separate page 'Global Citizenship')
Every child is entitled to learn about British Values regardless of their age, culture, gender, background or special need or disability. British Values develops a shared view of what it means to be British compromising the faith, non-faith or cultural background of any pupil. To maintain this, at Hollingwood Primary School we will actively challenge pupils, parents or staff who express opinions contrary to fundamental British Values, including ‘extremist’ or discriminatory views. Should you feel the school is not meeting this requirement, you should contact the school office and request to express your concerns to the Head Teacher.