See below to find out how British Values are actively promoted at Barnby Road Academy...
In our unit we have been learning about how Chinese New Year is celebrated. We have been watching different video clips, looking at Chinese artefacts, tasting Chinese food, taking part in dragon dancing, making Chinese New Year cards and much more!
We have been learning about different ways we can help to look after our world. We learnt that polar bears are becoming endangered and they need help from people to make sure they stay alive. We talked about different ways we can help them and decided to bring in some money from home to adopt a polar bear. We were really excited when a parcel arrived in the post; inside was a certificate and a polar bear cuddly toy to remind us about the polar bear we adopted.
We weren’t sure about what to call our polar bear so we decided to pull a name out of a hat to make sure it was fair! All of us chose a name for the polar with our grown-ups and they were entered into a hat and one was chosen at random. Our polar bear’s name is …..... Fluffy!
As part of our Celebrations topic we have been learning about different faiths, beliefs and cultures; talking and learning about how they are similar and different to each other. Today we took part in lots of different activities which helped us to learn about Diwali and how it is celebrated. We dressed in traditional Indian clothing, made Diva lamps, tasted some Indian food, made rangoli patterns and danced to Indian music. We had loads of fun!
As part of our Stories topic in RE, we have been recalling familiar and learning new stories from the Christian Bible. We understand that each religion has special stories that followers of that particular faith learn from. Today we focussed on the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. We discovered how Daniel overcame difficulties because of his strong devotion to God. We understand that Christians believe Daniel was a resilient and courageous man and that they use this story to inspire them when they face their own challenges. We wrote letters to Daniel explaining these feelings. We know that regardless of our beliefs, we can all learn about bravery and trust from Daniel’s story.
Year 2 have been learning about different faiths in RE. They have been looking at Christianity and the Jewish faith and discussing the similarities and differences. This week they have been comparing a Synagogue where Jewish people worship and a Christian Church. They spent some time discussing what they already knew before they did some writing and pictures about the similarities and differences.
In the Autumn term we learnt about the English civil war and how this lead to Britain’s current parliamentary system. We discussed the benefits of a fair and democratic society where everyone has a say in who they are governed by. We learnt about Newark’s specific role in the civil war, including going on trips and having visits from experts.
We compared the percentages of different religions in Nottingham and compared this to Nottinghamshire. For example, 8.8% of the population in Nottingham are Muslims but only 0.9% in Nottinghamshire. We discussed how cities are often multi-faith and multicultural and read news reports showing Nottingham to be the most open-minded city (see article below.) We discussed what this means, why it is good and what could happen if people weren’t open minded.
As part of the history curriculum Year 5 look at Ancient Greece; this gives them the opportunity to learn about what is credited to be the birthplace of democracy and modern science and maths. Children have opportunities to work collaboratively, think deeply, express personal views and experiences and accept other’s right to hold different views and beliefs. Through looking at the example of Athenians they use critical thinking strategies to consider cultural, social and philosophical issues; remarking on how the human condition has remained largely unchanged through the dividing millennia. We have explored the structure of the British system of government and use blind voting as a way of choosing the next head boy and girl as well as members of the pupil council.
During the topic on water we aim for the children to look beyond their daily surroundings to see the bigger picture and appreciate the value of water as a vital commodity for human existence and as such it is our moral obligation to protect and care for our water sources for present and future generations. We have explored our town, its river and the surrounding businesses.
One of our art topics we look at the work of Romuld Hazoume, a West African who uses reclamation and transformation of found materials in his art. This will link to the work done in RE, PSHE and Geography covering slavery and the impact on Africa as a habitat for humans. Children will understand the concept of communities that dispose of waste and those that recycle because of economic need. This then is extended in RE in the final term when the children look at the need for charity and the moral need to alleviate suffering of those who have less than we have; the children will have the opportunity to become pen pals with children in year 5 in The Gambia and to talk to someone who is involved in charity work out there.
Throughout year 5 the children have explored the idea of faith and belief systems to help them understand why faith is so important to so many people. We have looked at Christianity and Islam in more detail; their places of worship, their concept of God; different ways in which faith impacts daily life; differences within the religions themselves as well as people from those religions that have gone on to make a difference in their world. We look at charities that come from faith groups as well as looking at the reasons that people get involved with charities and challenge them to think of ways that they may want to make a difference.
As a year group the children have been looking at how differences within our society can impact individuals; looking at autism and dyslexia in detail as well as how different disabilities can impact how someone is received by their peers.
As part of our work in promoting British Values, children in Year 6 learnt about the British system of democratic government and particularly focussed on the 2015 General Election. As part of this, children:
You can read reports by Benjamin Clarke and Ryan Tilford below: