British Values at the Heart of Helsby High School.
At Helsby High School we are committed to ensuring that our students embrace fundamental British Values and enabling them to understand and value their role in our local community and modern, civilised society.
The core values of the rule of law, tolerance for the faiths and beliefs of others, democracy and individual liberty were laid down in 2011, as part of the Government’s Prevent Strategy, and reinforced by the Prime Minister in 2014.
At the centre of these values lie the good relationships of staff, students, parents and our community working towards common goals. At Helsby High School our commitment to and belief in these values manifests itself in a number of ways:
Our students develop an understanding and appreciation of democracy in a variety of ways during their time at our school, not only through our curriculum but in the wider life of the school:
- Students explore the concepts of democracy through the study of texts, such as ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding and during their RE lessons in Year 11.
- Our student voice team regularly gather the opinions of students on key issues and work with staff on possible solutions.
- We ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to contribute in class and to the wider life of the school and regularly seek their feedback on events and activities.
- Our election for head boy and girl gives our students the opportunity to hear the candidates deliver their manifestos and make an informed decision before they vote.
- Our annual sixth form trip to London includes a visit to the Houses of Parliament where students learn about the history, traditions, processes and powers and raise current issues that are affecting them in a question and answer session with our local MP.
We encourage our students to promote and champion individual liberty through the example that we set as role models and our expectations of the students.
- Through a variety of media we encourage our students to be independent learners and empower them to make informed choices about their personal safety, their future and the safety of others.
- As students move through the school and mature we encourage them to take on more responsibilities, like our Digital Guardians who educate their peers about on-line safety and our year 11 and sixth form prefects who support staff by working with younger students in different ways including homework clubs and at breaks and lunchtimes.
- Students are taught about personal freedom and their rights and responsibilities in RE and PSHCE, and in history lessons when they study twentieth century American history.
Tolerance for the faiths and beliefs of others
The concept of tolerance is espoused in our school aims ‘Achieving success by valuing others’ and we expect students to show respect and fairness and appreciate diversity.
- Our behaviour, inclusion and equality and diversity policies echo the philosophy of our school aims and ensure that we have a consistent and robust approach to promoting these values.
- In Year 7 history lessons our students consider ‘Who are the British?’ and examine the mix of races and cultures that have settled in Britain over the centuries.
- All our students have studied 6 of the world’s major religions by the end of year 8.
- Year 9 students examine the issues surrounding prejudice and discrimination in RE lessons.
Rule of Law
As a school we have high expectations of our students’ behaviour which are reinforced by our code of conduct, classroom management and assemblies. Our code of conduct is designed to ensure that all learners feel safe and happy in school and have every opportunity to achieve their potential. Students are exposed to different aspects of the rule of law through:
- Business and economics lessons that cover employment laws and consumer legislation
- Learning about the judiciary in Government and politics lessons
- Our strong links with our community police officers who pop into school regularly to meet and chat to our students and staff.
- Student voice activities when we give the students the opportunity to consider sanctions appropriate for different actions.