In June 2014, the government emphasised the important role that British Values can play in education. These values consist of: Democracy, Rule of Law, Respect and Tolerance, Individual Liberty.

At Broomgrove Junior School, British Values are promoted in so much of what we do, including in our whole school assemblies, as well as in subject areas of the curriculum, such as Religious Education and PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education.) These values are universal values which can be found in many societies across the world. (Our weekly Picture News assemblies always link to one the British Values.)

As well as actively promoting British Values, the opposite also applies: we would actively challenge pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British values, including ‘extremist’ views. 

 

 Being part of Great Britain/The United Kingdom

At our school, 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, for example: Remembrance during the Autumn term, and what could be more British than a pantomime around Christmas time! We also value and celebrate national events, a recent example being the King's Coronation.  Further, children learn about being part of Britain from different specific perspectives, such as in Geography and History lessons.

 

Democracy

"A culture built upon freedom and equality, where everyone is aware of their rights and responsibilities."

Children, parents and staff have many opportunities for their voices to be heard at Broomgrove Junior School. Democracy is central to how we operate.

An obvious example is our School Council. The election of the School Council members reflects our British electoral system and demonstrates democracy in action: candidates make speeches, pupils consider characteristics important for an elected representative, pupils vote in secret using ballot boxes etc. Made up of two representatives from each year group, the School Council meets regularly to discuss issues raised by the different classes and to feed back to peers and staff.

Other examples of ‘pupil voice’ include pupils being asked to reflect and respond on their teaching and learning during weekly Learning Forums.

Pupils are always listened to by adults and are taught to listen carefully and with concern to each other, respecting the right of every individual to have their opinions and voices heard. We encourage pupils to take ownership of not only their school but also of their own learning and progress. This encourages a heightened sense of both personal and social responsibility and is demonstrated on a daily basis by our pupils.

 

Rule of Law

"The need for rules to make a happy, safe and secure environment to live and work."

The importance of rules and laws, whether they be those that govern our school or our country, are referred to and reinforced often, such as in assemblies and when reflecting on behaviour choices. At the start of the school year, each class discusses and sets its own Behaviour Checklist, a set of principles that are clearly understood by all and seen to be necessary to ensure that every class member is able to learn in a safe and ordered environment.

 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. These values are reinforced in different ways:

* visits from authorities such as the fire service

* during Religious Education, when rules for particular faiths are thought about

* during other school subjects, where there is respect and appreciation for different rules, e.g. in a sports lesson

 

Individual Liberty

"Protection of your rights and the rights of others around you."

Alongside rules and laws, we promote freedom of choice and the right to respectfully express views and beliefs. Through the provision of a safe, supportive environment and empowering education, we provide boundaries for our young pupils to make choices safely; for example:

* choices about how they record their learning

* choices around the participation in extra-curricular activities

Our pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are taught how to exercise these safely, such as in our e-safety and PSHE lessons.

 

Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

"Understanding that we all don’t share the same beliefs and values. Respecting those values, ideas and beliefs of others whilst not imposing our own onto them."

Broomgrove Junior School is in an area which is becoming more culturally diverse and we are proud to promote and celebrate our different backgrounds and beliefs. Mutual respect is at the heart of our aims and ethos.

Our pupils know and understand that it is expected and imperative that respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have, and to everything, whether it is a school resource, a religious belief or other form of cultural diversity. Children learn that their behaviour choices have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All members of the school community should treat each other with respect.

We prefer the term "acceptance" rather than "tolerance"  as tolerance simply endures people that are different; acceptance moves past that and promotes an environment of equity, mutual respect, and appreciation.

Specific examples of how we enhance pupils' understanding and respect for different faiths and beliefs are:

* whole school assemblies

* Religious Education lessons

* PSHE lessons

As well as accepting people with other faiths and beliefs, we also model our acceptance and support of different families, including LGBTQ+ families, in our mandatory Relationships curriculum and in our everyday interactions. 

 

Extremism

Something which is clearly not part of any British or European value is extremism. It is important to remember that whilst the threat from so-called Islamic State has been a focus in the Counter Terrorism and Security Act, the Prevent Duty is clear that extremism of all kinds should be tackled too. In England, far right groups such as Britain First and the English Defence League need to be tackled as well. Extremism is not a new topic in education, but schools have a relatively new statutory duty to pay “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.

The government has published Prevent duty guidance which you can read on the following website: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance