British Values
At St Mary's C of E Primary School we uphold and teach pupils about British Values which are defined as:
- Democracy
- Rule of law
- Individual liberty
- Mutual respect
- Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
These values are taught explicitly through Personal, Social, Health and Emotional (PSHE), and Religious Education (RE). We also teach British Values through planning and delivering a broad and balanced curriculum.
The school takes opportunities to actively promote British Values through daily collective worship and whole school systems and structures such as electing and running a successful and proactive School, populated by children from Years 1-6 and electing House Captains. A section of our House Meetings is always dedicated to exploring and reinforcing British Values. We also actively promote British values through ensuring that our curriculum planning and delivery includes real opportunities for exploring these values.
At St Mary's C of E Primary School, these values are reinforced regularly and in the following ways:
Democracy:
Democracy is an important value at our school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our School Council who meet once a week. The elections of members of the School Council are based on pupil votes. When the children reach Year 6 they are able to stand for election as House Captains. In order to be eligible, they must present their reasons why they deserve to captain the house and submit themselves to questions from their peers.
The Rule of Law:
The importance of laws and rules, whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days. Our system for behaviour is aligned to an agreed set of codes and if children are given verbal warnings this is always set against the agreed school behaviour code.
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, fire service, RNLI etc. are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message.
To encourage and promote good behaviour, attitude and work, we have devised a House/reward system which is consistently followed throughout the school.
We endeavour to praise the children informally, individually, during group work, in front of the whole class and the whole school. Children are rewarded not only for the quality of their work, but also the effort they put in, which are both deemed as being as important as each other. Through the house system, we also develop good behaviour in all our children and actively look to reward those who demonstrate a positive attitude in their own actions and in the way they interact with others.
Rewards are given in the form of stickers, work marks and conduct marks and certificates. Children’s achievements are also recognised during Celebration Assemblies.
Individual Liberty:
Pupils are actively encouraged to make choices at our school, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school we provide boundaries for our children to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and planned curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our e-Safety teaching. Pupils are given the freedom to make choices, e.g. signing up for extra-curricular clubs.
Mutual Respect:
Part of our school ethos and behaviour policy are based around core Christian values such as ‘respect’ and ‘responsibility’ and these values determine how we live as a community at St Mary's C of E Primary School. Collective Worship is based on ‘Christian Values for Life’ which are central to how we expect everyone to go about their life at our school.
Tolerance of Those of Different Faiths and Beliefs:
This is achieved through enhancing pupils’ understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity in our local community which is by large white British. Collective Worship and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying have been followed and supported by learning in RE and PSHE and visits to other places of worship such as a mosque and a gurdwara. We use opportunities such as the Olympics and World Cup to study and learn about life and culture in countries such as Brazil.