Our promotion of British values in school

At Canford Heath Junior School we value the diversity of backgrounds of all pupils, families and wider school community.

The Department for Education states that there is a 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”.

Our school reflects British values in all that we do.  We aim to nurture our children on their journey through life so they can grow into safe, caring, democratic, responsible and tolerant adults who make a positive difference to British society and to the world. We encourage our children to be creative, unique, open-minded and independent individuals, respectful of themselves and of others in our school, our local community and the wider world.

Promoting British values at Canford Heath Junior School

We agree with the Department for Education’s five-part definition of British values:

• democracy
• the rule of law
• individual liberty
• mutual respect
• tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

At our school the children will encounter these principles throughout everyday school life. Listed below are some examples of how we promote these values in our school community:

Democracy

Canford Heath Junior school is a UNICEF Gold level school. Pupil voice is significant in regards to life at our school.

Our child elected school council and Rights Respecting steering group play an important role in our school. The children in both these groups are elected by their friends and are involved in making our school a better place to learn.

Pupils have an input in regards to what and how they learn, which promotes pupil voice.

Pupil questionnaires are also conducted throughout the year. We know that the formation of a school council and the active participation of our children will sow the seeds for a more sophisticated understanding of democracy in the future.

The Rule of Law

Our children will encounter rules and laws throughout their entire lives. We want our children to understand that whether these laws govern the class, the school, the neighbourhood or the country, they are set for good reasons and must be followed.

This understanding of the importance of rules will be consistently reinforced through assemblies and our curriculum. The involvement of our pupils in the creation of our Rights Respecting school charter helps them to understand the reasons behind their rights and what they can do to ensure everyone receives these rights.

In our school, we allow opportunity to debate and discuss the children’s rights so that they can recognise the importance of these for their own lives. Throughout the year we welcome visits from members of the wider community. We believe that clear explanations and real life stories emphasise the importance of the rule of law for our children.

Individual Liberty

At Canford Heath Junior school, we invest a great deal of time in creating a positive culture in our school, so that the children 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 our young people to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and empowering education.  The children are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and they are advised on how to exercise these safely, for example through assemblies as well as our E-Safety and PSHCE lessons. Whether it be through choice of learning challenge, of how they record and of participation in our extra-curricular clubs, the children are given the freedom to make choices. At our school we believe that by valuing choice and freedom in daily school life we will foster a value for individual liberty as our children move on with their lives.

Mutual respect

As a Rights Respecting School, mutual respect is at the heart of our values. The children learn to treat each other and our staff with great respect. This is evident when walking around our school and in the classrooms. Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All members of the school community treat each other with respect.

Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

At Canford Heath Junior school we offer a culturally rich and diverse curriculum. We also place a great emphasis on promoting diversity with our children. Assemblies 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 RaP and PSHCE teaching reinforce this. Members of different faiths or religions from the local community are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school.

At our school we strongly believe that tolerance is gained through knowledge and understanding. Through our curriculum and the routines of our daily school life, we strive to demonstrate tolerance and help our children to become knowledgeable and understanding citizens who can build a better Britain for the future.

At Canford Heath Junior school we will actively challenge pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British Values, including ‘extremist’ views.

Picture News and British Values

Alongside the embedded British values in our school, we do link our Picture News assemblies to these values so that children have a better awareness of how British Values link to everyday life.

These are fortnightly assemblies in which children can discuss their thoughts and opinions on matters that are relevant in the news that week. There is a nominated class for each assembly and their thoughts are shared on our whole school display.

Here are some examples of some of our assemblies:

The children also complete activities based on their assembly that allow them to think about the impact that they can have in today’s world.