British Values
The Department for Education has introduced a statutory duty for schools to promote British Values more actively from September 2014, and to ensure they are taught in schools.
Pennington C of E Primary School is committed to serving its community. It recognises the multi-cultural, multi-faith and ever-changing nature of the United Kingdom and the importance of educating pupils about the rich diversity of the country they live in.
It also understands the vital role it has in ensuring that groups or individuals within the school are not subjected to intimidation or radicalisation by those wishing to unduly, or illegally, influence them.
At Pennington we follow equal opportunities guidance which guarantees that there will be no discrimination against any individual or group, regardless of faith, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, political or financial status, or similar. We are dedicated to preparing children for their adult life beyond the formal, examined curriculum and ensuring that we promote and reinforce British Values to all pupils.
The government set out its definition of British Values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy.
The five key British Values are:
- Democracy
- The Rule of Law
- Individual Liberty
- Mutual Respect
- Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs
The school uses strategies within the National Curriculum and beyond to secure such outcomes for all children. The examples that follow show some of the many ways Pennington seeks to instill British Values through it’s curriculum and ethos
Democracy
We evaluate parent and pupil questionnaires, these may be linked to curriculum, life at Pennington and/or wellbeing.
We have a proactive School Council whose members are democratically elected. Class and School Council regularly vote on issues and decisions pertinent to school. We are also proud to have a Challenge Action Group who meet weekly and decide on projects to make a difference in the community.
Class led Collective Worship and opportunities for children to lead class discussions and debates are promoted. Pupil and parent voice is valued.
Our Governing Body operates according to democratic principles and is careful to show the children an example of the importance of this in action: Governors explain how they are elected and their role in school to children during class visits. Governors also ask children for their views on different aspects of school life, the outcomes of which are fed back in Governors meetings.
The Rule of Law
This is evident in our school ethos and through our behaviour policy and school rules Ou Pennington Child Charter was developed by the whole school community.. Children are encouraged to discuss and be involved in establishing class rules. The School Council have recently developed a Charter for behaviour when learning and playing outdoors..
Reasons for the law and school rules are explained and discussed through RE, collective worship and PSHE lessons.
We have visits by the local police and these include road safety talks.
Individual Liberty
At Pennington we encourage children to value and respect differences, as well as similarities, and have the confidence to make their own individual choices which may differ from those of others. Our chosen Christian values are at the heart of all we do. The creative curriculum encourages children to develop and explore their own ideas and to value diversity.
The School Council and Challenge Action Groups set their own agenda of how to be proactive in projects to make a difference at school, in the local community and the wider world.
The school has a strong behaviour policy and anti-bullying policy which is followed diligently. RE, Collective Worship and PSHE lessons are used to promote individual liberty.
Children and staff are reminded regularly what to do if they feel in any way bullied or intimidated. There are clear support mechanisms in place. We have a full time Pastoral Lead to support children and families in need.
Mutual Respect
Mutual respect is a clear expectation at Pennington and is at the heart of the school ethos. We have a well established Buddy system for Year 6, who nurture and care for Reception children. We have mixed age Family Groups and meet regularly on ‘Family Days’ to learn to work and play together.
Rights and responsibilities are taught throughout the curriculum, particularly in RE, PSHE.and through our School Charter, ‘A Pennington Child’. We have chosen our own Christian values which permeate the curriculum as does our strapline, ‘God gave each of us different gifts, Together we can do great things’. Mutual respect is also taught through school/class collective worship and implicitly every day, through relationships and school routines.
At playtimes we have Playtime Buddies to support and encourage positive play and inclusion
Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs
At Pennington we value diversity and teach children to understand and respect different faiths and beliefs. This mainly occurs through collective worship and the quality teaching of Religious Education. Our adopted scheme is Questful RE which directly links Christianity to other faiths and cultures. We also invite people of different faiths into school and value extra curricular opportunities to enhance learning about different religious communities both near and far.
Children and families within our school are encouraged to share about aspects of their faith and cultural background, so that the whole community can learn from their knowledge and experiences. This is often in a class context but may also be across a wider school group or whole school collective worship.