British Values

At St Peter’s we are committed to actively promoting British values and this forms part of our wider work in school with our children in relation to their Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education (SMSC). At the heart of these values, lie good relationships in which teachers and pupils work together towards common goals.

St Peter’s Church of England Primary School has an obligation under section 78 of the Education Act (2002) which requires all schools, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum, to promote the Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development of students at the school.

In June 2014, the Secretary of State for Education announced that schools would be required to actively promote British values from September 2014. The DfE have recently reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values.” The government originally set out its definition of British values in their 2011 Prevent Strategy and the Prime Minister has reiterated these this year.

The British Values are defined as:

• Democracy

• The rule of law

• Individual liberty

• Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

Much work was already in place to support and embed these values and it is our aim to ensure we effectively share this with pupils, staff, governors and the wider community. These values are integral to our school vision and ethos and are reinforced regularly in a variety of ways.

Aims and Objectives

At St Peter’s we aim to:

• Actively 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

• Encourage pupils to develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain

• Ensure that principles are actively promoted which:

  • Enable pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence

  • Enable pupils to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England

  • Encourage pupils to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative and understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality in which the school is situated and to society more widely

  • Enable pupils to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England

  • Promote further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures

  • Encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010

  • Encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic process, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England

• Prevent the promotion of extremist or partisan political views in the teaching of any subject in the school and take such steps as are reasonably practicable to ensure that where political issues are brought to the attention of pupils they are offered a balanced presentation of opposing views. This should be:

  • While they are in attendance at the school

  • While they are taking part in extra-curricular activities which are provided or organised by or on behalf of the school

  • In the promotion at the school, including through the distribution of promotional material, of extra-curricular activities taking place at the school or elsewhere

  • Protect children and young people against the messages of all violent extremism including but not restricted to those linked to Islam ideology, Far Right/Neo Nazi/White Supremacist ideology etc.

Roles & Responsibilities

The Governors and staff at St Peter’s Church of England Primary School aim to:

• Ensure that fundamental British values are embedded as an integral part of the ethos and culture of St Peter’s

• Challenge opinions or behaviours in school by pupils, staff, visitors, volunteers or parents that are contrary to fundamental British values, including extremist views

• Ensure that all visitors to St Peter’s are screened to ensure that they do not attempt to promote systems that undermine fundamental British values including extremism or radicalisation

• Ensure that our pupils understand that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their well-being and safety and that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law

• Teach our pupils about the democracy and the rule of English civil and criminal law and will not teach anything that undermines it

• Ensure all pupils within the school, regardless of age, have a voice that is listened to

• Demonstrate how democracy works and by developing an understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making by actively promoting democratic processes such as electing a school council whose members are voted for by the pupils

• Reinforce fundamental British values through the SMSC programme, RE curriculum, Citizenship curriculum and the assembly programme

• Ensure that our pupils are taught a balanced RE curriculum, that is broadly Christian but, which also takes account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Britain

• Ensure that our pupils understand that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law

• Ensure that we develop a tolerance and understanding of different faiths, cultures and beliefs by visiting places of worship, inviting visiting speakers to the school and using teaching resources from a wide variety of sources to help pupils understand a range of faiths

• Enable our pupils to develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to our local community and life in modern Britain

• Enable our pupils to develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in the community of the school e.g. supporting younger children in lessons and delivering extra-curricular activities

• Deliver a balanced programme of assemblies which promote students’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development, providing clear guidance on what is right and what is wrong

• Ensure an understanding of the importance of identifying and combatting discrimination, extremism and radicalisation

• Ensure that there are effective risk assessments and screening policies and procedures in place to safeguard and promote students’ welfare against the threat of extremism and radicalisation.