Promoting British Values at Temple Grafton Church of England Primary School

The DfE have reinforced the 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.”

The Government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy and these were reiterated in November 2014.  At Temple Grafton CE Primary we we are committed to preparing our children for life in modern Britain. We aim to support our children so that they can grow into safe, caring, democratic, responsible and tolerant individuals who are able to make a positive impact on British society and the world. We encourage our children to be creative, confident, open-minded and independent individuals, respectful of themselves and of others in our local community and the wider world.

Democracy

Democracy is an integral part of life at Temple Grafton. We value the voice of the child and promote democratic processes through our School Council. Every child has an opportunity to stand as a candidate, vote and elect the best candidate to represent them on our School Council. Our School Council plays an active part in the life of the school and have regular opportunities to explore and discuss policies, issues and events that have a genuine involvement and impact on school decisions. Through our House teams for sport the children have the opportunity to vote for and elect their House captains. 

At a class level the children’s contributions are sought when establishing rules and sanctions, encouraging greater responsibility and ownership of their behaviour and learning.

The Rule of Law

The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced at Temple Grafton.  As a school, we follow the Golden rules which provide a framework to ensure that we all feel happy and safe in school. In addition, the children discuss and agree their own classroom rules; this ensures that they are relevant and clearly understood by all. Our pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws, the responsibility they have to up hold them and that there are consequences when laws are broken. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service help to reinforce the importance of Law.

Individual Liberty

At Temple Grafton, children are actively encouraged to make choices and take risks knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment.    The children are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through online safety and PSHCE work. Children are strongly encouraged to develop independence in learning and to think for themselves. Our teaching and learning philosophy places emphasis on the right to have our own thoughts and opinions. Children take on responsibilities such as house captains, School Council, Worship leaders, managers, buddies etc.

We encourage participation in charitable events e.g. Macmillan Coffee Morning, Sport Relief, NSPCC, Comic Relief etc where children take responsibility to help others through fund raising activities. Whether it be through choice of challenge, direction of learning, how they record their work and participation in a variety of activities and clubs, children are given the freedom to make choices. We also have a homework system where children are given a choice in what and how they present their learning around a theme.

Temple Grafton also has a robust anti-bullying culture, behaviour and E-safety policies in place.

Mutual Respect

Relationships at Temple Grafton are built on an expectation of mutual respect which is embedded in learning and behaviour. Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. Our Worship values include Respect and children have been part of discussions and assemblies related to what this means and how it is shown. A key element of the RE syllabus taught throughout KS1 and 2 is the encouraging of mutual respect and the discussion and acknowledgement of a variety of beliefs and opinions. Pupils are provided with a safe environment in which to explore and express their own views.

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs

As a Church of England school, Christian values are the corner stone of the children’s day to day learning. Our Collective Worship is Christian based and our teaching is based on Christian values. Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs is achieved through enhancing pupils’ understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity.

Through our teaching of RE pupils have the opportunity to explore and experience a range of other faiths and traditions. During their time at Temple Grafton, pupils explore issues such as the differences and similarities between religious identities and a range of moral and ethical issues.