The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy, and in 2014, the DfE 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.” Whereas previously, the requirement on schools was to RESPECT the values, the clarification in 2014 requires schools to ACTIVELY PROMOTE these values.

At St John the Baptist RC Primary School we aim for our children to become valuable and fully rounded members of society who treat others with respect and tolerance, regardless of background. Our Mission Statement and ethos links closely with British Values and run as golden threads throughout our school approach.

At St John the Baptist RC, we believe strongly in the importance of recognising the talents and successes of ourselves and others, and believing in our own abilities. We have a Celebration of Talents assembly every week and a huge display of children’s successes in the corridor.

Our curriculum is ambitious, and we expect our children to work hard, taking pride in both presentation and content. Through our varied curriculum, we teach our children to respect themselves, each other, adults and the world around them. Children learn about themselves and others, both in locality and around the world through our Catholic Social Teaching curriculum which is taught all through the year and woven into our foundation subjects. Our growth mindset approach and belief in ourselves helps us to not give up and learn the lesson that resilience and perseverance breeds success.

At St John the Baptist RC, we take responsibility for our own choices and actions. Our focus on empathy helps our children to develop appreciation, understanding, tolerance and admiration for other cultures, societies and beliefs and people who are both the same and different. Through working together both inside and outside of class, children learn to accept alternative opinions, and show kindness, care and consideration for each other. This is taught explicitly through our work on the ‘Big Questions’ which are taught all through the year and linked to Gospel Values, Catholic Social Teaching, PSHE and the foundation subjects.

Finally, good manners permeate through every aspect of our school, and are a constant feature of our teaching, play and all interactions.

In addition, we promote the basic British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs in the following ways:

Democracy

Democracy is richly embedded within the school. Within school, pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our Team for the Common Good, pupil questionnaires, Pupil Voice events, Laudato Si Team, enrichment events, speaking informally with the headteacher, meeting with the SLT (Senior Leadership Team) and through being a Play Leader. Our school behaviour policy involve rewards and sanctions; this is shared through all aspects of school life and also shared with parents, carers and children from Nursery to Year 6.

The Rule of Law

The importance of Laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through school worship time. 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 the Police and Fire Service are a regular part of our calendar events and help reinforce this message. Pupils are taught the importance of and reasons behind our school ‘values’, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences and impact when the ‘values’ are not upheld. Each class agrees its own class rules at the beginning of the academic year. We have a variety of rewards which celebrate when children uphold the ‘values’ including individual nominations during of Celebration of Talents assembly, class DoJos and the opportunity to be Star of the Week. These show children our values are special and in keeping them they will be rewarded. Raffle tickets are awarded for children who have been ‘caught’ showing kindness, empathy or respect.

Individual Liberty

Within school, pupils 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 all pupils to make choices safely, through provision of a safe environment and an empowering approach to education. 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 and PSHE/RHSE lessons. Pupils are further empowered through being part of many pupil leadership teams and being able to take part in discussions which link directly to the senior leadership team or governors. Pupils are given the freedom to make a wide range of choices – from attending extra-curricular clubs, to supporting fund raising events, to representing school at wider local authority events.

Mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

Mutual respect is at the heart of our values. We are an inclusive school where everyone is valued and has a contribution to make to the school. Respect is one of our values taught explicitly within lessons, worship and within the ethos of our School. It is shared with home through newsletters and website information. Adults throughout the school model, demonstrate and promote respect for others as do older children who have suitable, age-related tasks and responsibilities and this is reiterated through our classroom and learning rules, as well as our behaviour.  Our children in Years 6 thoroughly enjoy the responsibility of being Buddies to our younger children in Reception, through our ‘Seeds and Gardeners’ work and they sit together during worship. This relationship contributes to a significant sense of mutual respect throughout the school.

Respect and Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs: at St John the Baptist RC Primary School we have a diverse intake and we use this to support our children to learn from each other by sharing and celebrating their different faiths and cultures. All different faiths and beliefs are explored and celebrated through worship, RE lessons, visitors into school and trips and visits out. Worship and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying are followed up and supported by learning in RE and PSHE/RHSE. Children within our school with different faiths are encouraged to share their practices and special celebrations enabling a sharing of knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school. We teach other faiths through our Come and See curriculum and mark special events in our school calendar – such as Ramadan, Eid and Diwali. Our school also has a very strong link with our Church and Father Michael regularly visits the school.