Promoting British Values at Halfway Houses Primary

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 values have been reiterated by the Prime Minister. More information can be found by following this link:

Promoting fundamental British values as part of SMSC in schools.

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 At Halfway Houses these values are reinforced regularly and in the following way:

Democracy

Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our Pupil Parliament and Pupil questionnaires.

The elections of Parliament leaders and members enables children to have a say in decisions that are made at school. Our school behaviour policy involves rewards which the pupils vote on as a class group.  Each week the children discuss a question or statement related to a picture during Picture News assembly.. 

 The Rule of Law

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 and trips throughout the year help to reinforce this message and we have worked with members of the local police and parliament  

 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 young pupils to make choices safely.

Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advise how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and PSHE lessons.

Children have the choice of challenge in lessons, participation in extra-curricular clubs and are given the freedom to make choices about how they learn.

Class rules are decided with children in September.  The school Parliament provide a voice for children at our school and are valued and recognised within the school community. 

Children are encouraged to have a growth mindset towards learning and this is promoted across the school.  They are able to take part in and run clubs which they lead themselves as far as possible. 

Children are also given the opportunity to join in with raising money for charities that they would like to raise money for and have organised successful days for charities such as Children in Need, Red Nose Day and the British Legion

Mutual Respect

Part of our school ethos and behaviour policy has revolved around our core  values.:

Pupils have been part of discussions and assemblies related to what these mean and how we can demonstrate them throughout school life.. Posters around the school promote our values and this is reiterated through our classroom and learning rules, as well as our behaviour policy. We promote the Trust vision 'To be the best we can be'. As a school we have a clear vision which is ‘Roar' -Responsibility, Optimism, Ambition, Resilience.  This is shared and discussed with children and is displayed around the school. 

We promote our hashtag #welearnasone to remind children that we all work collaboratively and our children take part in a pride celebration day each June. 

The weekly celebration assemblies promote respect and teamwork. Housepoint totals, learning muscle certificates, TTRS and AR achievements and sports team medals and certificates all form part of this.

Each year our Year 6 children participate in a week long residential trip where they take part in a range of activities that encourage them to live and work together harmoniously.

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs

 This is achieved through enhancing pupils understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity.

Our RE curriculum follows the Kent agreed syllabus ensuring all children gain a knowledge and understanding of the beliefs and values that members of different cultures hold. 

Through work in PSHE the children are encouraged to think about their own values and are taught to show respect and tolerance of other people. 

In Literacy children experience stories from a range of different cultures such as Gregory Cool, Toro Toro, Kensuki's Kingdom and holes.

Visits and celebrations support children with their learning and children have experiences of celebrations such as Chinese New Year and Diwali.