Promoting British Values

The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy.
We have created a curriculum through which children will learn about the five key areas of British values:

1. Democracy
2. The rule of law
3. Individual liberty
4. Mutual respect
5. Tolerance of other faiths and beliefs

We recognise that our school is a multi-language, multi-cultural and multi-faith community. It is important that the children in our school understand the importance of tolerance, understanding and respect for each and every one within our school and wider community. The curriculum encourages the children to explore and share their values and beliefs as well as learn about others. We do this through: regular PSHE sessions; our Values based Education work; Celebrating Diversity Evenings; visits from Police and Fire services who discuss rules and laws with the children; our restorative behaviour policy and our very own Hillside Parliament.
Hillside Primary is passionate about and committed to preparing students for life beyond primary school so that our children can fully integrate into the world in which they live.

Our school’s key aims are taken from the DFE’s aims for all children nationally.
(SMSC – Promoting fundamental British values as part of SMSC in schools-November 2014)

Our aims are to:
• Enable students to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence;
• Enable students to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England;
• Encourage students to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely;
• Enable students to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England; further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling students to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures;
• Encourage respect for other people; and
• Encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England
The curriculum is a tool which enables us to look at natural features of the British landscape, famous British people and aspects of British life both past and present. We make sure that within the curriculum there are opportunities to learn about key historical events or people who changed or influenced laws. Examples of this are the Victorians, Winston Churchill and Florence Nightingale.

As well as this, we cover the 5 areas of British Values:

Democracy:

Democracy is actively promoted within the school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through Hillside Parliament.
Early on in the school year, children in Years 5 and 6 have the opportunity to run to be a member of Hillside parliament. They are required to make speeches to their class members, who then vote anonymously for the person in their house that they feel would best represent them. Pupils with the greatest number of votes are then asked to make a further speech to both Phase 1 and Phase 2 in assemblies, create their own manifestos and canvass pupils across the school. Following this, all children are taken in their classes to the hall, where they place their marked ballot paper into a box. These papers are counted and verified, before the final eight Members of Parliament are revealed. Throughout the year, HMPs work closely with Mrs Short (Manager of Phase 1) and Mrs Sheriff (Manager of Phase 2), to survey the opinions of their peers concerning what they like about the school and what needs further improvement. Some of their achievements to date include:

• Organising a whole school games afternoon to raise money for the Buddy Bench.
• Ordering the school Buddy Bench.
• Launching our whole school ‘Pupil Voice Box’.
• Meeting with Earley Town Council Mayoress and interviewing her on how to listen to different opinions etc.
• Supporting and leading the idea of Y5/6 wearing ties with their uniform.
• Collecting ideas from the pupil voice and advising our school cook on dinner choices.

The Rule of Law:

At Hillside, children are encouraged to take part in creating their own class charter and learning behaviour rules, often centering around the school values of Respect, Collaboration, Independence, Resilience, Learning and the overarching Value of happiness.
We are very proud of our Restorative Behaviour Policy. Although we do not have many serious behaviour issues to deal with at Hillside, we deal with any conflict that may arise peacefully and fairly. Restorative Practice promotes a safe, caring environment, where problems can be resolved successfully. It encourages children to take responsibility for their actions and to think about how their behaviour affects others.
We regularly take opportunities in weekly assemblies to share key behaviour rules, the importance of right from wrong and making choices about our behaviour. Pupils are also taught the value and reasons behind laws; the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken both in the real world and in the school. Visits from authorities such as the Police and the Fire Service are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message. We also cover different types of rules within the curriculum. Examples of these are: e-safety assemblies and anti-bullying.

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 our young pupils to make choices safely. This is reflected in the decisions they make about their behaviour and their learning.

Mutual Respect:

Respect is at the heart of our school and one of our most important values. Pupils, staff and parents have been part of discussions and assemblies relating to what being respectful means and how we can show respect every day. Across a range of subjects, we teach about tolerance and understanding and we learn about other children’s cultures and religions through respectful questions which help us to find out more about individuals and groups of people who belong within our school community.

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs:

Being in a school which is culturally diverse, we work closely with pupils to help them understand their place in a culturally diverse society. Assemblies and discussions involving prejudices and racism and have been followed and supported by learning in RE and PSHE. Each year group will cover different religions and we also invite in visitors in to talk about their religions. We cover British Values, where we look at all the different groups who live in Britain and the United Kingdom and how our school is a reflection of this.