Introduction
Currently, it is a government statutory requirement for all local authority schools, independent schools, academies, free schools and maintained schools to 'actively promote' the fundamental British values of:
- Democracy
- The rule of law
- Individual liberty
- Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
These values were first set out by the government in the 'Prevent' strategy in 2011. It is a requirement for schools to have a clear strategy for embedding these values and show how their work with pupils has been effective in doing so. Ofsted and the independent inspectorates also take the work of schools in this area into account during inspections.
How British Values are promoted at our school
The Hospital Education Service has worked effectively at promoting British Values through our subject-based teaching curriculum and PSHE programme but also through co-curricular opportunities such as our:
- Pupil Ambassador roles
- Tutorial Programme and Assemblies
- pupil panels for job interviews
- display boards
- educational visits
- behaviour and anti-bullying policies
- Pupil-led school events.
British Values branding at our school
We have been working hard to involve our school community in the branding of British Values to make it more bespoke and inclusive. To date, we have done the following:
- Images for each value were voted for by staff and pupils and our Art teacher Catherine Gregg put all of the images and designs together.
- Accompanied around each image are the painted fingerprints of staff and pupils – very much in line with the value of ‘democracy’ and inclusion.
- Noticeboards on-site at Whitmore Park Annexe have been updated with the new branding
- Pupils receive a lesson on British values as part of their tutor programme
- For any new pupils, there is a link provided to access the material on British values
- There is also a pupil quiz available to ascertain their prior understanding of British values.
- Bespoke branding is now included on Mrs Cutler’s weekly newsletter to staff, the school webpage and teacher/pupil SharePoint sites.
- Bespoke branding has been included as an image on our praise postcards which we often send out to pupils.
Pupil Quiz
We are keen to understand pupils' knowledge of British Values. This will help us to identify what pupils know about British Values and provide us with valuable feedback.
Take part in the School Quiz - British Values Quiz [https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=GFtiFZyKfUKKEoBjup0JnNPGNfY4ZE5Ij8eHtjbCiuJUODJRRUFWN0NTWk1UQlVDNU1XVUUxUDg2Ti4u]