At Seaview Primary School, we prepare our children to take a full and active part in society as responsible citizens, who accept and engage with fundamental British values.
In 2011 as part of the prevent strategy, the DfE emphasised the role that British Values play in education and its value for the development of all children. They have since produced guidance for schools stating.
“All maintained schools must meet the requirements set out in section 78 of the Education Act 2002 and promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of their pupils. Through ensuring pupils’ SMSC development, schools can also demonstrate that they are actively promoting fundamental British Values”. (DFE Nov 2014)
We take pride in promoting British Values of the rule of law, democracy, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. They are an essential part of our aims, vision and ethos of our school. We integrate these values as part of our whole school and class assemblies, during religious Education and SMSC lessons and across our broad and balanced curriculum. Alongside this positive promotion of values, we will actively challenge any beliefs, opinions or extremist views which directly conflict with the fundamental British Values that we aim to promote.
Promoting British Values
Our children have been introduced to the ‘Hand of Friendship’, with each finger representing a different British value.
At Seaview Primary School we celebrate, reinforce and promote the values in the following ways:
Democracy
We richly embed democracy within the school. Children are provided the opportunity to have their voices heard through whole school and class assemblies and our Seaview Ambassador programme (each class has its own Seaview Ambassador, allowing all children in our Seaview family to be heard, represented and valued). Meetings with Ambassadors, Headteacher, senior leaders, Sports Leaders and PTA allow children to make decisions and changes that are important to them and the life of the school.
Our school behaviour and values policy involve age appropriate rewards and sanctions which are shared throughout all aspects of school life, shared and celebrated with parents, carers and all children from Nursery to Year 6.
The Rule of Law
The importance of Laws is consistently reinforced throughout each school day when dealing with appropriate behaviour, through collective school worship time and individual class behaviour agreed by the children. Children are taught the value of and reasons behind laws/rules in that they govern and protect us. Where possible, children are encouraged to responsibly resolve conflict and to agree or abide by the consequences of their own actions, when laws/rules are broken in accordance with our behaviour policy. At Seaview Primary School, we also provide visits from local authorities such as the Police and Fire Service, who are a regular part of calendar events and help to reinforce this value. Our children have taken part in a Fire Service led safety assembly, including responsible behaviour around train stations and tracks.
Individual Liberty
Within Seaview Primary School, we actively encourage children to make their own choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. This empowers our children to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedom, for example through whole school or class based collective assemblies, E-safety and PSHCE lessons. We invite charities such as the NSPCC into school to further promote this value of individual liberty. The Seaview Ambassador programme and Year 6 Play Leaders programme allows all children the freedom to make a wide range of choices which directly affect their own personal time in school. They are given the freedom to make choices about play equipment, attending extra-curricular clubs, inputting ideas for party events and fund-raising events. Children are actively encouraged to seek help and assistance from a trusted adult if they feel that their individual freedom or rights are affected in any way.
Mutual Respect
Being a part of the Seaview family, we share our wealth of diversity and difference as individuals. As a school, we hold mutual respect values at the core of our ethos for our school. Respect is one of our values taught explicitly within lessons, it is shared with parents and carers through newsletters and website information. All adults throughout the school model, demonstrate and promote respect for others, as do our Seaview Ambassadors and older children who have suitable, age related, tasks and responsibilities. We will actively challenge behaviours from children and adults which do not promote respect for others.
Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs:
At Seaview Primary School, we promote and celebrate tolerance where children have unique opportunities to learn from each other, by sharing and celebrating their different faiths and cultures and beliefs. Collective worship and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying have been followed up and supported by learning in RE and PSHCE. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school.
We join during assemblies and use this time to discuss and reflect upon the customs and traditions of our unique British Isles.
We enjoy celebrating traditional customs such as the Harvest Festival, where we reach out to those in our local community by donating to the local foodbank.
We remember our historic past leading up to and during Remembrance Day. Children attend local remembrance services and, as part of our history curriculum, children engage in our history during World War one and two and follow this up during our history curriculum, providing time for discussion and research.
As a school, we produce an annual nativity performance and share in religious celebration, carols and non-religious festive songs in our carol service at the local church for parents and friends of the school.
As part of our RE curriculum, we are exploring the customs and values of other faiths to build tolerance and respect for others. We will actively challenge any views expressed by children or adults that are intolerant of different faiths, religion or beliefs of others.