The Department for Education states that there is a 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 Department for Education defines British Values as follows:

• Respect for democracy and support or participation in the democratic process

• Respect for the basis on which the law is made and applies in England

• Support for equality of opportunity for all

• Support and respect for the liberties of all within the law

• Respect for and tolerance of different faiths and religious and other beliefs

   

   

We encourage our children to be creative, unique, open-minded and independent individuals, respectful of themselves and of others in our school, our local community and the wider world. We aim to nurture our children on their journey through life so they can grow into safe, caring, democratic, responsible and tolerant adults who make a positive difference to British Society and to the world.

At Uplands Community Primary School, we uphold and actively promote British values in the following ways:

Democracy

• We have our own school council with elected representatives.
• All children are able to put themselves forward to their classmates. A ballot is held and pupils are voted for.
• All children are encouraged to debate topics of interest, express their views and make a meaningful contribution to the running of the school on matters that directly involve pupils.
• We have regular voting assemblies where the children all get to vote on important school matters. Recent votes have been around whether we open a healthy tuck shop, whether we take part in a pyjama day and whether we employ the services of a reading dog. 
• The children at Uplands were responsible for the development of:

                - Our school motto:                 Be Kind, Be Yourself, Be Part of our Community

 Our 3 golden rules are:

• Kindness - we show care and respect for each other
• Uniqueness - we are responsible for our own actions
• Community – we care for our school environment 
• Each year the ‘Team Captains’ are voted for by the year 5/6 class to represent their team during assemblies and on sports day and during other whole school activities.  All year 6 pupils have responsibilities to ensure a smooth running of the school.
• The children are taught about local, national and international democracy through our creative curriculum topics.  Some examples include:
  • During the EU referendum Owls class carried out a debate on whether or not they should wear school uniform. Other class debates take place across the school on various subjects e.g. should we use animal organs to save human lives; Guy Fawkes: hero or villain?
  • During their topic about Ancient Greece, Eagles learn about the development of democracy and how it compares to democracy in modern Britain.
• Assemblies are based around core values and our five big ideas: diversity, relationships, similarities and differences, changes and the environment. 

Rule of Law

Alongside our 3 core values, each class also discusses and sets its own rules that are clearly understood by all and seen to be necessary to ensure that every class member is able to learn in a safe and ordered environment.

• Pupils are helped to distinguish right from wrong.
• Pupils are helped to respect through unpicking why we have school rules and therefore why rules are important in the wider world.
• Visits from authorities such as the Police; Fire Service; Ambulance etc. are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message, particularly during Merlins class ‘People Who Help Us’ topic.
• The Positive Behaviour and Anti-Bullying policies encourage the restorative justice process to resolve conflict.
• E-safety is taught as part of our anti-bullying week each year and the local PCSO has visited to reinforce the message.
• Drugs education is taught through our PSHE curriculum and each year the school is visited by Coram Education which discusses this topic.
• Year 5 and 6 pupils take part in ‘Bikeability’ where they learn to ride a bike safely on the road and in order to pass the course, have to be familiar with the Highway Code.
• Rule of Law is also taught through our creative curriculum on regular occasions including:
• Guy Fawkes
• Ancient Greek society’s treatment of women and the history of democracy
• The development of women’s rights through the history of Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole and the Suffragettes.

Individual Liberty

Within school, pupils are actively encouraged, and given the freedom to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. e.g. by signing up for extra-curricular clubs, choosing the level of challenge in some lessons and becoming increasingly more involved in child-led learning.

• A further example is where foundation stage children have the opportunity to choose their extended learning through adult guided child initiated play.
• As a school we educate and provide boundaries for our pupils to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment, a planned curriculum and an empowering education.
• Pupils are supported to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence.
• Pupils are encouraged to take responsibility for their behaviour.
• 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 teaching and PSHE lessons.
• Freedom of speech is modelled through encouraging pupil participation.
• Vulnerable pupils are protected and stereotypes challenged.
• A strong anti-bullying culture is embedded in the school.
• Pupils have key roles and responsibilities in school e.g. Buddies, Learning Detectives, School Council members, lunchtime office helpers, Health and Safety Committee, Play Leaders, Assembly Monitors etc.
• Pupils make many choices throughout the day including choosing their own lunch from the lunch menu daily and their own reading book from the library.

Mutual Respect and Tolerance of Those with Different Faiths and Beliefs

Respect is one of the core values of our school. This can be seen and felt in our pervading ethos in school. The pupils know and understand that it is expected and imperative that respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have and to everything, however big or small.

All of the above is embedded throughout the school and strongly promoted at break and lunchtime:

• The school strongly promotes respect for individual differences.
• Pupils are helped to acquire an understanding of, and respect for, their own and other cultures and ways of life.
• Staff and pupils are encouraged to challenge prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour.
• Actively promoting our values also means challenging pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental values, including ‘extremist’ views.
• Links and visits are promoted with local faith communities and places of worship e.g. members of different faiths or religions are invited to school to share their knowledge and enhance learning within assemblies and in class.
• Through the PSHE and RE curriculums pupils are encouraged to discuss and respect differences between people, such as differences of faith, ethnicity, disability, gender or sexuality and differences of family situations, such as looked after children or young carers.
• Assemblies and discussions involving prejudices and prejudiced-based bullying have been followed and supported in PHSCE/Circle Time.
• We follow the Gloucestershire agreed syllabus for RE and use the strategies within SEAL materials to enhance PSHE teaching.
• The school has links with our network schools.
• We offer a culturally rich and diverse curriculum in which all major religions are studied and respected and global dimension work embedded in many of our Creative Curriculum Topics (see Topic Planning webs).
• Strong links have been cultivated with the local church and each week, members of the congregation come to run an ‘Open the Book’ assembly, sharing bible stories with the children.
• Enrichment weeks provide opportunities for promoting mutual respect and tolerance for example anti-bullying week which includes a focus on prejudicial language and differences, ‘Good Deeds’ week where the children developed links with a range of people in the community and French week where the children found out about the country and people and how the culture differs from our own.
• Strong links are in place with the playgroup and a local residential care home which gives the children opportunity to develop their respect for people of different age groups.