British Values

British Values

The Department for Education announced 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.”

At Micklem Primary School these values are reinforced regularly and in the following ways:

Democracy: 

Children from all classes are elected for positions on the School Council.  School Councillors ensure that pupil voice is taken into account in big decisions, such as recruitment.  It is essential that our children's voices are heard.  We also have House and Vice Captains, which are elected from our Year 6 cohort.  The whole school has the chance to vote for who they want to represent their house.  In addition, we look for our older children to have the opportunity to visit Parliament.  We have also had visits and talks from our local MP, David Taylor, who explains his roles and responsibilities. 

The Rule of Law:

Rules are reinforced throughout the usual school day and pupils are aware of the consequences of not complying with the expectations as set out in our Behaviour Policy.  PSHE lessons and assemblies are used to explore rules and why these are important, with emphasis placed on the need for everyone to show responsibility in order to make sure that all are protected.  Visitors, such as our local PCSOs, help to reinforce this message and Year 5 and 6 pupils have an annual visit from a magistrate to explore themes such as legal ages of responsibility and how the magistrate system works.  Pupils enact scenarios in which children are involved in criminal activities such as theft and vandalism.

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 pupils to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and empowering education.  Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms. They are advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety, PSHE lessons and through speaking and listening activities such as debates.   

Mutual Respect: 

'Show Respect' is one of our three core rules at Micklem.  It underpins everything that we try to achieve with our children.  We are a 'No Outsiders' school and have weekly assemblies to share stories of people who have achieved something not expected of them, or share stories of when people have gone over and above to help others.  This underpins our core values that everyone is deserving of our respect.

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.  We encourage members of different faiths and religions to come in and share their knowledge either through assemblies or class visits.  The curriculum is enhanced through real life experiences of different cultures such as French Day and Celebrating Cultures Day.  This ethos is underpinned with our commitment to 'No Outsiders' and the idea of belonging is embedded in our school community.