St Andrew's C of E Primary School

As directed by the Department for Education, schools have a duty to actively 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. These values were first set out by the government in the ‘Prevent’ strategy in 2011. In November 2014, schools were required to have a strategy for embedding these values and showing how their work with pupils has been effective in doing so. 

At St Andrew's Church of England Primary School we uphold and teach pupils about British Values which are defined as: 

• ​Democracy
• The Rule of Law
• Individual Liberty
• Mutual Respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

These values are taught explicitly through Personal, Social, Health and Emotional (PSHE), and Religious Education (RE). We also teach British Values through planning and delivering a broad and balanced curriculum. 

The school takes opportunities to actively promote British Values through daily collective worship and whole school systems and structures such as electing and running a successful School Council. We also actively promote British Values through ensuring that our curriculum planning and delivery includes real opportunities for exploring these values.

Democracy:
Democracy is an important value at our school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our School Council. The elections of members of the School Council are based on pupil votes. This helps pupils to understand how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process. 

Our School Council is able to genuinely effect change within the school and are actively involved in the recruitment of teachers. They have recently raised funds for Room at the Inn which is a local charity supporting the homeless.

The Rule of Law: 
The importance of laws and rules, whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through school assemblies. 

Our system for behaviour is aligned to an agreed set of codes and if children are given verbal warnings this is always set against the agreed school behaviour code. 
 
Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken.  Visits from authorities such as the police, fire service etc. are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message.
 
To encourage and promote good behaviour, attitude and work, we have devised a reward system which is consistently followed throughout the school. We are committed to praising children’s efforts.  We endeavour to praise the children informally, individually, during group work, in front of the whole class and the whole school.  Children are rewarded not only for achievement in curriculum areas, but also for behaviour and demonstration of Christian Values. Rewards are given in the form of stickers and certificates.  Children’s achievements are also recognised during Collective Worship. 

The school aims to provide an appreciation that living under the rule of law protects pupils and is essential for their safety and well-being. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message. Our Year 6 children had a visit from a local magistrate who discussed the role of the law and how the judicial system works in the UK. The children were really insterested and asked lots of questions.

We were fortunate to be visited by a local Magistrate. She told us all about how the judicial system works and then we took part in a mock trial. At the end we were all awarded a certificate and a medal.

Individual Liberty:
Pupils are actively encouraged to make choices at our school, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school we provide boundaries for our children to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and planned curriculum.

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 PHSE education.

Pupils are given the freedom to make choices, e.g. signing up for extra-curricular clubs. EYFS pupils are given the freedom to self select their learning activities - 'choosing time'. All pupils are encouraged to make personal choices about the food they eat.

Mutual Respect:
Part of our school ethos and behaviour policy are based around core Christian Values such as ‘forgiveness’ and ‘friendship’ and these values determine how we live as a community at St Andrew's Church of England Primary School. Collective Worship is based on ‘Christian Values’ which are central to how we expect everyone to go about their life at our school.

Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others.

In PE the children take part in training and many compete in tournaments and competitions. The value of the training and tournaments  is sportsmanship. Children are reminded to show mutual respect towards other players at all times.

Our SIAMS inspection confirms this is an important aspect of life at St Andrew's Church of England Primary School.

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 in our local community which is mainly white British.

Collective Worship and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying have been followed and supported by learning in RE and PSHE.

We visit places of worship from a range of different faiths including the local Mosque and have welcomed visitors into school to talk about their own faiths inclusing Judaism and Catholisism.

We are very proud to have been selected to display our artwork at the Imperial War Museum Holocaust Memorial Exhibition.