British Values
Our school reflects British Values in all that we do. We aim to nurture our children on their life journey in order to develop into safe, caring, democratic, responsible and tolerant adults who make a positive difference to British society and to the world. Through our school values, we encourage our children to be creative, resilient, open-minded, friendly, tolerant, optimistic and neighbourly of themselves, of others in our school, of our local community and the wider world.
The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent strategy.
The five key British Values are:
- Democracy
- The Rule of Law
- Individual Liberty
- Mutual Respect
-
Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
The Department of Education published advice to schools which can be found here - Promoting fundamental British values through SMSC - GOV.UK
How should we help our children prepare for adult life as citizens of Britain?
- Develop their self-confidence and self esteem.
- Develop their understanding of right and wrong, and their respect for the law.
- Encourage them to take responsibility for their behaviour.
- Encourage involvement in the community and wider society.
- Encourage respect for the public services and institutions of Britain.
- Promote tolerance of and respect for all cultures and faiths.
- Encourage participation in the democratic process.
Our school uses strategies within the curriculum and beyond, to secure such outcomes for students. The following document 'Promoting British Values' shows some of the ways Lindley CE Infant School seeks to instil British Values.
Protected Characteristics
The Equality Act became law in 2010. It covers everyone in Britain and protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Everyone in Britain is protected by the ‘protected characteristics’.
The 9 protected characteristics are:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Race
- Religion or belief
- Marriage or civil partnership
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
- Pregnancy and maternity
The 9 protected characteristics are actively promoted at our school through:
- Our school vision and values
- Our curriculum driver of culture and diversity
- Our school behaviour policy
- Conscious role modelling by all adults in the school community
- Active engagement and communication with parents and carers
- Collective worship
- Promoting articulation by building appropriate language and a coherent vocabulary
- Me in my world lessons
- Core texts
- Sporting, Art and Cultural Events
- Pupil Voice
- Educational visits
- Real-life learning outside the classroom
Embedding protected characteristics into the whole ethos of Lindley CE Infant School promotes:
- Self-esteem, self-knowledge and self-confidence
- Respect for democracy
- Acceptance of responsibility for their own behaviour
- Respect for their own and other cultures
- Understanding of how they can contribute positively to school and home life and to the lives of those living and working in the locality and further afield
- An understanding of Equality, Human Rights and Protected Characteristics
- An understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process
- An appreciation that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their wellbeing and safety
- An understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law
- An acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour
- An understanding of the importance of identifying and combating discrimination
