At J H Godwin British Values is not taught in isolation, it is a thread that runs throughout our entire curriculum. A key part of our plan for education is to ensure children become valuable and fully rounded members of society who treat others with respect and leave school fully prepared for life in modern Britain.
In addition to this children vote for pupil leadership roles, including: head boy/girl, class leads, science leads, communication leads and sports leaders. Most of these roles change each term to enable a larger number of children to have the opportunity to take on on these roles and responsibilities.
The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy and considered them to be:
· democracy
· rule of law
· individual liberty
· mutual respect
· tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
At our school these values are reinforced as part of school life.
The DfE stated 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.”
These values are reinforced regularly and in the following ways:
Democracy
At J H Godwin Primary, the principle of democracy is reinforced through democratic decision-making by the children. Children have many opportunities for their voices to be heard. We have a school council which meets regularly to discuss issues raised in class. All the council members for each year group are voted in by their class. In addition to this children vote for pupil leadership roles, including: head boy/girl, class leads, science leads, communication leads and sports leaders. Most of these roles change each term to enable a larger number of children to have the opportunity to take on on these roles and responsibilities.
J H Godwin are part of the Blacon Schools’ Democracy group (1 secondary and 4 primary) who will meet half termly and have parliamentary style debates.
The Democracy Group is made up of pupils from Teams 5 & 6
The Rule of Law
The importance of Laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced as part of the expectations at J H Godwin. Our school rules are visible in every classroom, Ready, Respectful, Safe and are used to promote appropriate behaviour and through school assemblies via making links with ‘The Rule of Law’. 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 or to the workplace of authorities such as the Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message.
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 young pupils to make choices safely, through provision of a safe environment and empowering education. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our e-Safety, SRE and PSHE curriculum. Our curriculum explores aspects of liberty as part of the PSHE, in every year group.
Whether it be through choice of how they record, of participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.
Mutual Respect
Mutual respect is at the heart of our values. At J H Godwin children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. This is being reinforced through the implementation of the Rights Respecting School philosophy. All members of the school community treat each other with respect.
Pupils are given opportunities help them understand and respect the community around them. The children have opportunities to understand and respect the community around them, such as visits to an old people’s home to sing Christmas carols or make crafts.
Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs
J H Godwin is situated in an area which is not culturally diverse; therefore we place a great emphasis on promoting diversity with the children. Assemblies are regularly planned to address this issue either directly or through the inclusion of stories and celebrations from a variety of faiths and cultures.
Our RE, PSHE and SMSC teaching reinforce this. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school.
Children visit places of worship that are important to different faiths and visitors are invited in to share their cultural experiences.
At J H Godwin we will actively challenge pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British Values, including ‘extremist’ views.
Embedding British Values
We re-visit British Values to develop and embed knowledge and understanding throughout the year via assemblies and the curriculum.
We celebrated ‘Being British’ at the King’s Coronation celebration in May 2023. We planted a tree and time capsule. Hopefully, in future years the time capsule will be appreciated by future generations and the tree admired by all who pass the front of our school.
