British Values
The DfE have recently reinforced 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 Swinton Queen Primary School we continually weave the thread of social, moral, spiritual and cultural British Values throughout day to day school life and underpinning this are the values and the understanding of democracy, law, liberty, respect, tolerance, tradition and heritage. We celebrate the role of Britain both historically and in the present. We want pupils to have knowledge of and be proud of their British Heritage and the cultural and historical traditions that we are renowned for the world over. This involves celebrating Royal events, Remembrance Day, festivals such as Harvest, Christmas and Easter, alongside those from other cultures. The children also visit places of cultural significance such as St. Margaret’s Church, Murton Park, Cusworth Hall Museum plus Pannett Park Museum and St. Mary’s Church during the Y5/Y6 residential visit to Whitby.
DEMOCRACY
Children have many opportunities for their voices to be heard. We have an elected school council which meets regularly to discuss issues brought to their attention by the other children. The council then discusses how to resolve these. Class councillors are voted for by the children in their class based on their manifesto. The school council also delivers presentations and assemblies to the rest of the school on key issues.
The Governing Body gives our parents a voice through democratically elected parent governors.
THE RULE OF LAW
The importance of Laws, whether they be 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. 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 and Fire Service help reinforce this message. Throughout school children follow our '3 School Rules' (stay safe, don’t hurt
anybody and don’t hurt anything) and are rewarded at the end of the week with 'Choosing Time'. All the children and parents sign a yearly contract with school called the 'Home School Agreement'. These are kept in the children’s Home School Diary. At the beginning of every year the children are actively involved in creating a set of class rules. We teach all our children about the laws and commandments regarding religion e.g. The Ten Commandments and 5 Pillars. They are taught about the different rules which apply to faiths.
INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices e.g. choosing time, play time, school dinners, in lessons and participation in after school clubs, 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 and PSHE lessons.
The 'Equality Act 2010'protects all children from discrimination and it is the schools duty to ensure that all individuals have equal access and opportunity to all that is on offer. Funding, including that for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils, is used to target inequalities, to ensure equality. As part of our curriculum we place a huge emphasis on the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) learning and feel we send them off to secondary school as rounded individuals.
MUTUAL RESPECT
We feel that mutual respect is at the heart of our values at Swinton Queen Primary School. Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All members of the school community treat each other with respect. We teach mutual respect through our behaviour systems, linked to our Anti-Bullying policy. This is a positive behaviour model which celebrates success and has a positive attitude towards good behaviour.
Our lunchtimes promote mutual respect where good manners are the norm, children queue patiently, are encouraged to say please and thank you and clear up after themselves. We have lunchtime assistants and Y6 monitors who take responsibility for others. Each week during Achievement Assembly we celebrate good manners and behaviour in school awarding prizes.
Our wide ranging curriculum encourages creativity and supports diversity.
We run various charity events including 'Children in Need', 'Red Nose Day' and NSPCC events. Each year we donate via St. Margaret’s Church, food to the local food bank or money to children living in poverty during Harvest.
We celebrate achievement (sporting, social and academic) both in and out of school, in assemblies, through certificates, displays, as well as on the weekly newsletter.
TOLERANCE OF THOSE OF DIFFERENT FAITHS AND BELIEFS.
Swinton Queen Primary School is situated in an area which is not greatly 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 teaching reinforce this. Our RE teaching is predominantly Christianity but we also teach a range of other religions as in the Rotherham Agreed Syllabus devised by Rotherham SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education). Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school.
At Swinton Queen Primary School, we will actively challenge pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British Values, including ‘extremist’ views.
(We would also like to sign post parents to the "Prevent Duty" information available on the school's website.)
