British Values
At St. Michael’s CE Primary school, everything is underpinned by our school values. It is a school-wide expectation that every member of our team conducts themselves with pride and models these values for others. Values-led learning is enhanced and developed through Personal, Social, Moral and Health (PSHE) education but it is interwoven into everything we do in our school community, aiming to have an aspect of spiritual, moral, social or cultural reflection in every lesson. We believe that this deepens self – confidence, appreciation, empathy, respect and understanding of others each and every day.
Schools are now required to show that they are actively promoting British values. The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy. These are the values of:
- Democracy
- The rule of law
- Individual liberty
- Mutual respect
- Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs.
Democracy
We actively encourage democracy at St. Michael’s, running a successful and popular School Council. Each class has two representatives and each week they meet to discuss how to improve the school. A termly action plan is written by the School Council which is reviewed for its impact at the end.
To enhance this further, all children are asked to complete a questionnaire annually where they can put forward their ideas and views about the school.
The Rule of Law
The relevance and importance of laws, those that are set to govern our classrooms, the school, or indeed our country are consistently reinforced within school.
Our Behaviour Policy teaches boundaries, recognises pupils fulfilling expectation, rewards those who go above and beyond, and supports pupils to improve if they do not live up to the expectation. We believe in a justice approach resolution, ensuring that all pupils are listened to, conflicts are resolved peacefully and children have a clear understanding of why their behaviour was inappropriate and how they could manage it differently in the future. We promote mutual respect at all times.
We have excellent links with the local community, including the Police. We receive regular visits from them to help children understand the importance of rules in the community.
Individual Liberty
At St. Michael’s, pupils are actively encouraged to make independent choices knowing that they are in a safe, secure and supportive environment. As a school we educate and provide boundaries for children to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and an empowering education. Students are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights, responsibilities and personal freedoms and receive advice about how to exercise these safely, for example through our exploration of E – Safety in computing.
Mutual Respect
Respect is at the core of our school ethos and is modelled by pupils and staff alike. The school promotes respect for others and this is reiterated through our classroom and learning environments. We foster an environment where students are safe to disagree with each other. Mutual respect is embraced throughout the curriculum for example we teach the concept of ‘fair play’ in PE and games. The school rules are based around Respect with it mentioned in all areas.
Tolerance of Different Faiths and Beliefs
As a Faith school situated in a diverse community and city, St. Michael’s C of E Primary is committed to celebrating different beliefs and faiths.
Our RE curriculum provides a broad and balanced education on a range of faiths, religions and cultures. This year we have celebrated the different faiths with a ‘Faith Week’ which was enhanced by visits to places of different worship. This enabled the children to determine the similarities and differences between the different religions.
Should you feel that the school is not meeting this requirement, you should contact the school office and request to express your concerns with the Headteacher. Likewise, if you feel that anyone working at the school is undermining these values you should report this to the Headteacher.