At Ryecroft we understand the importance of promoting 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 explicitly taught in the following ways:

Curriculum:

In Key Stage 1 pupils are taught about similarities and difference between ways of life in different periods. They learn about the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national achievements and changes. In Year 2 the children take part in Remembrance Day commemorations. They create a poppy wreath which they take to lay on the local cenotaph. As a whole school we have celebrated the Olympics and para-Olympics inviting athletes into school to meet the children and to train alongside them. Royal events have taken a huge part in our curriculum offer, celebrating important events with a tea party on the school yard and a whole school ‘Picture this’ project around the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Our daily assemblies are important to us and provide an opportunity to talk about and practise our ability to uphold the British values and talk about what they mean.

Our whole school values of ‘Care, respect, community, resilience and achievement’ are very much woven into the British values. All children within school belong to a team and we work hard towards displaying them and rewarding when the children demonstrate these values. Our school values are also taught through the PSHE and RE curriculum within school and are modelled by staff and nurtured in pupils.

Democracy:

Each year the children decide upon their classroom rules and talk about the expectations surrounding these. Our pupil leadership team members are democratically elected annually having shared their manifesto with pupils in their classrooms. During their meetings, they help to decide on the agenda and ways that they can both support the school and their peers. At an age-appropriate level, pupils are given opportunities throughout the year to debate issues and contribute towards making a decision for example a whole class treat or current affairs in Y2. The pupil leadership team meet with the governing body to discuss ideas and to be an advocate for their peers within school.

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 law enforcement, that they govern and protect us, and the responsibilities that these involve and the consequences that can occur when laws are broken. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service help to reinforce this message. Through our positive behaviour policy pupils will be encouraged to think about what they have done and how they could have responded to a situation as it occurs. This is also taught, modelled and nurtured through our PSHE curriculum. Our aim as a school is to support and guide pupils to become good citizens within the community and the wider world.  

Individual Liberty:

Pupils are actively encouraged to make choices as part of their everyday school life, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment, for example choosing from the resources to access during lessons and choosing a partner to work sensibly with at a given task. As a school we educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe and empowering environment. Through our RE and PSHE curriculum pupils are encouraged to make choices and to respect the choices of others. During assembly times we often talk about and share stories associated with making good and bad choices and the consequences of those.

Mutual Respect:

Respect is one of our school values in school. We often talk about ‘respect’ and pupils have been part of discussions related to what this means and how it is shown. Adults are role models displaying how they are respectful of both other staff and the pupils in school. When children are seen being respectful of others this is celebrated and talked about with the use of our reward jars. These ideas are reiterated through the school and classroom rules as well as our behaviour policy. Additional support is given to individual children to help develop self-esteem and the concept of respect. Pupils are encouraged and in turn rewarded for showing respect and good manners both in and out of school for example at lunch times, when visitors come into school to speak to them and when representing our school on trips.

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 the opportunities to experience such diversity. Our RE curriculum includes learning about and most importantly from other faiths. We follow the Rotherham agreed syllabus for RE and encourage pupils if they feel comfortable doing so to talk about their faiths and help us to talk about similarities and differences with others.  

Below is a link to a webite aimed at informing parents about radicalisation, extremism and hate.

http://www.educateagainsthate.com