Values & Cultural Capital

British Values at Pensby Primary School
The Department for Education state that there is a 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.”

The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy and these values were reiterated by the Prime Minister in 2014. At Pensby Primary School these values are promoted and reinforced regularly and in the following ways.

Democracy

Democracy is embedded at the school. Pupils are always listened to by adults and are taught to listen carefully and with concern to each other, respecting the right of every individual to have their opinions and voices heard. Pupils also have the opportunity to air their opinions and ideas through our School Representatives meetings, discussions with governors and regular questionnaires. We operate a pupil voice through our marking system and pupils can write to the staff about their work or any aspects that they wish to communicate. The elections of the School Representatives is based solely on pupil votes, reflecting our British electoral system and demonstrating democracy in action.

The Rule of Law

The importance of laws whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, are consistently reinforced. Our school has ‘School Rules’, which are deeply embedded in our work every day. Each class also discusses and sets its own rules that are clearly understood by all and seen to be necessary to ensure that every class member is able to learn in a safe and ordered environment. Our 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. At the beginning of every school year, staff and pupils discuss the ‘rules’ and explore how they help our school community and support us all to be happy and safe in our school environment.

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 our pupils to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and a relevant education. Our pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely; examples of this can be clearly seen in our e-safety and P.S.H.E. lessons. Whether it is through choice of challenge; or how they record; or participation in our extra- curricular activities; our pupils are given the freedom to make choices.

Mutual Respect:

Our pupils were fully involved in the creation of our ‘mission statement’ and it is deeply embedded in all that we do at the school. Pupils are told that they can ‘Reach For the Stars – Be Amazing’. The pupils know and understand that it is expected and imperative that respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have and to everything, however big or small.

Tolerance of Those With Different Faiths And Beliefs

Our ethos is based on Christian Values. We value the backgrounds of all our pupils and families and we undertake a variety of events and lessons to celebrate these. We have found this approach to be enriching for everyone as it teaches tolerance and respect for the differences in our community and the wider world.

At Pensby Primary School we teach a values education. Our core value of Respect ensures tolerance of those who have different faiths and beliefs. We enhance pupils understanding of different faiths and beliefs through religious education studies and P.S.H.E. work. Beliefs, traditions and customs are studied in depth, with visitors being invited in to our school to enrich and extend understanding. Through this our pupils gain an enhanced understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society. We work closely with Stanley Primary School who share our site. We support our pupils in understanding the diverse nature of pupils needs and that as good citizens they can work together and value each others contributions to our society.

Underpinning all of this, are a range of curriculum topics which have strong links to the British Empire and British Values. In following the new RE curriculum all pupils will learn in detail about key faiths and through this learning they will be taught to show respect for those faiths. Through History pupils are taught about significant periods in British History and are encouraged to identify these in chronological order.

The school follows British events such as Remembrance Day celebrations and all pupils and staff join in these events along with governors in the school. We support local and national charities in their events, for example Red Nose Day. This develops an understanding of how we work together to support our communities and help those in need.

THIS IS OUR SCHOOLS STATEMENT ON HOW WE TEACH BRITISH VALUES

The school invites parents and families to join with them in the Governments anti terrorism push. All schools have a duty to promote the PREVENT strategy. Families can find out more about the PREVENT strategy by visiting https www.gov.uk.

Cultural Capital – our school pledge

From the time the children join our school in Reception class, to the day they move onto the next phase of their education at the end of year 6, we pledge to immerse them in a wide range of experiences that bring them joy and inspire them to take opportunities to experience more. Through this, we give them ambition, self confidence and the ‘knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life’

Our pledge to them all is that they will all;

• Attend at least 1 residential visit;
• Experience a visit to the theatre;
• Visit a museum;
• Have afternoon tea;
• Represent the school at an event;
• Be given a job of responsibility;
• Cook and bake;
• Dress up and dress down;
• Build a fire;
• Care for others and be a good friend to the pupils in Pensby and Stanley School;
• Learn about where they live so they really know the area;
• Attend an extra-curricular activity;
• Exceed the national requirements for swimming;
• Be immersed in a culture of talk;
• Go to the beach;
• Visit a nature park;
• Learn self-defence skills;
• Know first aid skills;
• Understand different cultures and respect them;
• Perform on a stage;
• Know how they can help their environment;
• Ride a bike;
• Experience British customs such as weddings and street parties.