British Values

Teaching of British Values.

The DfE "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".

Our school reflects British values in all that we do. We aim to nurture our children on their journey through life so they can grow into safe, caring, democratic, responsible and tolerant adults who make a positive difference to British society and to the world. We encourage our children to be creative, unique, open-minded and independent individuals, respectful of themselves and of others in our school, our local community and the wider world.

At Spire Nursery and Infant School British Values are reinforced regularly in the following ways:

Democracy- We all have opportunities to make decisions.

At Spire Nursery and Infant School everyone is treated equally and all children have equal rights. Our children have ample opportunity for their voices to be heard at school. We have a school council that meets with the headteacher to discuss issues raised in the class council meetings. Two council members are elected by their class peers  and are involved in making the school a better place to learn. The school council is able to effect change within our school. This helps to sow the seed for a better understanding of democracy in the future.

Children in our school also get the opportunity to effect change in the school. In EYFS the children have the opportunity to make decisions by choosing where their learning takes them. Our Reception children also vote which book they would like to have read to them at the end of the day. In KS1, where possible, we present the children with opportunities to make decisions about their learning and vote as a class for various purposes. We also carry out P4C (Philosophy for children) which encourages the children to debate topics and discuss things that matter. Children are also encouraged to turn take and share and these skills are taught from nursery onwards.

The Rule of Law- We all follow rules.

Children will encounter rules and laws throughout their entire life. We strive for our children to understand that if these laws are for the class, the school, the community, the country or the world, they are set for a good reason and they must be followed. The involvement of our children with our school rules helps them to understand the reasons behind the rules and the consequences if they are broken.  Pupils are taught the school rules from nursery and all children are encouraged to be role models throughout school.

In individual classes pupils discuss various rules and the importance of them and each create their own class rules that they then sign to show that they are going to follow them. The importance of rules is also reinforced through our curriculum and assemblies. 

Individual Liberty-We have the opportunity to make our own choices.

Within school, all children are encouraged to make choices knowing that they are safe to make these choices. They are also taught to understand the value of their own self. We provide opportunities for risk taking (managed risks) to develop their self knowledge, self esteem and to increase confidence in their own abilities. The children at Spire Nursery and Infant School are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and advised how to do this safely through our PSHE lessons. Children are given the opportunity in KS1 to apply for important jobs which they will receive 'spire pounds' for. The school council have helped to decide which jobs are needed and have decided that we need behaviour officers, first aiders and active monitors. After reading the job descriptions children have then applied for the positions, had an interview and then been given a uniform so other children know what their job is for. Other job roles include star of the day/week which allows the children the opportunity to carry out any important jobs that are needed in the class for that day. Children are also encouraged to understand responsibility in school in terms of behaviour and attitudes to learning.

Lessons often give opportunity for children to choose different approaches to their learning such as choosing their own resources for solving problems in maths. In EYFS children are given the opportunity to choose which tasks they would like to complete and when. We also offer a variety of clubs which children have the freedom to choose from, based on their personal interests.

Mutual Respect- We all respect each other.

Mutual respect is central to our school. We provide resources and activities that challenge gender, cultural and racial stereotyping. All of our children learn to treat each other, staff and visitors with respect. This is evident as you walk around the school and is often commented on from visitors. During our weekly 'Spire Superstars' activity children show respect for the efforts of their peers.

Our children work together in class with a wide range of abilities and often carry out peer work to support each other. Our older children show respect to our younger children and vice versa. We also reward respect that is shown to our midday supervisors by having a golden table for chosen children to eat at on a Friday.

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs- We all accept each other's differences.

At Spire Nursery and Infant School we actively promote diversity through our celebrations of different cultures and faiths. We ensure that each year group focuses on different faiths so that by the time they have left our school, they have a varied understanding. Our PSHE lessons also reinforce messages of respect and tolerance for others and we regularly discuss issues in the news so that our children can learn about people from different backgrounds. Where possible we invite people from different faiths and religions to share their knowledge with our children and visit places of worship that are important to different faiths.

Through our curriculum, our school values and the routines of our daily school life, we strive to demonstrate tolerance and help children to become knowledgeable and understanding citizens who can build a better Britain for the future.