Promoting Fundamental British Values

In accordance with The Department for Education we aim to actively promote British values in schools to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. 

Pupils are encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance and understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law.

The Key Values are:

•    democracy
•    rule of law
•    individual liberty
•    mutual respect
•    tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs 

Here are some of the ways that we promote British Values at

Grayshott CE Primary School

Democracy

Every year, we elect our school council. This is made up of the headteacher, a member of our governing body, seven House Captains from Year 6, seven House Vice Captains from Year 5 and a representative from all the other classes. The elections of House Captains and Vice Captains are carried out strictly, using materials from the local council such as polling booths and registers. This way, the children get to experience what a real election looks like. One of our local councillors, Tom Hanrahan, comes to act as Returning Officer and deliver the results. The school council meets every few weeks and is sometimes joined by guests from outside agencies like Hampshire's School Meals service. the children have the chance to voice their opinions on all sorts of issues. For example, the children wanted an area on the playground where they could play football. in response, the leadership team purchased a set of dividers to create an area specifically for this. 

The Rule of Law

We keep our school rules simple and positive. Be ready, Be respectful, Be safe. We share our Anti-Bullying policy with the children each year and they all vote to uphold it. In this way, we teach the children about joint responsibility for making sure the rules are upheld. Children at Grayshott are passionate advocates for the fair application of the rules and that is why behaviour is commonly commented upon by visitors to the school. Children work together to come up with rules for their own individual classrooms and these are displayed so that everyone is clear on expectations.

Individual Liberty

Within our school, children are encouraged to make choices and express opinions, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. It is about building resilience, persevering and never giving up. Collective worship at school is 'invitational' and we encourage children to share opinions and think about big questions. There are a range of after school activities that the children can choose to be part of. We also offer lots of options at breaks and lunch time in terms of activities that children can join. They have a range of meal options, too. Also, at several points in the year, we have mufti days when children can express their individuality through the clothes they wear. We discuss different choices that the children can make and encourage them to make the right choices.   Through E-safety, we also teach the importance of keeping yourself safe by choosing not to share personal information.

Mutual respect

Respect is one of our core values in the school and also one of our three school rules. It cuts through every aspect of school life. We encourage children and adults to share a respect for each other, their environment and the wider community. It means that we treat other people they way we want to be treated. We celebrate and respect other cultures in the school, encouraging children to share their language and experiences.

We are always trying to “Be Respectful” as one of our key expectations and this means that all members of the school community treat each other with mutual respect. In addition to this, we warmly welcome all visitors and newly arrived children and their families to our Grayshott family.

Children at Grayshott show mutual respect to everyone they meet. They respect and value theirs and other’s achievements and opinions. People feel valued and welcomed at our school. Every half term, class teachers nominate two children from each class who have 'walked the walk' of our school's vision. Parents and governors come to school to see them receive their awards. The thing that always warms my heart is the way people congratulate others. rather than be disappointed for themselves, they respect the acknowledgement of their peers.

Tolerance of other faiths and beliefs

Through our RE syllabus and the wider curriculum, we find opportunities to explore other faiths and cultures. The lack of ethnic diversity in our local area means that we have to provide examples for the children to help them understand what the rest of the world looks like. We do this by including stories and thoughts from a range of faiths in our collective worship programme and through visitors who give new perspectives for the children. Through our taught curriculum, children know about the famous examples of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Paul Stephenson who had to show courage to challenge the discrimination that was shown towards them. Our learning in RE lessons is structured so that every faith studied is treated with the same respect and reverence.  

Recognising the values of courage and respect, children from the school wrote letters of thanks and support to Marcus Rashford for the work he has done for disadvantaged children.