British Values and The Prevent Duty

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.”

Part of our duty as a school is to also prevent children and families from extreme radicalisation and these duties are set out in the ‘Prevent Duty 2015.’ For you as families this means being safe in the knowledge that through the school curriculum as well as the ethos of the school, we encourage the children to have a balanced and respectful world view which shows tolerance and understanding of all people regardless of their ethnicity, faith or gender. All schools publish a Prevent Action Plan and ours can be found at the bottom of this page along with an information guide for parents.

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 Stilton Church Of England Primary Academy these values are 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 Council and regular questionnaires. The elections of the School Council members are 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.   Each class discusses and sets 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 rules and laws are broken.

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 an empowering 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 (or) challenge; of how they record; of participation in our numerous extra- curricular activities; our pupils are given the freedom to make choices and express opinion.

Mutual Respect:

Respect is one of the core values of our school. The Christian ethos of our school is also deeply embedded in all that we do.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:

Through our values as Church school and our RE teaching, we teach the children to be tolerant of those who have different faiths and beliefs. We enhances pupil understanding of different faiths and beliefs through religious education studies; P.S.H.E. work. Beliefs, traditions and customs will be studied in depth, with visitors being invited in to our school, or visits to places of cultural heritage and standing, to enrich and extend understanding. Through this our pupils gain an enhanced understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society.