British Values

Democracy

In September, children from every year group are elected to our School Parliament and have the role of listening to and acting upon the views of their peers. They meet regularly to discuss and find solutions to whole school issues.

Candidates are required to hold a conference detailing their plans for their team, in a similar way as undertaking a campaign/speech prior to election.

These leaders take an active lead in organising inter-house competitions throughout the year. At St Nicolas, teachers have regularly sought the views of the children in all class, through Class Learning Forums, whether this is linked to planning class themes or making class decisions.

The School Parliament also play an active role in creating and analysing the annual pupil questionnaires and will present an action plan to the Head of School and Local Governors in July. Their opinions are held in high esteem and usually integrated into the school’s development plan.

We 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.

Rule of Law

The importance of laws, whether they govern the class, the school or the country are consistently reinforced at St Nicolas. Our curriculum helps all our children understand the need for ‘rules’ as a way of protecting our school community and the consequences when laws are broken. The school has invited representatives of the Police and Fire Service who reinforced this message, as well as visits from the RNLI. Our daily collective worship also plays a part in helping children see the need to follow laws to ensure we uphold our strong Christian values.

Freedom & Tolerance

Within school, children are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. We have created a school that is supportive of our pupils; a school that encourages our children to take risk and reflect on their achievements and mishaps. This enables the children to make the right choices. It also gives children the vocabulary to enter into a dialogue with others in their decision making. It is equally important for all our pupils to learn that everyone has their own view or way of doing things and that it is important that we show ‘tolerance’ of these differences. Assemblies and story-telling are just two of the ways that we have promoted the concept of tolerance towards others. For our older pupils, discussions over current affairs have been the theme for weekly class assemblies. All classes have tasted food from India as a way of understanding the differences between different cultures.

Respect

Respect is a core school value which is celebrated. The school fosters respect for each other, the school, the community and beyond. Staff maintain a respectful relationship with each other, the children and their parents. We are keen to support and encourage children’s interests, both in and out of school. Our school values, of which respect is just one, permeate the school and our reward systems.

Tolerance of those in Different Faiths & Beliefs

This is achieved through enhancing pupils understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience some of this diversity. Collective Worship and Multi-cultural assemblies have been used to raise awareness of life beyond Downderry. Our curriculum frequently involved discussions that focus on challenging prejudices. The teachers are highly skilled in creating classroom environments where the children feel safe in expressing their views and where these can be challenged in a considered and age appropriate way.). Members of different faiths or religions are utilised as a curriculum resource to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school. We live in a an area of the country that does not reflect the same cultural diversity as elsewhere in the UK, however we feel that St Nicolas effectively creates a sense of community in our pupils and a sense of regional and national identity.

St Nicolas CE Primary School

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