‘Keeping our children safe and ensuring schools prepare them for life in modern Britain could not be more important.’

Department for Education (2014).

The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy – values of:

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

At St Helen’s, we actively promote these values across school life. Our entire collective worship plan reinforces this and is based on the ‘Values for Life’ programme, where a value such as Respect, Fairness, Justice, Peace and Responsibility becomes a key focus for us during each term. It is through this programme that the values really come to life. British values are also fostered through our creative curriculum and examples of these will be added to this page following our Curriculum Twilight on Tuesday November 25th. 

Democracy

Each year the children decide upon their class rules and the rights associated with these. All the children contribute to the drawing up of the charter.

We have a school council which meets every two week to discuss any issues. Every child on the school council is voted in by their class.

Examples of curriculum links: Year 5 and 6 in their topic on the Greeks explore the beginnings of democracy. They will also be visiting the Houses of Parliament in May to tie in with the 2015 General Election. 

The Rule of Law

The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced at St Helen’s.

Pupils are taught from an early age the rules of the school. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind rules, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message.

Individual Liberty

At St Helen’s, 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 young pupils to make informed choices, through a safe environment and an empowering education.  Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our eSafety and PSHE lessons.

Mutual Respect

Mutual respect is at the heart of our values. Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All members of the school community treat each other with respect. Our schools rules are all based upon respect and the value for Term 2 this year was respect and reverence. Children are producing’Respect trees’ in each classroom to represent what this value means to them.

Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs

St Helen’s is a Church of England School, however we actively promote diversity through our celebrations of different faiths and cultures. Religious Education lessons and PSHE lessons reinforce messages of tolerance and respect for others.  Members of different faiths and religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school. The children visit places of worship that are important to different faiths.