Promoting fundamental British values through our provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural and social development

At Upton Infant School we, at the appropriate age related level, actively promote the fundamental British values of:-

• Democracy
• The Rule of Law
• Individual Liberty
• Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

This means that we challenge opinions or behaviours within the school community that are contrary to fundamental British values.

Through our provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development we:-

• enable the children to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence;
• enable the children to distinguish right from wrong and encourage the children to accept responsibility for their behaviour;
• encourage the children to show initiative and understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the local community and to society more widely;
• enable the children to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England;
• further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling the children to acquire an appreciation on and respect for their own and other cultures;
• encourage respect for others; and
• encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes.

Activities, Strategies and Events

Listed below are examples of some of the activities, strategies and events that we use to develop the above points (if you click on a link it will take you to the relevant section of the website or news page for further information):-

• The School Aims that underpin the school ethos
• Rights Respecting Schools Award that supports the school ethos
• Reward systems to promote positive behaviour
• The array of clubs we offer to promote the pupils’ self-confidence and self-esteem
• Jigsaw PHSE curriculum
• Behaviour Policy and the use of Charters which link behaviour to individual rights and responsibilities
• Pupils taking on a variety of responsibilities and receiving performance related pay e.g. Playground Buddies, Handy Helpers, Scooter Patrol, Post People
• Charity Fundraising e.g. Dorset Search Dogs, Project Mala, Upton Heath
• Community involvement e.g. Mural garden, Horticultural Show, Britain in Bloom, Carnival, Community Carols, Church Fete, Keep Upton Tidy, Care Home visits
• Work of the School Council including their trip to the Houses of Parliament and their work with the Pyramid Council
• Curriculum learning e.g. RE, India, Kenya, Great Britain, Fire Fire, People Who Help Us
• One off events e.g. General Election, St George’s Day, Respect Week, Grandparents’ Day, Pancake Race, Harvest
• Weekly Newsround class discussion to focus on world events and link them to the Unicef Rights of the Child
• Learning Characters / Medals / PULSE to develop self-knowledge in how to learn
• Self-assessment, topic evaluation, guided marking used to support the pupils in reflecting upon their learning
• Visits to the three local churches and visits from the local Vicar
• Competitive sports development and artistic performance opportunities
• Thought of the Week to promote positive feelings and values as part of the school community

Future Development

In order to further develop the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness we aim to work on the following areas between September 2016 and August 2017 as key elements of  the School Development Plan:-

Spiritual – explore beliefs and experience; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.

• To provide increased opportunities for the pupils to ‘immerse’ themselves in learning about other key religious festivals so they can compare the similarities and differences to the key Christian festivals.  At the moment the children only experience these as ‘Action’ teaching and so a deeper understanding could be developed.
• To provide increased opportunities for the pupils to take more responsibility for their general topic learning by choosing areas they wish to ‘master’.  At the moment the children receive ‘Action’ teaching and ‘Immersion’ activities but we need to provide further opportunity for ‘Mastery’ by enabling the children to independently apply their learning within a new context.

Moral – recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand the consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views.

• To provide an assessment framework for the Learning Skills so that the pupils and adults understand the next step in a child’s development of the skills.  This will enable all pupils to be challenged and supported appropriately to ensure that they continue to make good progress in their own self-awareness and their awareness of others.

Social – use a range of social skills; participate in the local community; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; engage with the British values of democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect and tolerance.

• To re-establish a link with a school which has a cohort of pupils with a different religious or ethnic demographic.  Upton is predominately a White British area and as such limits the opportunity for the children to develop a full understanding of British society.

Cultural – appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain’s parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.

• To further develop the children’s knowledge of Britain’s parliamentary system and its role in shaping our history and values through the topics of Great Britain and Fire Fire.