CHORLEY ST MARY’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL
How We Promote British Values
May 2015
Mission Statement
St Mary's is a welcoming Christian Community which upholds the values of justice, respect and equality, and promotes enthusiasm for learning.
Our school aims are:
To be a happy Christian community upholding the values of love, justice and peace:
- by providing opportunities to promote each child's innate capacity for spiritual growth;
- by grasping opportunities to celebrate the awe and wonder of life;
- by promoting children's knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith through a well taught and resourced Come and See’ scheme
- by being positive role models who treat each other with respect and fairness;
- by providing quality collective worship and meaningful celebrations of liturgies;
- by recognising opportunities to develop self-confidence and self-esteem.
To provide an education which enables all children to reach their full potential by enjoying a broad, balanced and inclusive curriculum:
- by planning and delivering the curriculum and extra curricular activities to ensure provision of a rich variety of learning opportunities;
- by providing work with challenge and differentiation to meet the needs of all individual pupils;
- by using assessment, marking and evaluation to inform and enrich future teaching and learning and to track individual pupil progress;
- by providing opportunities for all staff to develop professionally;
- by having high expectations of achievement and behaviour
We aim to nurture a sense of belonging, to welcome and work in partnership with families, the parish and the wider community:
- by developing our responsibilities as citizens in the local, national and global community;
- by giving children opportunities to develop understanding and tolerance of other faiths and cultures, including their own;
- by developing positive Links between home, school and parish community;
- by supporting parents in their role as first educators;
- by working in partnership with the staff and pupils of Holy Cross High School;
- by informing and consulting with all stakeholders.
A statement from David Cameron
‘Keeping our children safe and ensuring school preparing them for life in modern Britain could not be more important. The vast majority of schools already promote British values. We are saying it isn’t enough simply to respect these values in school - we’re saying that teachers should actively promote them. They are not optional; they’re the core of what it is to live in Britain.’
At Chorley St. Mary’ s our mission statement, our strong school ethos and our curriculum, encompass British values. It is taught explicitly through PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health Education and Citizenship), through planning and delivering a broad and balanced curriculum, and especially by promoting those values in our R.E. teaching and school assemblies. Both our collective worship assemblies and assemblies based on SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) promote tolerance of other faiths, races and cultures.
Opportunities to promote democracy come through the work we do with our School Council, Eco-Council and our school house system. The school council is democratically elected and gives all pupils a voice and opportunities to make a difference. For example, all pupils have been responsible for putting forward ideas for playground rules and choices of playground equipment. The School Council gives all pupils an opportunity to put forward ideas for school events and roles that directly affect them. They have also been responsible for organising responses to disaster appeals and charity fund raising.
Year 5 and Year 6 children extend their understanding further through visits from Chorley Magistrates and visits to the town hall. Our Eco Council is also democratically elected and is working on developing an eco code, covering the areas of: energy, litter, waste recycling, water, transport, healthy living, biodiversity, school grounds and global perspectives.
The children in KS2 are arranged into four houses. In Year 6, each house member is able to put themselves up for election to the post of Captain, Vice-Captain or Sports Captain. In order to be elected to the post they must prepare a speech and deliver to their house members who will then choose the best candidate.
The rule of law is reinforced throughout the school days by our code of conduct for pupils and staff and in the way we deal with behaviour issues. Pupils are always listened to and fairness and reconciliation is emphasised. Children are rewarded for good behaviour through praise, house points, Golden Time in KS2 and sticker books and the Good to be Green scheme in EYFS and KS1 involve rewards and sanctions. Magic Moments certificates and postcards sent to parents and Star of the Week awards, reward good behaviour. These rewards are shared with parents and the school
community throug h newsletters and celebration assemblies.
In their English lessons pupils are taught how to debate and defend ideas in a non-aggressive way. They are taught to listen carefully to others and to be confident in forming their own views. Pupils are taught more explicitly about the rule of law in PSHCE lessons and in the study of other cultures and other periods in time, in History and geography lessons.
For all members of staff there is a Code of Conduct which sets out expectations of staff behaviour. This code of Conduct reflects the Teachers’ Standards which expects teachers to uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school.
Individual liberty is promoted through encouraging children to make sensible choices in a safe and supportive environment. In some lessons children are free to choose the level of challenge or to make learning choices for example in the EYFS (The early Years Foundation Stage). Pupils are encouraged to know, unders tand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms through the PSHCE curriculum and through our e-safety teaching. The children know that they are free to sign up for extra curricular clubs and sporting events and to volunteer their services around school e.g. reading in assembly or helping teachers with classroom jobs.
Tolerance of those of different faith, beliefs or cultures is taught directly through our ‘Come and See’ RE scheme and through curricular topics. In RE, as well as study of the Catholic faith, we study non-Christian faiths, such as Islam, Hinduism and Judaism. Visits of people of different faiths are
organised and children are taught tolerance and understanding of the culture and faith of others. Assemblies, both based on the SEAL/PSHCE scheme and the Catholic faith, teach the children about tolerance and respect for others. Curricular topics such as’ The Islamic Civilisation of Baghdad’, ‘The Mayans’, ‘Food from other Cultures’ and many of the geography and PSHCE topics also teach child ren these values.
Prepared by S Mason, Deputy Head Teacher
Please see the DFE document, ‘Promoting Fundamental British Values, November, 2014.