British Values

Promoting British Values at The Sylvester Primary School

At The Sylvester we promote British values in a variety of ways.  These values are taught explicitly through our PSHE and Religious Education curriculum.

The examples that follow are an indication of some of the ways we embed British values at The Sylvester and should be seen as an indication of our approach rather than an exhaustive list.

Democracy

The Sylvester pupils have a voice.  That voice is heard through weekly, School Council meetings.  The importance of parliamentary democracy is demonstrated in annual publicly held elections of school councillors. The process includes nominations, canvassing and voting.  Pupils are also involved in the recruitment process for some members of staff.  Our pupils learn about their country and where our freedoms, Parliament and constitutional monarchy have evolved from.

Upholding the Law

The Sylvester consistently reinforces the importance of laws and rules, whether they govern a class, the school or the country. Laws and rules are also reinforced through weekly whole school and class assemblies.  Pupils are taught the values of laws and rules, the reasons behind them and the consequences that apply when they are broken. The school has links with the Fire Service and the Police and both are regular visitors to school assemblies. The school has access to the designated Police Offer based at Lord Derby Academy.

Tolerance of Others

The various churches and faith groups that call Britain home are all a key part of the Religious Education curriculum. We strive to improve our pupils’ understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity in school. Assemblies and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying are supported by learning in RE and PSHE.

Individual Liberty

Pupils are actively encouraged to think about and make good and right choices in their daily lives in and out of school. We provide pupils with a safe and secure environment that supports them in making the right choices via a balanced curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to get involved in a variety of extra-curricular and community activities. Pupils and staff work together for a large number of charitable causes throughout the year (British Legion Poppy Appeal, Wear it Pink, Jeans for Genes, Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Appeal, Children in Need, Comic Relief, British Heart Foundation and specific Local charities)

Pupils are encouraged to participate in leadership opportunities that not only develop their skills but could potentially impact on a large number of pupils– For example, we have a Peer Mediators who support pupil well being and extremely successful Sports Leaders.  Pupil’s at The Sylvester accept personal and social responsibility in many ways.

Mutual Respect

Respect is at the core of our school ethos and is modelled by pupils and staff alike. The school promotes respect for others and this is reiterated through our classroom and learning environments. Staff, children and governors have agreed a set of general principles which promote behaviour. These principals are underpinned by our values of respect, fairness and inclusion.

1. We believe that with every right comes a responsibility.
2. When each of us takes responsibility for what we do, we make our school a better place.
3. We believe that ‘we are what we do’ and together we can make big changes to our school, our community and our world.
4. We believe that all children and adults have the right to be listened to and the responsibility to listen to others
5. We believe that all children have the right to learn and all staff have the right to teach.
6. We promise to support, praise and reward good behaviour.
7. We will be fair and consistent when we apply sanctions for poor behaviour choices.
8. We believe that adults who work in our school should model good behaviour and should never denigrate children or colleagues.
9. We will promote positive behaviour by helping children to develop their social, emotional and behavioural skills.
10. We will keep parents informed about their child’s behaviour, positive as well as negative.
11. We will consult children, staff, parents and governors about our behaviour policy.
12. We will not tolerate violence or threatening behaviour by pupils or parents.

Pupils are part of discussions and assemblies related to what these mean and how they are shown. Our ethos promotes respect for others and this is reiterated through our individual classroom rules, as well as our whole school behaviour policy.   We believe that self-regulation and respect are at the heart of good behaviour. We foster and expect good behaviour from all children. This means children are expected to treat each other and the school staff with respect because they know this is the right way to behave.

At The Sylvester we have adopted the following school rules which are displayed in all classrooms as well as in communal areas of school:

Our Golden Rules

• We treat people how we want to be treated – We stop and think before we speak or act. We make sure our words or actions don’t hurt people or their feelings.
• We do our best…we work hard and don’t waste time or give up.
• We are honest…we don’t tell lies or cover up the truth.
• We listen and follow instructions… we don’t interrupt or ignore people.
• We look after property… we don’t waste or break things.
• We walk sensibly in school…we don’t run inside and we play safely outside.

Mutual respect is embraced throughout the curriculum from the concept of ‘fair play’ in PE to the peer mediators programme which promote mutual respect and support between pupils across different year groups within the school.