British Values in our Curriculum

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• ​Our PSHE curriculum for Year 5 includes a unit on ‘Democracy’, where pupils learn about the democratic system and how our government works. Within this unit they also learn about the importance of individual liberty and how this shapes their lives. They learn about people in the world who do not have personal freedom.

• Children begin their schooling at West Leigh Junior School in Year 3 with the PSHE topic ‘Why Are Friendships Important?’ This topic has been planned to teach children the importance of tolerance, respect and acceptance of people different from themselves.

• ‘What’s in the News’ is a weekly timetabled session that allows pupils to explore issues regarding human rights, freedom of speech and cultural differences in our own country and across the world.

• Our teaching of SMSC across the whole school curriculum actively promotes all of the identified British Values.

• Individual liberty is taught through e-safety and PSHE lessons that advise pupils on how to safely exercise their rights and personal freedoms.

• Our broad and balanced RE curriculum enables pupils to learn about and respect the beliefs of those from many different faiths.

• British Values are a priority for subject leaders and this ensures that British Values are considered and planned for across the whole curriculum.

• In Year 6 pupils learn about the rights of the child in their RE curriculum. They consider the importance of these rights and what happens in the world when these rights are taken away.

• Our PSHE curriculum teaches children about the consequences of not following our society’s rules and laws.

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Beyond the Curriculum

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• ‘Head for the Day’ takes place every other year, allowing pupils to experience democracy in action when they vote for a pupil to run the school for a day. They take part in campaigns and place their own confidential vote based on the manifesto they support.

• House captains are elected democratically each year. We also involve the pupils in key decisions, such as changing the names of our house teams. This also took place through a democratic vote. Children learned the importance of considering their vote carefully and the impact that their vote can have.

• Visits from authorities such as the police and fire services reinforce the importance of the rule of law.

• Our school ethos and behaviour policy revolves around ‘respect’ as a core value.

• The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through school assemblies.

• Whether it is through choice of challenge, how they record their work or of participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices throughout their time at West Leigh Junior School.

• School assemblies are timetabled to specifically focus on key areas regarding British Values, with children across the school learning about the values and their importance in a variety of ways. Assemblies also cover key religious festivals across the year along with themes regarding friendship, tolerance and respect. (Please see an example below).

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