At Hardy Mill we understand the importance of British values. They are integral to the curriculum experience and are embedded in our daily practice. We understand that these values are not unique to Britain and that these are shared by different countries and cultures in our local community.
We help our children to remember the British Values through the thumb and finger model:
Thumb – Democracy – thumb up or down to give opinion.
Index finger – Rule of Law – pointing finger
Middle finger – Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs – tallest finger pointing to God.
Ring Finger – Mutual respect – wedding ring finger – respect for other people
Little finger – Individual Liberty – little finger sticks out on its own.
Below are just a few examples of how we promote British values here at Hardy Mill.
Democracy at Hardy Mill
Democracy – A culture built upon freedom and equality, where everyone is aware of their rights and responsibilities.
To promote democracy we:
- Teach democracy through assemblies and our school curriculum;
- Involve the children in democratic processes e.g. choosing class names, election of school councillors;
- Encourage pupils to become involved in decision-making processes and ensure they are listened to in school;
- Have an active school council who help to make decisions;
- Conduct an annual pupil questionnaire so that children can have their say;
- Help pupils to express their views
The Rule of Law at Hardy Mill
Rule of Law – The need for rules to make a happy, safe and secure environment to live and work.
To promote the rule of law we:
- Have a Behaviour Policy with clear school rules and expectations which are consistently implemented to help pupils distinguish between right and wrong and understand the consequences of not following the rules.
- Ensure all stakeholders are aware of the Behaviour Policy and implement it consistently;
- Provide pupils with regular opportunities to reflect e.g. reflect on their learning, their behaviour and during assemblies;
- Allow children and parents/carers to voice their opinions about behaviour and safety in school through questionnaires;
- Have links with local police, magistrates;
- Deliver assemblies with a focus linked to the law e.g. school rules;
- Help pupils to respect the law and the basis on which it is made;
- Help pupils to understand that living under the rule of law protects individuals;
- Explore, within our PSHE programme, what to do if peer pressure is trying to persuade children to break these laws
- Teach children about discrimination and the protected characteristics of the 2010 Equality Act at an age appropriate level.
- Participate in Project Chameleon.
Tolerance of different cultures and religions at Hardy Mill
Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs – Understanding that we all don’t share the same beliefs and values.
To promote tolerance of different faiths and beliefs we:
- Ensure that our children have a good understanding of a range of religious beliefs and customs through our RE scheme;
- Plan to include visits from people of different faiths and/or visits to places of worship within our R.E. curriculum;
- Plan themed weeks to explore different faiths and beliefs e.g. Diversity Week;
- Teach about celebrations and festivals through assembly e.g. Harvest, Diwali;
- Use multicultural resources and share stories from a wide range of faiths and beliefs;
- Explore positive role models (where possible) through our curriculum from a range of backgrounds, faiths and cultures and who reflect the protected characteristics of the 2010 Equality Act;
- Challenge prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour.
Mutual Respect at Hardy Mill
Mutual respect – Respecting those values, ideas and beliefs of others whilst not imposing our own onto them.
To promote mutual respect we:
- Teach children to understand that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others through the consistent implementation of our school behaviour policy;
- Plan themed weeks to deepend children’s understanding of others beliefs, ideas and values e.g. Anti-Bullying week;
- Provide reflection opportunities in assemblies;
- Use multicultural resources and share stories from a range of cultures and experiences;
- Explore the protected characteristics of the 2010 Equality Act at an age appropriate level through PSHE sessions and assemblies, to promote respect for individual differences and to actively challenge stereotypes;
- Use Picture News in assemblies to explore critical news events (e.g. terrorist attacks, Black Lives Matter etc. at an age appropriate level);
- Explore positive role models (where possible) through our curriculum from a range of backgrounds, faiths and cultures and who reflect the protected characteristics of the 2010 Equality Act;
- Challenge prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour;
- Help pupils to acquire an understanding of, and respect for, their own and other cultures and ways of life.
Individual Liberty at Hardy Mill
Individual Liberty – Protection of your rights and the rights of others around you.
To promote individual liberty we:
- Support pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-confidence;
- Encourage pupils to take responsibility for their behaviour, as well as knowing their rights;
- Provide opportunities for pupils to have roles and responsibilities throughout school;
- Deliver assemblies based on Hardy Mill school values;
- Provide reflection time following behaviour incidents and completion of the “Cog Model” to help children recognise and regulate their behaviour;
- Actively encourage children to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment;
- Educate and provide boundaries for our children to make choices safely.
- Encourage pupils to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms e.g. E-Safety and PSHE lessons;
- Challenge stereotypes throughout the curriculum, especially in role play areas in Early Years and ensure reading areas contain books with a diverse range of characters.
- Implement a strong anti-bullying culture;
- Teach E-Safety units of work throughout school and parents and staff receive regular updates through newsletters.