British Values, Equality & Diversity
Durham Lane Primary School
British Values
Durham Lane Primary School actively promotes the fundamental British values of:
- Democracy
Democracy is rife within the school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our Pupil Council and Pupil questionnaires. The election of school council members, as well as the winner of the class Rights Respecting Pupil of the week are based solely on pupil votes. Our school behaviour policy involves rewards which the pupil’s vote to decide on as a class group. In addition we have a ‘Have your say school council display’ that everyone can contribute to. We involve parents within the decision making process and encourage them to vote with their child for various activities including school priority planning
- The rule of law
- 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. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind our five golden rules, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when these rules are broken. Visits from outside agencies as well as our assembly themes help reinforce this message.
- Individual liberty
- Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school we educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make choices safely, through a provision of a safe environment and an empowering education. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety, Preston Curriculum, Philosophy for Children and PSHE lessons. Whether it be through choice of challenge, of how they record, of participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.
- Mutual respect
- Part of our school ethos and behaviour policy has revolved around Core Values such as ‘Respect’, and pupils have been part of discussions and assemblies related to what this means and how it is shown. Our golden rules are displayed around the school and these promote respect for others and this is reiterated through our classroom and learning rules, as well as our behaviour policy. Family groups play a large part in developing mutual respect as children are taught across age phases as well as being part of the family lunchtime groups.
- Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
- This is achieved through enhancing pupil’s understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity. Assemblies and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying have been followed and supported by learning in RE and PSHE. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school.
This is achieved through the effective spiritual, moral and cultural development of our pupils, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum and extra-curricular activities, through our links with both the local community and the wider world. In promoting our pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, we demonstrate our commitment to actively promoting fundamental British values in ways which are appropriate to our pupils’ age and ability.
We enable our pupils to understand that, while different people may hold different views about what is right and wrong, all people living in Britain are subject to its law.
These values are taught through various aspects of the curriculum such as:
- Opportunity to vote in school elections for School Council and team captain positions, as well as being made aware of local and national elections;
- Being part of assemblies where Stockton Borough Council’s Democratic Services visit to discuss voting and democracy and then leave polling booths for the children to use in their own School Council elections;
- From learning about ‘People Who Help Us’ in the Early Years and attending ‘Crucial Crew’ in Year 6, we foster a culture of respect for authority;
- The whole school follows the ‘Golden Rules’. These rules have been negotiated with the children as fundamental guidelines for how to behave in our school;
- In PSHE, we teach the importance of rights and responsibilities;
- In RE, we embrace and acknowledge a wide range of faiths and beliefs through assemblies and class teaching. We have welcomed representatives from different religions including the Imam from a local Mosque and clergy from different churches. Children have also had the opportunity to visit places of worship including the Gurdwara and nearby churches;
- We celebrate our own achievements and those of others in sport, music, art and across the wider curriculum. This may include successes inside and outside of school;
- Through our topics, children are encouraged to develop a deeper understanding of their place in the local community and wider world;
- We encourage children to think of others who may not be as fortunate as themselves. We have achieved this through participation in national charitable events such as Comic Relief, Children in Need and Cause Christmas Hamper Campaign. We have also collected donations of food during our Harvest celebrations to support a local food bank and been involved with a local charity, Little Sprouts, which helps with “Holiday Hunger”;
- Pupils are given the freedom to make choices and attend extra-curricular activities such as the Eco Team. Children develop their own action plan of activities to help look after the environment.
