British Values

British Values Statement of Intent

The teachers of St. James’ Catholic Primary School say…..

School is required to promote spiritual, moral and cultural (SMSC) development of our pupils.  As part of this we all have a duty to ‘actively promote’ the fundamental British Values of DEMOCRACY, RULE OF LAW, INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY, MUTUAL RESPECT and TOLERANCE of those with different faiths and beliefs.  To ensure that our pupils understand the importance of respect and leave school fully prepared for life in modern Britain.  This aim was set out in the Department of Education’s guidance on promoting values in maintained school.

As a result of our promotion of British Values, we expect our pupils to gain an understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democractic process.  We want pupils to appreciate that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for wellbeing and safety.  Pupils need to be self-reflective and understand that freedom to choose and hold other faiths or beliefs or have none should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour.

Our British Values teaching encourages children to develop curiosity and understanding of the strengths, advantages and disadvantages of democarcy, and how democracy and the law works in Britain.  We make sure that pupils within our school are able to communicate effectively and have a voice that is listened to.  We demonstrate how democracy works through actively promoting democratic processes e.g. school council.  We use local and national opportunities to hold ‘mock elections’ to teach pupils how to argue and defend points of view.  Through our teaching or the Come and See curriculum we help pupils to develop a curiosity and understanding about a range of faiths and religions for example Judiaism and Hinduism.

We ensure that fundamental British Values are reflected in our ethos and implemented effectively through our school’s policy and practice.  Examples of the promotion of British Values can be seen across the school e.g. British Values Day, Student Council, Eco-Committee, assemblies, Fire Service and Police visits, e-safety etc.

British Values Policy