Promoting British Values at Victoria School

The DfE have reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”The Government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy, and Schools are expected to promote these values through SMSC and the curriculum. Here at Victoria we promote ‘British Values’ through our spiritual, moral, social and cultural education this is firmly embedded throughout our curriculum and help support the holistic development of all our children. We believe in treating everyone as individuals. We value the diverse ethnic backgrounds of all pupils and families and celebrate this through various events and experiences during the year. We identify ‘British Values’ as:

Democracy

We recognise the importance of communication for all our pupils and we endeavour to give all our pupils a way to communicate. This is outlined in our “Communication Bill of Rights”. We ensure all our pupils are given opportunities to make choices about the things that they believe are important. We value each child’s communication whatever the mode. We have an extremely active School Council, the members of this are elected by the pupils each year, meet regularly and influence aspects of school development.

Rule of law

At Victoria good behaviour is an expectation. Staff provide a consistent environment throughout the school day helping pupils to understand that actions have consequences. We have a Positive Behaviour Management Team who lead on behaviour strategies throughout the school they meet regularly to discuss any pupils where behaviour does give cause for concerns. We support pupils and class teams with individual behaviour plans if this is felt necessary. Our pupils’ safety is paramount and our environment and culture enables our pupils to feel happy safe and secure.

Individual Liberty

Throughout their time at Victoria we encourage pupils to become as independent as possible and to become valued members of their community. We provide a caring and nurturing environment which enables all pupils to develop their confidence and positive self- esteem. We support others by taking part in both Local and National Fundraising events for example Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Children in Need and Comic Relief.

Mutual Respect

At Victoria we respect everyone within our community and beyond. This can be seen throughout the school day in all activities and locations around school. Our pupils’ work and interact with a variety of people not just within school but by accessing the wider community this includes meeting students from other schools, theatre groups, attending sporting events or on educational visits. We believe that education extends beyond the school building and that it is important to facilitate opportunities for our pupils in the community. We also encourage our parents to be part of school life as much as they are able.

Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Victoria is a very diverse community and we value and respect everyone within our community equally regardless of their ability, race, gender, faith or culture. We celebrate diversity by providing curricular opportunities to broaden our pupils’ experiences and awareness of others. Our assemblies encourage our pupils to find out about other cultures and communities as well as their own. They follow themes which include helping others, friendships and working together we also celebrate national and world events as well as religious festivals from a variety of cultures. At Victoria we all work closely with parents, carers and other professionals to ensure that our pupils are happy, well cared for and are helped to learn the skills they need to live a fulfilling life as part of their community.