GSO Test

A Confident, Creative Community

British Values

British Values Statement

Confidence: we aim for all our pupils to be confident and capable, across the curriculum and gain the skills, knowledge and attitudes they need to thrive in primary school and beyond.

Creativity: we aim to provide pupils with experiences and opportunities which enable them to discover their talents and develop as creative individuals. 

Community: we recognise that the community we are part of is a precious resource for our learning. We respect, value and celebrate our differences and diversity, whilst recognising that we are one community – The Fircroft Family!

At Fircroft, through our provision of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) education we:

  • enable pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence through: the use of reward systems, recognising achievements that are academic, artistic, sporting and personal and social; opportunities to take responsibility for supporting other pupil, showing initiative in making proposals about school improvements and charity events in order to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely
  • enable pupils to distinguish right from wrong in discussions about behaviour and in the creation of our whole school behaviour code and individual class charters and pupils are encouraged to accept responsibility for their behaviour
  • enable pupils to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England for example taking part in a series of workshops with NHS staff in order to learn about their work and responsibilities
  • teach tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures
  • share information about each other’s religious and cultural traditions, and through working and playing alongside each other
  • encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes through pupils taking part in elections of their representatives on the School and Eco Council.

As a result of our promotion of British values we expect pupils to develop:

  • an understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process
  • an appreciation that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their wellbeing and safety
  • an understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law
  • an acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour
  • an understanding of the importance of identifying and combating discrimination

In order to promote British values we:

  • value the ethnic backgrounds of all pupils and families and undertake a variety of events and lessons to celebrate and explore these
  • endeavour to locate and use a range of resources to promote understanding of different faiths and cultures
  • deliver a range of curriculum topics which develop the spiritual, moral, social and cultural education of our pupils
  • value the voice of the child and promote democratic processes such as our school council whose members are voted for by the children. Ideas are shared, events are planned and pupils’ points of view are taken to ensure that all pupils within the school have a voice that is listened to. Children’s suggestions for improving the school or for fundraising activities are welcomed and often acted upon
  • provide opportunities for pupils to lead and support other pupils so that they are fully involved in all aspects of school life. For instance, our older pupils are play leaders and help to promote our Rights Respecting values and playground charter
  • expect all our pupils to be good role models for each other, which is encouraged through high expectations of behaviour
  • use teaching resources from a wide variety of sources to help pupils understand a range of faiths and cultures
  • provide appropriate opportunities in the curriculum for example, each year, we take part in the annual Poppy Day celebrations where children purchase poppies and a two minute's silence is held at 11 a.m. and we celebrate Black History Month with a variety of activities and learning about key figures in black history
  • mark historical anniversaries and significant events in the calendar
  • encourage knowledge of current affairs that are significant to us as a nation
  • undertake regular assemblies which uphold traditional values of empathy, respect and tolerance. These values are also taught within formal PSHE and RE lessons and on an informal nature throughout the school day
  • advise parents that if they so wish and as is their right Section 405 of the Education Act 1996 enables them to withdraw their children from sex education other than the sex education that is in the National Curriculum (such as the biological aspects of human growth and reproduction that are essential elements of National Curriculum Science).
  • advise parents that they have the statutory right under Section 71 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to withdraw their children from RE lessons and acts of Collective Worship.