St. Bede's Catholic Junior School
SMSC / British Values
Promoting British Values at
St. Bede’s Catholic Junior School
At St. Bede’s Catholic Junior School we value the diverse ethnic backgrounds of pupils and the local community, carefully tailoring our curriculum to include a variety of events and lessons to celebrate this engaging diversity. We have found this approach to be enriching for all parties as it teaches tolerance and respect for the differences in our community and the wider world. Underpinning all of this is a range of curriculum topics, which have strong links to the British Empire. At St. Bede’s these values are intrinsic to our daily life and we celebrate them in the following ways:
Democracy:
Democracy is rife within the school. Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our School Council and Pupil questionnaires. The elections of school councillors are based solely on pupil votes. Our school behaviour policy involves rewards, which the pupils decide upon.
The Rule of Law:
The importance of Laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are regularly reinforced and consolidated throughout the daily life of the school, collective worship and specially themed assemblies. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Visits from authorities such as the local Magistrate Service, Police and Fire Service are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message. We are also lucky enough to have a close relationship with our local Member of Parliament, who visits school to speak to pupils about such issues.
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 empower pupils to make decisions safely, allowing them to extend and deepen their ability to reflect upon and respond constructively to their own and other people’s choices or actions. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advise on how to exercise these safely, for example through E-Safety and PSHE lessons, assemblies and collective worship.
Mutual Respect:
Part of our school ethos, behaviour policy and ‘Come and See’ programme revolves around Core Values such as ‘Respect’. Pupils are regularly part of discussions, assemblies, collective worship sessions and extra-curricular clubs that relate to what this means and how it is demonstrated in the locality and, indeed, globally. Posters around the school promote respect for others and this is reiterated through our classroom and learning rules, as well as our behaviour policy.
Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs:
This is achieved in many ways at St. Bede’s - through enhancing pupils’ understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity. The ‘Come and See’ programme carefully tailors the curriculum to include the study of other faiths and beliefs. There is a well thought-out map of thematic celebrations, assemblies, visitors and enrichment activities that expose our pupils to the exciting and wonderful world around them and how individuals from different faith backgrounds respond and engage to the world and faith.