British Values

Our School Definitions for the British Values areas are: 

• Individual Liberty - is when people have the freedom to choose their faith, beliefs, likes and dislikes which are outside Government control

• Rule of Law - means that all people and groups are ruled by the same laws which help to keep us all safe and happy

• Democracy - is when a group of people have equal rights and the freedom to choose how they are treated, rather than when one person has all the power and makes all the decisions

• Tolerance of different cultures and religions - A fair, objective and permissive attitude to those whose faith may differ from one's own
• Mutual Respect - is understanding that we all don't share the same beliefs and values. It is respecting the values, ideas and beliefs of others

3 I'S STATEMENT FOR BRITISH VALUES

Intent Statement - British Values

St Joseph’s is committed to serving its community. We recognise the multi-cultural, multi faith and ever-changing nature of the United Kingdom. Whilst promoting a Catholic ethos within our school, we are dedicated to doing all we can to prepare our pupils for the life in modern Britain. We enable our children to become independent, reflective and creative learners who are able to positively face challenges set before them. This ethos is interwoven and embedded throughout the life of our Catholic school. We celebrate and explore British Values throughout our creative and connected curriculum; in addition to this, we ensure that British Values are introduced, explored discussed and lived-out through our ethos and work of the school through planned focus weeks of each value. All curriculum areas provide further understanding of these concepts and in particular our Commando Joe missions and RE, RSHE and wellbeing lessons provide excellent opportunities to deepen and develop understanding and to make sense of the values personally. Our children embrace these concepts with enthusiasm and demonstrate a good understanding of their application to their own lives. We recognise and celebrate this within our school through British Value certificates during celebration assemblies.

Implementation Statement - British Values

At St Joseph’s, these values are reinforced regularly and in the following ways:

• British Values are taught in every year group, including early years, ensuring all children are explicitly exposed to all five values through specific focus sessions
• Our focus sessions are carefully planned to make links to our Commando Joe curriculum, where possible
• British Values planning is added to our topic planner document with an outline of the activity and how the evidence will be recorded
• British Values assemblies are held to Y1-Y6 by the British Values subject leader
• Pupils record their British Value work in their topic portfolios (Y1-Y6) and is marked in accordance with our marking policy, as any other lesson would be
• Pupils are challenged in -line with their year group expectations and are given the opportunity to build on their prior knowledge and contextual understanding of each value
• Effective CPD opportunities are available to staff through the National College to ensure high levels of confidence and knowledge are maintained
• To support teaching, the British Values subject leader suggests lesson ideas to support teaching staff
• All classrooms have a British Values display
• We have a whole school British Values display in our eating area and can therefore be seen by all children
• Our focus session activities are shared with families through Class Dojo and the school website
• Children’s ideas are celebrated through a British Value award during our celebration assemblies

FOCUS SESSION 1 - All classes review the five different values. Children think about how we already promote these values within our school community and produce evidence towards this in an age appropriate manner, whether that be a written piece of work, pupil voice recordings or photographs. Our whole school focus session of all values is held in the autumn one term.

DEMOCRACY –

Democracy is embedded in our school. Children are always listened to by adults and are taught to listen carefully and with concern to each other, respecting the right of every individual to have their opinions and voices heard. Pupils also have the opportunity to air their opinions and ideas through pupil voice sessions led by subject leaders. The elections of our class chaplains and eco warrior members are based solely on pupil votes, reflecting our British electoral system and demonstrating democracy in action. Our pupils see democracy as a key way to work in a team and achieve success during our Commando Joe missions.

Our whole school democracy focus session is held in the autumn one term.

INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY –

At St Joseph’s, we believe that each and every child is important and has much to offer to our school. Being a fairly small school, we are able to know each family well and develop positive relationships which are invaluable in supporting teaching and learning. Each child is encouraged to think for themselves, make their choices and develop independence in their learning. We educate and provide boundaries for young pupils to make choices safely, through provision of a safe environment and empowering education, for example through our e-safety and PSHE sessions. We explore the meaning of equality and fairness in a range of contexts. Whether it be through choice of learning challenge, of how they record their learning (particularly in upper KS2), of participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.

Our whole school individual liberty focus session is usually held in the autumn two term.

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 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 Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message. Our Commando Joe missions have clear rules that pupils and teams must follow in order to achieve their mission outcome.

Our whole school rule of law focus session is usually held in the spring term.

MUTUAL RESPECT –

Mutual respect is at the heart of our values at St Joseph’s. We encourage children to value other people’s views, beliefs and opinions as being equal to their own. Children learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All members of our school community treat each other with respect and this is something that we pride ourselves upon. Children know that respect is expected, and is shown to everyone, whatever the differences we may have. This is a key facet to our RE, PSHE and wellbeing learning generally. Our pupils are nurtured to develop self-respect through achievable target setting and regular meaningful rewards alongside our Commando Joe RESPECT curriculum.

Our whole school mutual respect focus session is usually held within the spring term.

TOLERANCE OF OTHER CULTURES AND BELIEFS –

We encourage pupils to celebrate the differences between people as a source of new perspective and strength. We promote unity through identifying where and how people have things in common. A key part of our Commando Joe RESPECT curriculum is how to work in teams, understanding and appreciating the differences inherent to them. Our pupils learn to celebrate difference. Our interfaith experience weeks celebrate this, such as our Indian experience day that was held as a celebration of our Hinduism focus week. Children within the early years are exposed to a plethora of religious celebrations such as Shabbat and Diwali. This acts as a foundation to build understanding and lasting relationships between people of all faiths and non-religious beliefs. Throughout all these activities, our children gain an enhanced understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society.

Our whole tolerance of other cultures and beliefs focus session is usually held within the summer term. 

Impact Statement - British Values

As our mission statement says “At St Joseph's, our Mission is to allow everyone to develop to their full potential in the light of the teachings of Jesus Christ. We believe that each individual should be free to grow in a loving and merciful school community, rooted in determination, courage and hard work. By the grace of God each person can be nurtured to fulfil their purpose.” This is promoted through British Values so that our children make a positive impact on society and the world around us.

Through our teachings, children at St Joseph’s are exposed to personally experience compassion, empathy, consideration and respect. Our children evidently make a meaningful and positive contribution to Rossington’s community through our participation of events such as Day of the Dead, CAFOD Harvest Fast, Doncaster food bank donations, Year Two litter picking events, Operation Christmas Child, support boxes for the homeless and many, many more charity events that we are proud to support.

Please click below to view Our St Joseph's Statement

St Joseph's British Values Statement

Further information from the DFE regarding British Values can be found by clicking here

British Values 2022/2023

Autumn 1 Individual Liberty and Democracy

Nursery 

In nursery we promote the British value of individual liberty daily.  In our outdoor area we encourage the children to create their own obstacle courses and to take and manage their own risks, such as climbing a tree, or balancing on planks. We support the children’s self-confidence to be able to make their own choices in nursery and to play with activities that engage them and to which they have an interest in.

British Values 2021/2022

Year 3 

Year 3 - Democracy 

British Values 2020/2021

Reception

Tolerance of Other Cultures and Faith

Interfaith Week - Judaism

Year 6

Mutual Respect

Black History Month - October 2020

Rule of Law

Children recapped the rules and expectations of their behaviour at St Joes. They also looked at how the Corona Virus had changed rules in the country and in school. Children signed the school rules, and the agreed the consequences for breaking them.

Tolerance of Other Cultures and Faith

Interfaith Week - Judaism

Friday 21st May 2021

WALT: discover the importance of forgiveness through Rosh Hashanah

Remembrance Day 2020

Inter Faith Week - 8th to 15th November 2020

Individual Liberty

Earth Day- 22nd April 2021

 Appreciating Individuality Through Art - Thursday 3rd September 2020

British Values 2019/2020

Spring Term 1 2020

Mutual Respect

Year 5

Individual Liberty

Reception

This week we have been learning about individual liberty and what it means to the children. Our focus in Reception has been to talk about ourselves in a positive way. We have been encouraging the children to develop a positive sense of themselves and have provided the opportunity for the children to develop their self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities. The children drew some fantastic self-portraits and spoke about themselves in a positive way. Here are a few examples below…

Children’s Mental Health 3rd - 9th February 2020

British Values – Individual Liberty & Mutual Respect

Nursery

Find Your Brave

The children listened to the story of ‘The Selfish Crocodile’. The children said that the little mouse was brave to go into the mouth of the crocodile as well as the crocodile when he had his tooth pulled out.

The children gave examples of when they have been brave saying

“I am brave when climbing, I had to keep trying”

“I was brave when I had my injection”

Reception

Find your Brave

In Reception we read the story Jack and the Beanstalk as it is part of our topic this half term. We thought about how Jack was feeling when he had to climb up the beanstalk and the children identified that he was brave to do this. We then spoke about times when we had to be brave. The children did a fantastic job at sharing their own experiences of being brave. After circle time each child then acted out times when they were brave and they discussed how they felt during this. Well done Reception!

Year 1

Encouraged by Place 2 Be’s Children’s Mental Health Awareness week, year one have been sharing their thoughts on the matter.

We have been talking about what mental health is and what it means to us. We linked it to the British Value of individual liberty as we thought that being happy is part of expressing who you are, as a unique individual.

We started our week talking about being brave and how words of encouragement can help us to be brave when it is not that easy. We created a ‘jar of courage’ with little messages for us to pick out and inspire us during challenging times. We also created a brave book which is filled with pictures and sentences about times we were brave and are now proud of our self for.

Later on in the week we talked about all of the things that make us special such as the things we like, facts we know, the places we have been, the experiences we have gained, the clothes we wear and the languages that we speak.

Year One encourage you to talk to your child about their mental health and what makes them so special!

Year 2

In year 2, we discussed what being brave means. We then listened to the story ‘The Lion Inside’. It is a beautiful story about a lion and a mouse.

After reading the story, we discussed the characters of the mouse and the lion and how they were brave. We talked about how sometimes even though people are outspoken and confident they can sometimes feel scared and need to find a way to be brave. We thought about how we can be brave and how we have been brave. Some of us shared this with the class.

We also discussed about what to do if we were struggling to be brave and if we were feeling scared. We talked about the different people we could talk to who could help us and the different things those people could do to help us.

Year 3

Tuesday 4^th February 2020

We firstly listened to the story ‘The Wolf’s Colourful Coat’.

We said that it is about being brave enough to do the right thing. This means that we always need to be kind to people, even if they are mean to us. We need to be brave enough to do the right thing and not let someone bully us into doing something we know is wrong.

We then listened to the song ‘This Is Me’ from The Greatest Showman.

We think the song is about…

• Being brave to be me
• Being proud to be myself
• Knowing it is ok to have different likes, dislikes and beliefs
• Not being afraid to be myself
• Never giving up, even if we are scared
• Having the confidence and bravery to stick at what we are doing even if it gets tough or difficult

We think that this fits in with the British Values ‘individual liberty’ and ‘mutual respect’.

• Respecting our own beliefs, and the beliefs of others
• Not copying anyone else – being a unique individual

After this, we said one thing we have done that was brave and something that we were proud of ourselves for.

Year 4

In Year 4, for our ‘Mental health awareness week’ session, we considered the differences between physical and mental health. The children thought about what each might look like before watching a couple of videos. They reflected on these before considering situations where they have needed to be brave. They discussed their thoughts and feelings about the times, in particular what their fears had been. Afterwards, they reflected on how they felt once they had done this and the people who had helped support them at the time.

Year 5

As part of Children’s Mental Health Week, Year 5 started their session by recapping the British Values. Miss Vickers asked the class to explore how individual liberty and mutual respect could be linked. The class pointed out that we should respect other people’s choices, opinions and values because that is what makes them unique and special.

During this session, Year 5 developed their understanding of mental health. They learnt that mental health is all about how we think, feel and act. They considered that people might be feeling worried, afraid, stressed, sad or lonely, and therefore, they might find it difficult to think positively about themselves. We agreed that these feeling could stop a person achieving the things they want in life.

Once we had established an understanding of mental health, Year 5 explored the theme of bravery. They discussed things that could get in the way of them being brave, and they also explored how it feels when you do manage to succeed with something you were initially reluctant to do. Year 5 agreed that the people that could help them be brave were their family, teachers, inspiring role models, trusted adults and friends. We agreed that if we were feeling afraid or stressed about a situation, then it’s really important to be brave and talk to someone.

To finish their session, Year 5 designed a bravery superhero. They had to give it a motto, characteristics of bravery and superpowers (things that help it be brave).

Year 6

Mental Health Week – Find Your Brave

During the week, Year 6 watched a video clip on what your mental health is to recognise the importance of looking after yourself mentally as well as physically. The children reflected on their own mental health and thought about times when they felt ’not themselves.’ This was often when they felt tired, if they had a fall out with a friend or felt like they were having an ‘off day.’

The children then created posters to help raise awareness of mental health for others. On their posters they included advice which included the importance of talking to someone about your mental health and doing things which you enjoy.

Here is some of the children’s work:

Holocaust memorial assemblies 2020

Monday 27^th January marked the 75^th year memorial for Holocaust memorial day and this year the quote was #standtogether. The children created flames with this quote on and brought them to our Monday morning gospel assembly to add to the prayer table before taking them back to class to use as part of collective worship in the week.

On Wednesday, the children also focused on this in more detail for the whole school PSHE assembly. The children recapped on their other faiths learning on Judaism. They also learnt about key people linked to the holocaust, what happened to them and reflected on how this made them feel. Afterwards, the children listened to a song which reminded them of how powerful their voice is and how they can use it to stand up for what is right and what God wants – for us to treat each other fairly, with respect and love. We ended our assembly with prayers for those who suffered from the holocaust.

Holocaust Memorial Day - Monday 27^th January 2020

Year 3

Year 3 held a two minutes silence to think about those that had died because of their religion in WW2. We spoke about how people should have their own individual liberty to chose their relgion and we should have tolerance of other faiths and mutual respect.

Year 4

For ‘Holocaust Memorial Day’, Year 4 considered the life of Ann Frank and reflected on what life might have been like for a Jewish child at the time. They were made aware of the prejudices of the time and the injustice of this. The children were able to reflect on this after, decorating a candle and including reflective words, which were then shared together in a liturgy.

Year 5 

Year 5 starting off their session by recapping the ways that we can show tolerance to different cultures and beliefs. The all agreed that learning about different faiths, and being respectful of their customs and beliefs is really important. They also pointed out that we should treat others as we want to be treated ourselves regardless of what religion they follow or the life choices they make.

Miss Vickers explained to us about why we have Holocaust Memorial Day, and she told us that this year’s theme is ‘Stand Together.’ We agreed that it is really important to commemorate the Holocaust so that we honour the innocent people whose lives were taken and also so that these horrors are never repeated again.

We learned how Jewish people were treated during Nazi Germany, and we developed our understanding of what it means to discriminate against a group of people because of their beliefs. We agreed that it is really important to use our voice if we see someone being treated unfairly and we were inspired by the Veseli family who protected two Jewish families during WWII.

Year 5 are committed to standing together against discrimination and they designed and created a memorial flame to honour those affected and the lives taken during the Holocaust.

Year 6

In Year 6 the children reflected further from the assembly on discrimination. The pupils created flames with prayers, poems, quotes and key words on. They decided to decorate these multi-colored to represent that we are all different and we should celebrate this.

Autumn Term 2 2019

Individual Liberty

Nursery 

In Nursery we are able to choose the activities we would like to do, and have the freedom and choice to decide where we will play. We have the choice of playing indoors or outdoors, as well as when we have our fruit and milk.

Year 1

This week we have been learning about individual liberty therefore talking about the choices that we can make for ourselves.

Lots of children talked about how they try hard to choose their own dinner rather than simply copying the meal that their friend chooses.

We read the book ‘The Hueys in the new jumper’ which is about people being the same and therefore not expressing their individuality. The children then created three different jumper designs for the Hueys and explained which jumper they would choose to wear and why.

There were some great designs!

Year 2

Tuesday 10^th December 2019

British Values- Individual Liberty

We started off by recapping the

British Values. To start with we discussed what we thought was meant by Individual Liberty. We watched a clip to help us understand what Individual Liberty is. Here is the link if you want to watch it at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9CADpB7fsE

We listened to the story “The Hueys in The New Jumper” by Oliver Jeffers. We discussed the story as we read the book and thought about how The Hueys showed their Individual Liberty. We then created our own jumpers for The Hueys. We then discussed and wrote out what Individual Liberty means.

Year 4

In Year 4, we discussed the rights and responsibilities we all have, and the rules we all need to follow, in order to be free to make choices. We considered how our actions have an impact on other people’s freedom when this happens. We then used our individual liberty to make choices on the type of Christmas card we would like to make.

Year 5

As a class, we started our session by considering what the word freedom meant, and we looked at what is and isn’t considered freedom. The children learnt that individual liberty means having the freedom to choose the way we want to live. They then looked at a book called ‘We Are All Born Free,’ which contains the Declaration of Human Rights in pictures. The class discussed their individual rights, and then they focused on a picture in the book, which was labelled, ‘Freedom Park’. In pairs, the children worked together to find different ways that the children in the park were expressing their individual liberty. They then presented their findings to the rest of the class. To finish, the class got to use their right to choice by designing and creating their own Christmas cards. They selected the colour of the card, the materials they wanted to use, the image they wanted to place on the card and who their card was for.

Year 6

Year 6 discussed and recapped all of the British Values and then focused upon individual liberty. The children talked about the importance of freedom of choice, yet the need to follow rules. The children then carried out an act of individual liberty by creating their own designs for their Christmas cards. These looked wonderful and the children afterwards talked about the choices they had made and why.

Black History Month - Autumn Term 1 2019

Nursery 

For our learning during Black History Month the children have been looking at the book ‘Handa’s Surprise’. We have been talking about the houses and why they are different compared to the houses we live in. The children have also been talking about what Handa is carrying and if we carry items on our head. The children have drawn pictures of their favourite fruit to put in Nursery’s basket.

Reception

In Reception we have been learning about Ruby Bridges. We listened to information and have found out what happened to Ruby when she wanted to come to school. The children thought about words to describe Ruby, and have written them around her picture.

Year 1

Wednesday 16^th October 2019 - Black History Month- Rosa Parks

British Values - Mutual Respect.

We carried out some role play to consider how it might feel to be left out for reasons that are out of our control. Miss Goodwin pretended to be a mean teacher and only let the children with blue eyes sit on the chairs, the brown eyed children had to sit on the floor. We said that this made us feel sad, angry and upset. Some people said they felt really worried about their friend’s feelings and wanted to ask them if they would like their chair to sit on. Then, we acted out getting on bus. If we were wearing a jumper, we had to sit near the front but if we didn’t have a jumper on we had to sit at the back unless the seats were full. We reflected again and decided that it was not fair and that we were being unkind. “I feel bad for them because they must have felt left out” Maisie.   

We learnt about Rosa Parks and the acts she carried out in the 1950’s. We thought about how she must have felt and we said that she was amazing for standing up for herself – “she must have felt empowered” (Maria).

After this, we talked about having mutual respect for one another and how we can show mutual respect to everyone we meet. We thought of lots of great acts of kindness including offering someone your seat, holding the door for them or simply giving them a smile.

If we were to meet Rosa Parks, we would ask her;

Are you OK? – Sophie

Would you like to come to my house to be safe? – Jessica

How did you feel when the white people said you had to get off? Were you angry or upset? – Finley G

Would you like a drink? Because if it was hot in America and the bus kept driving past black people and she wasn’t allowed to sit down then she would be hot and tired so she might need a cold drink. – Patrick

Year 2

We started off by looking at different pictures from Pocahontas’ time with the British colonists and her time in England. We discussed in groups and a class about the work she did for peace and equality. We also discussed if and how mutual respect was shown.

We reflected on what mutual respect was. We said it is:

Showing respect to everyone and the environment.

Appreciate and value others.

Treating people the way you want to be treated.

We then discussed ‘everyone is equal, no exceptions’ and what it meant to use. We said:

Everybody should be treated the same.

Everybody should be kind to one another and use the right words.

Treating someone like they are important.

We shook hands with each other as a sign of being equal, respect and peace.

Using this we then drew or wrote our own reflection for ‘everyone is equal, not exceptions.

Year 3

Miss Fiddler showed us a picture of Frederick Douglass and asked us who we thought he was.

Our predictions were not correct. We have learnt from this that we cannot judge people by what they look like.

We then learnt more about Frederick Douglass. We discovered that he was born into slavery in 1818 and escaped to New York to do some incredible things!

We think Frederick Douglass was a very clever and smart man as he taught himself to read and write. He is a very good person because he helped to allow slaves to become freed. He is a very brave man for escaping slavery. He stood up for other people’s rights. We think he was an amazing, kind man.

Year 4 - Black History Month

For our ‘Black History’ focus in Year 4, the children focused on the life of Paul Stephenson. They initially looked at a range of people before looking in a little more detail at Rosa Parks. The children then found out about how Paul Stephenson and his colleagues were inspired by Rosa’s actions, and they organised a boycott of the local bus company who refused to employ people based on the colour of their skin. They found out about the subsequent involvement of politicians before ultimately a change in the law took place forbidding discrimination on the basis of colour, race or ethnic or national origins.

Year 5 – Black History Month (Mutual Respect and Tolerance of Different Cultures and Religions)

As part of their work on the Victorian Era, and linked to Black History Month, Year 5 learned about the lives of two inspirational figures – Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale. They started their session by considering why we have Black History Month and why it is important to recognise the talents of all people regardless of race, gender or age. The class then watched two videos about the lives of Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale. While they watched, they took notes about the key events of the two women’s lives. Miss Vickers also asked us to notice similarities and differences between the two women, the challenges they faced and why they are inspirational figures. We all came to the conclusion that they showed determination and courage to pursue their dreams in the face of prejudice and discrimination. The class were impressed at how both women showed a strong desire to help others even in the face of strong opposition from the rest of society. We all agreed that a person should be judged by their actions not by the colour of their skin or their gender.

Black History Month – Year 6

Vernon Baker

For Black History Month, the Year 6 children learnt about Vernon Baker who was a United States Army first lieutenant. Vernon Baker received a medal of honour for his services in the war, but didn’t obtain this award until the late 1990s (52 years after his service) purely because of the colour of his skin. The Year 6’s created a fact file using information that they research on the Ipads.

PSHE Assembly – Democracy  

 “You have the right to give your opinion, and for adults to listen and take it seriously.” Article 12

We started off our assembly by considering who rules this country. Some of us thought it might be The Queen, but the majority of us knew that it was the people who rule Britain! Miss Vickers explained that this was because we live in a democratic country, and democracy means ‘ruled by the people.’  Miss Vickers explained being democratic is the name we give the process of everyone having a vote or a say. Having a vote gives you the opportunity for your voice to be heard. She then read us the story The Day the Crayons Quit by Oliver Jeffers. While she read, some of us helped out by representing the different crayons in the story. We talked afterwards about what the crayons were feeling, what they did about their feelings and what Duncan did to make sure the crayons felt better. We agreed the crayons had used their democratic right to a voice, and their voice mattered!

Miss Vickers asked us to think about times when we had used our voice in school to make a difference. She said that Mrs Wallhead had an exciting opportunity for us to use our voice! Mrs Wallhead explain that St Joseph’s had the opportunity to take part in Junior Make Your Mark. She said that it was a campaign for primary aged children in Doncaster to; speak up, have their voice heard and make a difference! She explained that some of us would have the opportunity to vote on one of six areas that we really cared about. Just like the crayons in the story, we are being given the opportunity to have our say on important decisions!

Democracy 

Nursery

Democracy

We have been learning about democracy in Nursery.

The children were asked to choose which book they would like, and showed a preference with a show of hands.

We discussed that we all have a choice and our own likes, and that this differs from one another.

Reception

Democracy

In Reception we created our own classroom rules together. The children thought about how we should behave in our class and shared their ideas. After creating our own rules we looked at the St Joseph’s class rules that are displayed in the classroom and the children noticed that many rules were the same. 

Year One and our British Values

After revising the British values that we remembered from reception, we had a great discussion about who makes up the rules in our country. We talked about police men and women who keep us safe, ensuring that everyone is following the rule of law. We thought about different people we might meet and how we can show them mutual respect despite our differences. Year one had some fantastic ideas such as being kind to everyone and listening to things that are important to others.  

Finally, we learnt what is meant by ‘democracy’ and voted for our class councillors and class chaplains. We considered a range of ways we could vote and made a class decision to close our eyes and point to the person we would like to vote for. We decided this would be a good idea as our votes were anonymous and Miss Goodwin could count the votes.

Enjoy the photograph of us voting for our chaplains!

British Values Year 2

School Councilors- Calise and Logan

Class Chaplains- Grzegorz and Maya

We were reintroduced to the five British Values and wrote them onto a handprint. On the handprint each finger represents one of the British Values.

We then focused on democracy. In school we have school councilors and class chaplains. We took part in a vote for these roles. The children who were chosen are in the photos below.

Year 3

British Values Focus Week

During our first British Values focus week of the year, year three discussed all of the British Values and how we could live our lives by them.

We decided on some class rules that we would like to have in our classroom. These can be found on Miss Fiddler’s desk and the door outside. Here, we thought about ‘rule of law’ and ‘mutual respect’.

We had a conversation about what it means to be ‘tolerant to other faiths and religions’ and what ‘individual liberty means’.

To better understand democracy, children that wanted to be Class Chaplains or School Counsellors explained to the rest of the class why they should be selected. We closed our eyes and voted for who we wanted to win this vote.

Our Class Chaplains are Gracie and Jacob.

Our School Counsellors are Abigail and Harry.

To continue our understanding of democracy, we have been nominating other children to receive ‘handwriter of the week’ and ‘maths wizard of the week’. It’s really nice to be recognised by our class friends for our hard work and efforts!

Year 4

In Year 4, the children discussed how democracy works, and they were able to understand how this is a fair way of making decisions. We discussed how our school councillors/class chaplains are representatives for our class who we use democracy to fairly select. Many of the children explained why they would be suitable for the role before the children were selected by their classmates by voting.

Year 5 – Democracy

As part of our British Values work, we started our session by reminding ourselves of the five values and why they are important. We then focused on developing our understanding of democracy. Firstly, Miss Vickers asked us who rules this country. We pondered this with our learning partners, and after much deliberation, we decided it was the people who ruled. We talked about what democracy means, and we discussed what it is like to live in a democratic country. We agreed that democracy gives us the right to a voice and the right to a vote. We discussed times in school where we voted for things and our opinion mattered. Miss Vickers told us that we would be holding a democratic election to decide who would be our school council representatives and our class chaplains. We discussed in pairs the qualities that would be required for these roles and shared these with the whole class. Please see our ideas below. 

The class then got the opportunity to write a manifesto and read it to the rest of the class. After the manifestos were read, the class voted for their representatives. They also wrote up their understanding of democracy.

British Values Year 6

The children in Year 6 recapped over the 5 British Values and then reflected on each one. They thought of examples when each value is lived out within our current society.

The class then focused on democracy and linked this back to the class speeches and vote for house team captains. They thought about how the process was made fair including a timer for each speaker, voting with eyes shut to avoid influencing others and a chance for all.

Here is a photo below of Year 6 taking part in the vote:

Mutual Respect

Nursery 

In Nursery we spoke about mutual respect and read the story ‘Handa’s Surprise’. The children learnt about mutual respect for others around the world, and that we all have different beliefs and values.

Reception

In Reception we looked at the story called ‘We Are All Different’. The children identified ways in which we are different to each other. We discussed as a class that even though we are all different, we are all friends and part of God’s family.

British Values Class Displays 

Summer 2019

Tolerance of Other Faiths and Cultures.

Nursery 

In Nursery we talked about how we are all different and unique. During circle time we looked at pictures of children from different cultures, children from different families and also children who speak different languages. The children recognised that we are all different and were able to identify how they are different from their friends.

Reception

Our focus for British Values this week is ‘Tolerance of Other Faiths’.

In Reception, we looked at and handled artefacts from different faiths. We even dressed up! As we did this, we talked about how special these objects are to children and grown-ups who worship in different ways to us. We learnt some names of the artefacts and different places of worship such as a temple or synagogue.

Year 2

For British Values Week, Year 2 explored the idea that people can see God in different ways. 

We played a guessing game in which the children had to guess what object had been hidden under a blanket. Each child was only allowed to touch one part of the object and so they all had very different ideas of what the object was! When the secret telephone was revealed, the children were able to explain why they found it difficult to guess what the object was- they only had parts of the truth and not the whole picture. 

We then went on to think about the various religions that people follow and discussed how a lot of people believe that all these religions say different things about God. We realised that we have to be tolerant of other people's beliefs because they all have pieces of the truth. 

Year 3

In year 3 we looked at the importance of Ramadan to Muslims as part of learning about different cultures and religions. The class found it very interesting to compare and contrast what Muslims are required to do during the Holy month of Ramadan. The class then created their own posters to reflect what they had learned about Ramadan. 

Year 4 

In Year 4, the children were able to learn about the festival of Ramadan. Miss Bibi was able to talk to the children about her personal experience of this, and what she does herself during this time. The children were able to make comparisons between this and the Christian faith, recognising fasting within this. Afterwards, the children created a poster showing what was involved in Ramadan.

Year 5

In addition to their RE work, Year 5 also did a British Values session based on the picture book ‘Something Else’. Here they explored their understanding of what tolerance and intolerance looks like. The children then wrote up their understanding of tolerance.

Year 5 completed a unit about Hinduism. During this topic, they developed their understanding of religious customs and practices for Hindus. They learnt about the different Hindu gods and focused on how Hindu’s pray. Year 5 worked in groups and created Hindu prayer shrines.

Year 6

Year 6 focused on the other faith ‘Islam’ to compare and contrast this religion to their own religious beliefs. The children listened to the story of ‘Lailah’s Lunchbox’ to identify what Ramadan is and how people can have misconceptions about this and other practices in the Islamic faith. We discussed the importance of understanding other religions and showing respect towards others of all different faiths. 

Year 6 then created a piece of work to reflect on the comparisons they made throughout the lesson.

Spring Term (2) 2019

Mutual Respect

Year 2

For British Values this week, we have been learning about mutual respect. We learnt about the word 'mutual' as meaning 'shared between people' and discussed  our views of what respect looks like. After this, we wrote acrostic poems based on the word respect. 

Year 5 – Mutual Respect - 21/02/2019

As a class, we started our discussion by considering what respect meant to us. We then went on to look at the difference between respect and mutual respect. We looked at the fact that even though we all look different and have different talents, we still should all be treated equally. The children decided that in school we can show mutual respect by having positive, respectful attitudes towards other children and adults. Listening and valuing other people’s work and ideas and by ensuring all people are included. We look at a poem called ‘People Equal’ by James Berry and then the children worked in groups to perform their understanding of the poem and how it shows mutual respect. To finish, the class wrote their own understanding of mutual respect.

Autumn Term and Spring 1 2019

British Values Year 1 - Year 6

Reception - 

Democracy

Our focus for British Values week this week is ‘Democracy’.

As teacher I gave the children some new rules for our class;

 No smiling

 No playing with your friends

 I choose the area, not the children.

We talked about if they liked the rules and if they thought it was fair that I decided the rules all by myself. As a class, we decided we didn’t like them and so we came up with some class rules ourselves, linking them to our whole-school rules.

We decided, as a class, that we liked these rules so we each put our finger print on the rules to show we were going to follow them.

Individual Liberty

Our focus for British Values week this week is ‘Individual Liberty’.

We have been learning about how we are all different, but that our differences and individuality helps to make us special.

For homework, we talked about our individuality and found out about the individuality of our family.

We created a display in class of all the different places that our class comes from, from around the World and talked about how special it makes us all.

Rule Of Law

Our focus for British Values week this week is ‘Rule of Law’.

In Reception, we have talked about rules and laws and discussed why we think they are important, and we need them.

We talked about who enforces the rules that we have thinking about adults in school, or at home, Police, but also that we,    ourselves, need to enforce rules as well.

Year 1 -

14.12.18 - The children discussed how we could be anything and do anything we wanted as long as it didn't break a rule or a law.

14.1.19 - The children completed a quiz and we discussed the difference between a rule and a law and why we need both of these things to keep us safe.

Year 2 - 

For individual liberty, during a circle time session, Y2 discussed the meaning of individual liberty and we remembered what we had learnt about Nelson Mandela. We also talked about whether it is really okay to do just what we like and also the importance of allowing others their individual liberty.

For rule of law, we discussed our roles and responsibilities. We looked at individual responsibilities as well as those of people in the wider communities. We recognised the importance of team work and talked about what would happen if people decided to ignore their responsibilities. This led us to understand why rules are an important part of life.

Year 3 - 

We discussed the differences between rules and laws. Then in our groups we democratically came up with a list of rules and laws we would have if we were put on a deserted island .

Year 4 - 

Democracy: The children used democracy in class to decide on their school councillors. They were able to stand up and give reasons why they would be good school councillors. The rest of the children listened to the points they made, and asked them questions afterwards. Reminders were given about what democracy was, and why this is a fair way of deciding out school councillor. Children afterwards voted to decide on who our class councillor would be.

Rule of Law: The children discussed  together why we have rules, what they are used for, and how they help us. They considered the difference between a rule and a law, and decided how these help us in our everyday lives. The children then imagined they were abandoned as a group on a desert island. They considered what rules they would need to have to work together in this situation.

Tolerance of other cultures and faiths: The children found out about different cultures over time, and the treatment of black people at different points in history. They recognised what intolerance was, and the people who fought against this. They then focused on Paul Stevenson who campaigned successfully in Bristol, which led to a change in law for black rights in Britain.

Mutual Respect: The children began the year considering the ‘treasures of our school’, thinking about the ways we show mutual respect to one another, and how this makes the school a special place. They wrote this as a prayer afterwards.

On ‘Remembrance Day’, the children showed respect for those who had lost their lives in war. They found out about ‘Remembrance Day’, and the purpose of this, writing a poem in reflection.

Year 5 -

Democracy

The class worked in groups to discuss their understanding of what makes a good school councillor.

Children wrote manifestos for why they should be school councillors, and they presented these to the rest of the class.

A democratic vote was then held to elect the new Year 5 school councillors.

Individual Liberty

As a class, we started our session by considering what the word freedom meant, and we looked at what is and isn’t considered freedom. The children learnt that individual liberty means having the freedom to choose the way we want to live. They then looked at a book called ‘We Are All Born Free,’ which contains the Declaration of Human Rights in pictures. The class discussed their individual rights, and then they focused on a picture in the book, which was labelled, ‘Freedom Park’. In groups, the children worked together to find different ways that the children in the park were expressing their individual liberty. They then presented their findings to the rest of the class. To finish, the class wrote their own understanding of individual liberty in a speech bubble. 

Rule Of Law

Year 5 continued to develop their understanding of rules by considering why society has laws. They started their session by thinking about what a world would be like without laws. They then looked at an image of a person holding the scales representing the law. The children considered why the law is the same for everyone, it doesn’t have favourites, doesn’t look at the person etc. The children learnt about how laws are passed in Parliament, and then they worked in groups to develop their own law about current topical issues.

Year 6 -

So far this academic year, Year 6 has covered democracy, tolerance of other faiths and rule of law. Below tells you more information on what the class did as part of their learning:

 Democracy

We linked our learning to our History to study key events and changes in Britain’s democracy with links to WW2. We studied the absolute monarch of King Henry 8^th and Queen Elizabeth 1^st, and explored the change to constitutional monarch through key influencers such as Oliver Cromwell. We studied our current government to break down how parliament, the Queen, houses of Lords and Commons join together to make decisions about our country. We also discovered more about the suffragettes, which led to equality for women and the right to vote.

Interesting fact: Our Queen Elizabeth was an engineer in WW2, and her Dad King George 6^th was monarch during the war.

 Tolerance of other faiths

The children studied the faith of Judaism as part of their interfaith fortnight learning.  Children reflected on the big question ‘how do Jewish followers ask for forgiveness?’ They visited the local nursing home as a ‘good deed linked to this question. They also looked at Rosh Hashanah, which is the Jewish New Year. Children reflected this back on their own lives about setting new goals and created information booklets to share with others.

 Rule of law

The children created a poster to inform others on climate change. They looked at environmental law and why these are put in place to help protect the environment and keep it sustained. They explored changes to the environment through pollution and watched video clips to help them understand and learn facts linked to the law and changes. This also links to our current topic on ‘Frozen Kingdom.’

Autumn 2018

British Values Year 1 - Year 6

Year 1

Democracy- The year 1 class held a vote to decide on their class councillors. They also worked together to create a list of class rules to compliment that of the school.

The children developed their understanding of why people vote and how fairness is an important part of democracy.

Year 2

Democracy- Children learnt that people in Great Britain have the power to make important choices. They were given the choice of three fictitious leaders and voted for their favourite. They learnt about how voting takes place and how important it is to think carefully when voting.

They then went on to select their class councillors.

Tolerance of other cultures and faiths- Children found out about different cultures over time, and the treatment of black people at a certain point in history. They recognised what inequality is, and how certain people have fought against it. They then focused on Nelson Mandela whose protests led to a change in law for black rights in South Africa. Children understood what inequality was and also how people were able to make a difference.

Individual Liberty- A circle time discussion took place in which children shared views on their own, as well as other people’s, individual liberty. We compared our lives to those of people in history, when Nelson Mandela chose to stand up for human rights.

Mutual Respect- Children showed respect for those who had lost their lives in war. They found out about remembrance day, and the purpose of this. They painted a field of poppies in reflection. Children developed a respect and appreciation for what people in the past have done for them.

Year 3-

Democracy- The children recalled key features of democracy by using examples from U.K. topics. They created a poster on democracy and held a class election when choosing their school councillors.

Individual Liberty- The children created a written conversation, giving examples of their rights and their individual liberty.

Year 4

Democracy- The children recognised the fairness of democracy in their decision making for their school councillor. A speaking and listening activity took place in which each child gave a speech about why they would be a good school councillor. After discussing the importance of a fair democracy, children voted to decide who their class councillor should be.

Tolerance of other cultures and faiths- Children found out about different cultures over time, and the treatment of black people at different points in history. They recognised what intolerance was, and the people who fought against this. They then focused on Paul Stevenson who campaigned successfully in Bristol, which led to a change in law for black rights in Britain. Children understood what intolerance was, and understood how people were able to change things that happened.

Mutual Respect- Children showed respect for those who had lost their lives in war. They found out about remembrance day, and the purpose of this, writing a poem in reflection. Children were able to respect and have an appreciation of what people in the past and today have done for them.

Year 5

Democracy- Children worked in groups to discuss their understanding of what makes a good school councillor. They wrote manifestos for why they should be school councillors and a vote was held to decide the outcome. The children were able to discuss the importance of voting and developed an understanding of what democracy means.

Rule of Law- Children played a board game and Miss Vickers deliberately cheated to show the children the importance of rules. A discussion was held and the new school rules were covered. In groups, children worked together to explore why we

have the 5 school rules, what would happen if we didn’t have them and what the consequence would be if the rules were not followed.

Tolerance of other cultures and faiths- The children developed their understanding of tolerance through the Come and See unit about Judaism. Within this topic, the children learnt about Jewish values, some of their customs and traditions, and an important prayer called the Schema. Through this, they developed their understanding and tolerance of another religion.

Year 6-

Democracy- Children learnt about democracy through their history topic, WW2. They studied the key events and changes in Britain’s leadership over a period of time. Children now have an awareness of the impacts these changes have had on democracy, including equality for women and the working class.

Tolerance of other cultures and faiths- Children reflected on the big question- ‘How do Jewish followers ask for forgiveness?’

They visited a nursing home as a ‘good deed’ and also looked at Rosh Hashanah, which is the Jewish new year. The children reflected this back on their own lives and set themselves new goals. The children have shown an awareness of another faith and how Jewish followers ask for forgiveness and make new starts. They are able to recognise similarities and differences between the Rosh Hashanah and their own faith

British Values 2017/18

Individual Liberty