In June, 2014 Michael Gove set out plans for all schoolchildren to be taught ‘British values’. The then Education Secretary announced that from September 2014, England’s 20,000 primary and secondary schools would be required to actively promote tolerance, fairness, respect for other faiths, and the rule of law and democracy.
At Hartington C of E Primary School we teach the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
Actively promoting the values means challenging opinions or behaviours in school that are contrary to fundamental British values. We allow students to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence and to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England.
We encourage students to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and 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.
We enable students to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England and for them to gain an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultural traditions.
We teach a values based education including all 14 Christian Values, including those listed above. We value the backgrounds of all our pupils and families and undertake a variety of events and lessons to celebrate these. We have found this approach to be enriching for everyone as it teaches tolerance and respect for the differences in our community and the wider world. Underpinning all this, are a range of curriculum topics which have strong links to the British Empire. In following the new RE curriculum all pupils will learn in detail about key faiths and through this learning they will be taught to show respect for those faiths. Through History pupils are taught about significant periods in British history and are encouraged to identify these in chronological order.
There is a strong focus on the work of famous British figures both past and present with KS1 studying Florence Nightingale and KS2 working on the legacy of Scott of the Antarctic. The children really enjoy learning about people from the past and in particular those who have had an impact on the modern world and our community.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War the whole school is involved in a 4 year project revolving around the experiences of a local soldier. This initially involves the impact on the local community before, during and after the war but will extend to show the impact on the British Empire and thus on British Society today.
The school holds Poppy Day celebrations and a Remembrance Service at the War Memorial which is also attended by members of the local community.
In recent years, we celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II with a special assembly and events which included a street party at which traditional children’s party food of jelly and ice-cream and jam sandwiches were served. KS1 children were involved in a project where they were taught about her life and her role as Head of the Commonwealth.
As a whole school, we have celebrated the Olympics, with Olympic themed sports days, competitions to design Olympic torches and opportunities to learn about the history of Olympians in this country. We shared these experiences with other local schools within the cluster culminating in the passing of the torch on its way to Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School.
There is also a School Council at Hartington C of E Primary School. The roles and responsibilities of the council are shared by all the children. The School Council meets termly, following an agenda and taking minutes. Actions taken by the School Council are carried out in a democratic manner.
On a more general level, the school undertakes daily collective worship which upholds traditional values of empathy, respect, reflection and tolerance and is guided by the 14 Christian Values. These are also taught within SEAL, PSHE and RE lessons and are embedded throughout the curriculum and school life.
Last updated: December 2016
