British Values

Promoting British Values at Bryn Offa CE Primary School

At Bryn Offa, we are committed to ensuring that our children are well-equipped to become active, responsible, and respectful members of society. The promotion of British Values is woven throughout our school life, supporting our vision that every child should ‘let their light shine’ in all they do.

British Values, as defined in the 2011 Prevent Strategy and embedded in Ofsted guidance (2014), include:

• Democracy
• The Rule of Law
• Individual Liberty
• Mutual Respect
• Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

These values are actively promoted at Bryn Offa through high-quality teaching, collective worship, a strong PSHCE curriculum, and a positive behaviour policy that fosters a culture of respect and responsibility. We also challenge any attitudes that go against these principles, ensuring that our school is a place where all children feel valued and included.

How We Promote British Values at Bryn Offa

Democracy

• Encouraging pupil voice through our School Council and Collective Worship Leaders, ensuring children have a say in school life.
• Class voting for the election of school councillors at the start of the year.
• Teaching the importance of democratic decision-making and listening to different viewpoints.
• Holding discussions and debates to help children learn to articulate and defend their ideas respectfully.
• Holding mock elections and learning about Parliament.
• KS2 workshops provided by the Houses of Parliament Education Team online
• Biennial Year 5 and 6 visit to the Houses of Parliament.

The Rule of Law

• Ensuring that our school rules are clear, fair, and consistently applied.
• Helping children understand the importance of rules in society and the consequences of breaking them.
• Reinforcing the idea that laws exist to protect individuals and promote fairness.
• Inviting local police officers and other professionals to talk about their role in upholding the law.
• Teaching about civil and criminal law, and how this differs from religious laws.
• Using restorative justice approaches to help resolve conflicts constructively.
• Promote the Rights Respecting School Articles (on policies, around school, in assemblies etc).
• Refer to the Equality Act 2010 as part of our No Outsiders Scheme.

Individual Liberty

• Encouraging children to take responsibility for their choices and actions.
• Providing opportunities for children to express their thoughts and opinions in a respectful and safe environment.
• Challenging stereotypes and promoting diversity and inclusion in all aspects of school life.
• Maintaining a strong anti-bullying culture and ensuring every child feels safe.
• Promoting children’s rights, in line with the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools agenda.
• Model freedom of speech through pupil participation, while ensuring protection of vulnerable pupils and promoting critical analysis of evidence.
• Challenge stereotypes.
• Provide pupils with additional responsibilities around school.
• E-Safety units of work are taught throughout school and parents and staff receive training on these.

Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

• Use the No Outsiders scheme within our Personal Development lessons and through assemblies to explore the protected characteristics of the 2010 Equality Act to promote respect for individual differences and to actively challenge stereotypes;
• Use No Outsiders assemblies to explore critical news events (e.g. terrorist attacks, Black Lives Matter etc);
• Explore positive role models, (where possible) through our curriculum, who reflect the protected characteristics of the 2010 Equality Act;
• Creating a school culture that values and respects all individuals.
• Helping children understand and appreciate different cultures, faiths, and beliefs.
• Providing opportunities for children to visit places of worship and learn from different faith communities.
• Supporting children to explore and discuss differences—including faith, ethnicity, disability, gender, family structures, and socio-economic backgrounds.
• Challenge prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour;
• Our RE scheme ensures that our children have a good understanding of a range of religious beliefs and customs;
• Help pupils to acquire an understanding of, and respect for, their own and other cultures and ways of life;

At Bryn Offa, we believe that by embedding these values into daily school life, we prepare our pupils to become thoughtful, engaged, and responsible members of modern Britain. We want every child to leave not just academically prepared, but also with the understanding and character to positively contribute to the world around them.