British Values

The DfE state the requirement,

“To create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”

The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy. This policy forms part of our inclusive curriculum and encompasses our belief in equality of opportunity for all.

At The Sue Hedley Nursery School, we believe that the EYFS already provides a solid foundation to support a child’s understanding and acceptance that we live in diverse communities with many different cultures and lifestyles. As a result, the five values are reinforced regularly across the nursery in the following ways.

Democracy:

We listen to and capture the voice of the child, our parents and all of our staff. Everyone’s views are respected and acted upon, are gathered in various ways throughout all aspects of nursery life. Our children are given daily opportunities to agree rules and expectations, make choices and decisions about where they want to be, what they want to explore and how they are going to use the resources that are available to them, resulting in a knowing that their views and opinions count.  These skills that are developed during their time in nursery are essential to enable them to take their place in modern Britain.

The Rule of the Law:

This is about understanding that rules matter and developing children’s attitudes and dispositions, which is firmly rooted in children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) in nursery. Rule of law is about learning to manage our own feelings and behaviour, learning right from wrong and behaving within agreed and clearly defined boundaries. At nursery we have high behaviour expectations for everyone, children and adults alike. Staff collaborate with children to create the rules and during this time the children are supported to develop an understanding of why the rules matter, and that they are there for a reason, usually to keep us safe. By doing this the staff and children create a happy, safe learning environment for everyone to enjoy.

Individual Liberty:

The basis of this value can be clearly seen throughout the EYFS – it is evident throughout Personal, Social and Emotional Development: self-confidence and self-awareness, and also Understanding the World: People and Communities. At The Sue Hedley Nursery School, we are dedicated to meeting the individual and collective needs of our children and families. We aim to achieve this by creating a safe, enabling, inclusive and supportive environment. Throughout the session/day all children are actively encouraged to make choices, follow their own interests, make decisions, share ideas and opinions and make informed choices. Staff ensure everyone’s contributions are valued and work to increase their confidence in their own abilities. Children are given time and space to explore the language of feelings and responsibility, reflect on their differences and understand that we are all free to have different opinions, likes and dislikes,

Mutual Respect:

Our community is extremely important to us. Both the community in which the children and their families live but also the community we have within school. It is our job to help children to appreciate and respect their own culture and the culture of others. Helping children to learn how to manage their feelings and behaviour, and how and why it is important to form relationships with others, is a very big part of nursery life. Staff work hard to create an environment where children are nurtured, cared for and listened to. Their role is to create an ethos of inclusivity and tolerance where views, faiths, cultures and race are valued, enabling children to engage with the wider community. There is a proactive approach to developing positive behaviours for learning as we fundamentally believe that everyone has the right to:

• Feel respected and a responsibility to show respect for others.
• To be treated fairly and to treat others fairly.
• Have property kept safe and a responsibility to care for the property of others.
• Children have the right to be taught in a respectful manner.
• Members of staff have a responsibility to provide good role models to all children by demonstrating respectful behaviour.

Tolerance:

It is vital that children acquire a tolerance and appreciation of and respect for, their own and other cultures; that they know about similarities and differences between themselves and others and among families, faith, communities, cultures and traditions and share and discuss practices, celebrations and experiences. We aim to enhance children’s understanding of different faiths and beliefs by participating in a range of celebrations throughout the year, as and when they are relevant to our children and families. Diversity is explored through the use of songs, music, stories, dance, food, clothes, family life and animals. With the primary aim of ensuring children get to experience the rich cultural heritage that exists in Britain today. Challenging stereotypes is also vitally important. The broader children’s experiences the more confident and effective they are likely to be at contributing to Britain’s diverse society.

What is not acceptable is:

• Actively promoting intolerance of other faiths, cultures and races
• Failure to challenge gender stereotypes and routinely segregate girls and boys.
• Isolating children from their wider community
• Failure to challenge behaviours that are not in line with the fundamental British Values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths.

Extremism:

We have a great responsibility to safeguard children from extreme views and a duty to prevent children and families from being drawn into terrorism. By promoting British values, we will work with families to ensure our children become valuable and fully rounded members of society who treat others with respect and tolerance regardless of background. We recognise that suspicious behaviour may include changes in how families behave or dress; they may become withdrawn and isolated or present with challenging behaviours. If any of these suspicions arise, then the relevant bodies will be notified and help will be sought to alleviate extremism.