The DfE has recently reinforced the need “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.”
At Brookburn these values are reinforced regularly and in the following ways:
DEMOCRACY
Brookburn is a school committed to Restorative Justice. Each year children in each class decide upon their behaviour charter and sign up to an anti-bullying pledge. Elections are held annually and children from year 1 to 6 vote their classmates onto the school council. This is one of the ways we engage with our children to ensure that their voices are heard. Please refer to our ‘School Council’ tab for further information.
THE RULE OF LAW
The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced through themed school days as well as through our restorative approach to behaviour management. We have a Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and Enterprise curriculum (PSHCE) which teaches about ‘How laws and rules affect me’, ‘Rules and Responsibilities’, ‘Children’s and Human rights’ and ‘Community and Global relationships’, please refer to our Curriculum tab, PSHCE. We have visits and visitors from agencies to help to reinforce messages about responsibilities, for example the police, fire fighters and health professionals.
INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
Within school, children are actively encouraged to make positive choices in a safe and supportive environment. Our children are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and how to exercise these safely. Our restorative approach enables our children to understand their own and others liberties because it is very effective in changing the behaviour of those who have harmed others. Punishment on its own is not an effective way of getting people to understand the effects of their behaviour on other people. The basic Ethos of the Restorative Approach is to:
- Ensure that people have the chance to understand the harm that they done to others.
- Give people who have caused harm they have done to others.
- Give the people who have caused harm the right to put things right.
MUTUAL RESPECT
This is a cornerstone of everything we do, our relationships whether between children or adults are always respectful and is at the heart of our values.
TOLERANCE OF THOSE OF DIFFERENT FAITHS AND BELIEFS
Brookburn’s diversity and harmonious community is our great strength. Our children respect their own identities, faiths and beliefs sharing their own knowledge. Children no matter their background, religion or faith come together both in school and at other places of worship to understand others better. We have a Philosophy for Children which aims to encourage our children to think critically, caringly, creatively and collaboratively. It helps teachers to build a ‘community of enquiry’ where participants create and enquire into their own questions, and ‘learn how to learn’ in the process.
At Brookburn we will actively challenge children, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British Values, including extremist views.
