Within our Federation we promote the fundamental British values as defined by the UK Government in 2011 and 2014. These are democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
DEMOCRACY
In our schools, democracy is taught during assemblies, class-based PHSE sessions and some more specific subject classes in our secondary and sixth form.
We have School Councils and Student Voice groups made up of representatives from each class, who are elected each year by their peers. Students take part in the election process to be selected.
This can involve each candidate presenting their proposals followed by a voting process where children are given the opportunity to decide who they would like to be their class representatives. School councillors are given the opportunity to share pupils’ views with the school leadership team and the Federation governors.
They are also involved in decision making in the school through a democratic process, gaining an understanding that this comes with the responsibility of representing their peers’ needs and interests.
Children are also given regular opportunities to express their ideas and views in school through the use of Pupil Voice interviews and questionnaires.
THE RULE OF LAW
Within our Federation, we consistently reinforce the importance of the law and rules be they in the class, the school, or the country as a whole. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind rules and laws that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves, and the consequences when rules and laws are broken.
Pupils are taught from an early age that the rules of the school, which are called the Golden Rules in our Primary phases and Our Behaviour Vision in our secondary phase, are core to our behaviour expectations throughout the school.
Pupils are also taught the importance of following rules such as safety guidelines in lessons or on school trips and the reason why these rules are important in our school community.
Visits from authorities such as the Community Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message. We also have regular visits from outside agenicies to promote and educate our students on Cyber crime and online abuse, safe r journeys to and from school and posters are shared with parents regarding children’s safety and wellbeing.
INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
As a Federation, we educate our students to make informed choices in a safe environment, providing agreed boundaries to ensure that pupils are able to appreciate that freedom also requires care and acknowledgement of others.
Pupils are aware of their rights as well as their responsibilities. They explore what personal freedoms they have in our country and are actively encouraged to exercise these safely. For example through our E-Safety and PSHE lessons.
We try to cultivate an atmosphere in which children can make choices about their school life in a supportive environment but also to ask questions and get supportive truthful answers appropriate to their age and stage of development.
MUTUAL RESPECT AND TOLERANCE
‘Mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs’ is central to our Christian values.
Children and young people learn that their behaviours have an effect on their own rights and those of others, particularly through processes such as restorative justice. Restorative justice is one way of getting our students and staff to analyse on occasion of bad behaviour and grow from it whilst restoring the community values that were broken at the time.
We encourage all members of the school community to treat each other with respect. When someone does well, their achievement is celebrated. The ethos of our Federation is based on our Christian Motto of: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” reinforcing an understanding of mutual respect and courtesy to all pupils and staff in our school community.
We all follow the shared values of: Friendship, Honesty, Love, Resilience, Forgiveness, Understanding, Wisdom, Enthusiasm, Respect, Sharing and Humility.
We are a diverse federation of schools and we actively promote diversity through our celebrations of different faiths and cultures. Religious Education lessons and PSHE lessons emphasise the need for tolerance and respect for others, this includes our Pupil Faith Teams and Student Voice groups which comprises of students from different faiths and those of no faith. Our students visit places of worship that are important to different faiths.
Members from our wider community of different faiths and religions are encouraged to share their knowledge and practices enabling every member of our Federation Family to extend their learning of various religions and faiths and values.