British Values

At Ridgeway Primary Academy, we value the diversity of the backgrounds of all pupils, families and the wider school community and strongly believe in upholding British values through all aspects of our school provision.

We aim to nurture our children on their journey through life so they can grow into safe, caring, democratic, responsible and tolerant adults who make a positive difference to British society and to the world and the wider world.

What is meant by British Values?

At Ridgeway Primary Academy we take very seriously our responsibility to prepare children for life in modern Britain. Learning about British values forms a key part of children’s spiritual, moral, cultural and social education. The five British values that the Government has identified for schools to focus on are:

  • Democracy
  • The rule of law
  • Individual liberty & mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs
  • Developing personal and social responsibility
  • Respect for British Institutions

How does our school develop children’s understanding of British values?

Democracy is an important value at our school. We hold our very own Pupil Parliament. All pupils in Years 3-6 join a ‘Ministry’ who a provided with a weekly question to debate.

Each year our children take part in a ‘The Big Debate’ around a chosen topic.

The Rule of Law

The importance of Laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout school.  Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws and rules. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service help reinforce this message.

Individual Liberty

Alongside rules and laws, we promote freedom of choice and the right to respectfully express views and beliefs.

Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. As a school we educate and provide boundaries for our pupils to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment, a planned curriculum and an empowering education. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely. This includes our e-safety teaching and PSHE lessons. Whether it be through choice of learning challenge, of how they record, of participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.

Mutual Respect & Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

Respect is one of the core values of our school and can be seen as part of the ethos of our school. The pupils know and understand that it is expected and imperative that respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have. Children and adults alike, including visitors are challenged if they are disrespectful in any way. Our values are highly visible around the school.

Ridgeway is situated in an area which is not greatly culturally diverse, therefore we place a great emphasis on promoting diversity with the children. Assemblies are regularly planned to address this issue either directly or through the inclusion of stories and celebrations from a variety of faiths and cultures.

Our RE and PSHE Education teaching reinforce this. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school. Children visit places of worship that are important to different faiths.

Developing personal and social responsibility

All curriculum areas provide a vehicle for furthering understanding of British Values and, in particular, our RE and PSHE lessons provide excellent opportunities to deepen and develop understanding, developing the spiritual, moral, social and cultural education of our children.​ Children embrace these concepts with enthusiasm and demonstrate a good understanding of their application to their own lives.

Pupils are listened to by adults and are taught to listen carefully and with concern to each other, respecting the right of every individual to have their opinions and voices heard. We encourage pupils to take ownership of not only their school but also of their own learning and progress. This encourages a heightened sense of both personal and social responsibility and is demonstrated on a daily basis by our pupils. Children play a part in determining their topic learning and are consulted in what and how they would like to learn.

Developing respect for British Institutions

We uphold the British value of respect for British Institutions by:

  • celebrating many British festivals and special events, e.g. Remembrance Day, November 5th, Christmas, Easter, World Book Day, Children in Need, Red-nose day etc.
  • regularly inviting representatives from various groups, such as Police, charities and the local church to visit our school and talk to the children in both lessons and assemblies.
  • teaching about the structure and work of Parliament, keeping children informed of major and minor events which can be discussed.

In all our provision, both academic and otherwise, we endeavour for our school community to develop an understanding of British values and a strong desire to uphold them both now and as future British citizens.