At Meldreth Primary School we uphold and teach pupils about the British Values which are defined as:
These values are taught explicitly through Personal, Social, Health and Emotional (PSHE), and Religious Education (RE). We also teach British Values through planning and delivering a broad and balanced creative curriculum which includes real opportunities for exploring these. Actively promoting British Values also means challenging pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British Values, including ‘extremist’ views.
Democracy is an important value at our school.
Pupils have the opportunity to have their voices heard through our School, Eco and Anti-bullying Councils. The elections of children to pupil leadership roles are based on pupil votes and general or local elections are used as opportunities to hold mock elections. Through oracy and debating, we provide pupils with the opportunity to learn how to defend points of view. Our children worked together to produce a Children’s Charter of Rights and Anti-Bullying Charter which we actively work and live by. This is displayed in each classroom is actively used by children and adults to influence others’ behaviour.
The importance of laws and rules, whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, are consistently reinforced to. This can be seen at lunchtimes through our Peer Mentoring system. Pupils are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Visits from authorities such as the police and fire service are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message.
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. This can be seen during Nature Detectives sessions in Melwood, where children are taught to risk assess activities and their environment. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our esafety teaching and PSHE lessons. Pupils are given the freedom to make choices, e.g. signing up for extra-curricular clubs, choose the level of challenge in some lessons and are becoming increasingly more involved in child-initiated learning.
Respect is one of the core values of our school.
This can be seen and felt in our pervading ethos in school. Pupils know and understand that it is expected and imperative that respect is shown to everyone, whatever differences we may have and to everything, however big or small. Our core value of respect underpins our work every day both in and out of the classroom. Children and adults alike, including visitors are challenged if they are disrespectful in any way. Values are highly visible around the school and can be seen in posters, certificates and as part of our agreed codes.
We work hard to enhance pupils’ understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society. We give pupils opportunities to experience diversity in our local community which is 87% White British. Assemblies and discussions involving prejudices and prejudiced-based bullying have been followed and supported by learning in RE and PSHE. We use teaching resources and artefacts from a wide variety of sources to help pupils understand a range of faiths and cultural beliefs including resources from groups in in our local community. We have links with and visitis to and from pupils at Meldreth Manor Special School and Maycroft Residential Home encouraging children to discover differences and similarities between us and our neighbours. Likewise we use opportunities such as the Olympics and World Cup to study and learn about life and culture in countries who participate. We employ teachers, teaching assistants and support staff who have English as an Additional Language and who bring a varied cultural experience to Meldreth Primary School.
