Promoting Fundamental British Values

At Applecroft, we aim to actively promote 'British Values' through all we do to ensure our young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. 

Pupils are encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance and understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law.

The Key Values are:

•    democracy
•    rule of law
•    individual liberty
•    mutual respect
•    tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs 

At Applecroft, we do this through our whole school ethos and curriculum. 

British Values are taught primarily through our PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic education) curriculum, RE (Religious Education) curriculum, assemblies and the wider curriculum.

British Values are visited and revisited throughout the PSHE curriculum, so that they are fully embedded in the whole school approach rather than being taught as one-off lessons.

Click here to see an overview of our PSHE curriculum and how British Values is taught in each lesson. 

One of the key aspects of our curriculum is how we teach and enable children to have respectful discussions on even sensitive subjects by providing a safe learning environment and building age-appropriate content into the lessons which become more complex as the children progress through the school. This was recognised in our

We also ensure that the children are 'living' these values in school. We hope that through the promotion of British Values, our children will have:

• An understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process
• An appreciation that living under the 'rule of law' protects individual citizens and is essential for everyone's wellbeing and safety
• An understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law
• An acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself, or having none, should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour
• An understanding of the importance of identifying and combating discrimination.

Below are some of the ways in which we teach or provide experiences for children at Applecroft:

Democracy

Democracy is embedded in the school.  Relationships are respectful; pupils are always 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 nurture leadership in our children and promote pupils voice - children know they have a voice and use it.

Pupils have the opportunity to be a member of one of our three 'Pupil Led Teams' and have their opinions and ideas heard through these teams and through regular pupil voice. 

The elections of 'House Captains' are through pupil vote and therefore demonstrate democracy in action. 

The History curriculum teaches children about how democracy was not always evident in the past and how this affected society.

We celebrate 'UK Parliament Week'  and organise events, virtual tours and assemblies through both UK Parliament and links with local councillors. 

Rule of Law

The importance of laws whether they are those that govern the class, the school or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout our school day, through our school assemblies and also when dealing with behaviour in school. We encourage our pupils to distinguish right from wrong and help pupils to understand that living under the rule of law protects individuals.  Our 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.  Both the 'Leader in Me' and our therapeutic approach to behaviour management enables us to support children to resolve conflicts including 'thinking win-win' (Habit 4) & 'seeking first to understand and then be understood' (Habit 5)

Tolerance of Difference Faiths and Religions

At Applecroft, our bespoke RE curriculum enhances pupils' understanding of different faiths and beliefs. Central to this curriculum are annual RE 'Immersion Days' and a rich programme of RE visitors, speakers and visits. 

All members of the 'Applecroft Family' have the  opportunity to share their celebrations and religious beliefs as part of our RE lessons and during assemblies.  In addition, our assembly programme includes regular assemblies lead by local faith leaders.

To find out more please visit our 'RE Curriculum' page. 

Mutual Respect

Respect is a core school value. Mutual respect is promoted across the school and is deeply embedded in all that we do. This was recognised in our most recent Ofsted report that stated 'They [children] talk maturely about the importance of mutual respect and understanding'.

Individual Liberty

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, an ambitious curriculum and leadership opportunities. 

Our pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely; examples of this can be clearly seen in our PSHE and Online Safety Computing lessons. Through our assembly programme, we promote a strong anti-bullying culture, teach children how to 'Speak Out, Stay Safe' with use of NSPCC resources and teach children about their rights.