What are ‘British values’? The Government has asked all schools to ensure students understand British values. All have a duty to ‘actively 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.
Here’s how we do this at Holbrook Academy:
Democracy
Pupil voice is at the centre of Academy life. In addition to the School Council we also have a team of Year 11 Senior Prefects alongside our Head and Deputy Head Prefects.
Throughout the year, students are asked directly for their feedback on different aspects of their school life. This allows the students to express their views effectively and demonstrate the impact of a real platform for expression. Our students also choose which charities they’d like to support and decide how to run their own fundraising events.
The Rule of Law
Our students will encounter rules and laws throughout their entire lives. We want our students to understand that whether these laws govern the class, the school, the neighbourhood or the country, they are set for good reasons and must be adhered to.
This understanding of the importance of rules is consistently reinforced through assemblies and our curriculum. The involvement of our students in the creation of the school rules helps them to understand the reasons behind the rules and the consequences if they are broken. Through the Philosophy, Religion and Ethics lessons, students debate and discuss the reasons for laws so that they can recognise the importance of these for their own protection.
Individual Liberty
We invest a great deal of time in creating a positive culture in our school, so that children are in a safe environment where choices and freedoms are encouraged. In lessons, student choice is key to motivation and learning tasks are often left for the child to decide upon. Our enrichment offer is extensive, allowing students freely to choose to pursue particular areas of interest within their curriculum time. Furthermore, this removes the barrier for students that do not have transport to attend after-school activities; this particularly affects students that are eligible for the Pupil Premium.
Mutual respect
Our rules, expectations and daily interactions are built upon mutual respect. Our thorough transition process helps create a shared ethos with our feeder primary schools and key sporting events allow our students to embody respect. We are extremely proud of our students in leadership roles.
Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
At the Academy, we offer a culturally rich and diverse curriculum in which all major religions are studied and respected in Philosophy, Religion and Ethics and Life Skills. We strongly believe that tolerance is gained through knowledge and understanding. The area that we serve is not particularly diverse, which can sometimes create a barrier to understanding those that have a different heritage to that of our own. We try to provide opportunities for the students to have first-hand experience of people different to themselves.
These unique opportunities give our students a wonderful opportunity to learn about other ways of life but also reflect on their own.