Our School Values
British Values at Redbridge Primary School
Redbridge Primary School is proud to be a Values Based School.
A Value is a principle that guides our thinking and our behaviour.
At Redbridge, every individual is valued for who they are and what they contribute to the school. Values are intended to support the personal, social and spiritual development of every child throughout the school. Our whole staff team, families and children are responsible for promoting the values and recognising where others are ‘living the values’.
Our 5 Values
Values are the principles that give our lives meaning and allow us to persevere and drive our behaviour, our interactions with others and the world.
At Redbridge primary we view these fundamental British values as universal moral beliefs that are commonly held across the world. We teach these through a distinct curriculum that recognises the unique culture of Britain. We successfully develop in our pupils a pride in being part of the British nation.
INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
‘One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen, can change the world.’
– Malala Yousafzai
We support children to make informed choices in a secure setting. Children develop self-respect and value themselves as individuals. Our school ethos, and methods of teaching, develop children’s independence as well as other qualities such as perseverance and resilience.
At Redbridge Primary school our curriculum celebrates the memory of those who have struggled for liberty. A good example of this is a week’s themed assembly focus celebrating international women’s day.
MUTUAL RESPECT
‘We must learn to live together as brothers and sisters, or we will perish together as fools’.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Respect is a core value of our school and underpins our ethos. Respect is shown by all adults and children towards each other and towards our community. Our wide and broad curriculum supports this and helps children to articulate what respect means in practice. Children can talk about their own faith and beliefs as well as the faiths and beliefs of others. Our emphasis is one of unity around what unites us as human beings.
TOLERANCE OF THOSE WITH DIFFERENT FAITHS AND BELIEFS
‘The highest result of education is tolerance’
– Helen Keller
Through Religious Education and PSHE and Citizenship, in particular, we deepen children’s understanding of faith and belief. We participate in a wide range of celebrations such as Chinese New Year, Diwali, Eid, Christmas and Guru Nanak’s birthday as well as many others. We welcome visitors from our community and have themed weeks to enrich understanding of culture. We have an emphasis on British culture and celebrate St George’s day and Shakespeare’s birthday on the 23rd of April.
What is a Rights Respecting School?
At Redbridge Primary School we are recognised as a Rights Respecting School. We work alongside UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) which is the organisation working specifically for children and their rights. Its mission is to campaign for the protection of children’s rights in order to meet children’s basic needs and empower them to realise their full potential.
UNICEF UK believes that these values should be embedded in the ethos and curriculum of our schools, and provides a framework in order to accomplish this. This is the purpose of the RRSA (Rights Respecting School Award). In a rights respecting school, children learn about their rights and their role as global citizens. Children learn to associate rights with needs and distinguish between their rights and ‘wants’. They learn that if they have rights, they need to respect the rights of others.
To learn more about rights respecting at our school, click on the documents below.
Why are children learning about their rights at school?
In signing the UNCRC all Governments have a duty to make both children and adults aware of these rights. There are 42 rights of a child (articles) in the convention covering things such as; children having the right to education (Article 28) and children have the right to be protected at all times (Article 19).
What is meant by ‘rights’?
These are not the same as ‘wants’. Rights are the basic human needs and values that apply or should apply to everyone.
What about children's respect for the rights of others?
Research has shown that when children are taught in school about rights under the UNCRC, they are more respecting of the rights of others. Children who have learnt about their rights have:
- a better understanding of what it means to have rights
- a more positive attitude to school
- better relationships with their classmates and teachers
- higher self-esteem
- an increased awareness of how to be a global citizen
The Department for Education has published guidance to schools on promoting British values to prepare young people for life in modern Britain. At Redbridge Primary School we take this responsibility very seriously and we actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs.
These concepts are explored through our curriculum and in all subjects but in Religious Education and PSHE and Citizenship, in particular, where children can deepen their understanding.
We make great efforts to ensure our children are exposed to a wide range of experiences beyond their own community. We do this through school visits in London and abroad as well as via video conferencing with partner schools in the USA, Italy and beyond.
Democracy
At Redbridge Primary school we listen to the views of children and we do this through a variety of means including:
- Pupil surveys
- Circle time
- A thriving School Council elected by children
- Pupil Advocate system for Year 6, including Learning Advocates who work with subject leaders on curriculum development
- Junior travel ambassadors
- Playground helpers
- Student Alliance members (Seven Kings Teaching Alliance)
- A strong element of team work and debating where children are encouraged to express clearly their view point and listen to the views of others respectfully
- Children take the initiative and lead in aspects of the school such as charitable appeals and fund raising.
The Rule Of Law
‘True freedom requires the rule of law and justice, and a judicial system in which the rights of some are not secured by the denial of rights to others’.
– Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks
Our school has ‘Golden Rules’ which promote the well-being of the individual and the school as a whole. Each class reinforces those rules and they are a central part of the school ethos. They include listening to others, sharing and playing safely, learning in an ordered environment. The school has a positive behaviour policy that sets out rewards and sanctions. We encourage children to recognise rights and how these go hand in hand with responsibility.