British Values

At St Vincent’s VC Academy we take very seriously our responsibility to prepare children for life in modern Britain.

We ensure that the fundamental British Values are introduced, discussed and lived out through the ethos and work of the school. All curriculum areas provide a vehicle for furthering understanding of these concepts and, in particular, our RE, SMSC, PSHE and Citizenship lessons provide excellent opportunities to deepen and develop understanding. Children embrace these concepts with enthusiasm and demonstrate a good understanding of their application to their own lives.

Our children are drawn from many countries and the unity provided by our Catholic Christian Gospel values, are embedded in British Values. The school makes considerable efforts to ensure children have exposure to a wide experience beyond their local community during which these concepts are shown, through for example, sporting events, a range of visits and use of outdoor education centres. Their strong rooted values-based understanding gives them an excellent platform for embracing difference.

The school has a planned curriculum week in April at the time of St George’s feast day to fully explore British values in depth across the whole curriculum.

Rule of Law

• We will talk about expectations/attendance and behaviours during assemblies.
• We learn about rules and behaviours to keep us safe.
• We will write and share classroom rules and rules around our school.
• We will learn about E-safety
• We will explore the roles of people who can help us
• We will learn about the importance of Rules as a whole school and in classes.
• We will explore rules and responsibilities in RE and PSHE lessons.

Tolerance & Respect

• We will learn about different religions in our Other Faiths weeks throughout the year
• We will ask children to complete pupil questionnaires
• We will share stories with children exploring moral/cultural beliefs
• We will provide the children with opportunities to attend regular worship in a range of different styles and formats.
• We will provide opportunities for children to share what they wonder about.
• We will have whole school themed days to explore similarities and differences between members of our school family and local community.

Democracy

• We will select and put in place a School Council.
• We will have the opportunity to vote for things in school.
• We will learn about the Monarchy and previous monarchies
• We will hold debates and open-ended discussions
• We will have roles and responsibilities in school both at a classroom and whole school level
• We will fundraise for charities

Individual Liberty

• We will provide opportunities for child-led learning through projects, pupil choice lessons, child-initiated learning and continuous provision
• We provide children with choices for lunches and tuck shop
• We provide children with choices for reading books/library books
• We provide children with after school club choices
• We will provide children with life skills such as cooking and ICT club
• We complete regular pupil voice questionnaires to allow children’s voices to be heard.