British Values

Promoting British Values at John Cross CE Primary School

At John Cross CE Primary School we take pride in promoting a range of British Values in line with the 2011 Prevent Strategy of:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual respect
• Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

Democracy

Democracy is key to the children’s understanding of others and their rights in society.

Each year the children in each class decide upon their class charter and agree to a set of rules and responsibilities to follow throughout school.

Our school council are elected by the children, after an election campaign. They meet regularly with children from years 2- 6. The council meet regularly with Mrs E. Brown to discuss any proposals or agendas. The school council creates its own budget and plans events. They are involved in all aspects of school life.

Some of the children at our school are part of the Eco Council, which is another pupil elected committee that is run in school, but supports green issues and imrpovements within school and the wider community.

Every year children complete questionnaires and hold interviews to put forward their views about the school. Any issues are then addressed by the senior leadership team and help develop the school action plan.

As part of our values curriculum, each year within the school we have a  chosen charity to support. The children sometimes decided upon their own charity and plan events to raise money for their charity.  We support the education of a boy named Clinton in Africa.

The Rule of Law

The importance of laws (whether they are those that govern the class, the school, or the country) are consistently reinforced. Pupils are taught from an early age the rules of the school. These are displayed in every classroom as part of a set of non-negotiable expectations.

All pupils, teachers, parents and governors sign up to the Home/school Agreement when they join our school. These set out the school’s expectations for behaviour and attitudes to learning. Our Home School Agreement is regularly addressed in class and pupil expectations are communicated to the children

The school follows a clear behaviour policy for rewards and sanctions. These are communicated clearly to our children in the classroom environment.  Older children are given key responsibilities. They help enforce the rules of the school and look after the smaller children in the school.

Children in each class are given a variety of responsibilities and are encouraged to take care of their environment and to be independent. These responsibilities are chosen by the children at the start of the year.

The school also benefits from visits from the police and fire service, along with road safety initiatives. 

Individual Liberty

At John Cross CE Primary School, pupils are encouraged to make choices and take risks, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment.

In Reception and Year 1, children are encouraged to be independent through the continuous provision areas. They learn through a play-based curriculum and the child’s interests are at the heart of the curriculum. This strand of independence is then developed and nurtured throughout the school in our themed skills curriculum, where pupils have an individual voice in their development through choosing how they are going to learn.

Through the PSHCE curriculum children are educated about making informed choices, lifestyles and about their rights and responsibilities. Circle time gives children a chance to discuss issues as they arise and to reinforce the values of the school.

All children are able to make their own choice from the hot school dinners options. They collect their own dinner and tidy away for themselves.

Mutual Respect

Mutual respect is at the heart of John Cross CE Primary School. Our pupils learn respect for each other through daily worship, our Christian ethos, RE and PSHCE.

All of our children are members of a team and they can earn team points to help their team be team of the week at the end of the week. They also support their teams at the annual Sports Day, where children work together on a range of tasks as a mixed aged group.  

Each week, teachers select a star of the week and 2 children to show their selected good work.

These are celebrated in a weekly assembly and children take a certificate home.

The playground is zoned during playtime to promote respect for children’s different needs, i.e. quiet area, running area, sports area.

In class, all children have talking partners and they all take part in peer reviews of each other’s work.  Children, when capable, identify what they have done well and then their next steps to improve.

Throughout the year we celebrate a range of values , agreed by the school community that help to develop respect for one another and develop the ethos of the school. These are introduced through whole school assemblies and PSHCE sessions. They are displayed in each classroom and in the school.

Tolerance of Different Faiths and Beliefs

John Cross CE Primary School population is becoming more diverse, and both children and staff recognise and value each other as one large family.  Similarities and differences in faiths are celebrated through assemblies and the RE curriculum. We follow a varied religious education curriculum that represents the main religion of our school alongside other faiths.  We recognise the main religious festivals throughout the year.

Children visit other places of worship outside of the C of E faith, as well as regular church visits to St.Hilda's.