British Values at Freeman's

At Freeman’s Endowed Church of England Junior Academy, we develop and promote British Values throughout our school and within our curriculum.

A key part of our plan for education is to ensure children become valuable and fully rounded members of society who treat others with respect and leave school fully prepared for life in modern Britain. The British Values of rule of law; democracy; liberty; mutual respect; and tolerance are embedded in the daily life of our school. 

To do this our children will develop;

• An understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process
• An understanding that the freedom to hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law
• An acceptance that people having different faiths and beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of discriminatory behaviour
• An understanding of the importance or identifying and combating discrimination

Mission Statement

The mission statement and aims of the school clearly reflect these values, and the whole school strives to uphold them.

'Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.'     

1 John 3:18

As a Church of England school at the heart of the community, Freeman’s Endowed Church of England Junior Academy is committed to enabling all pupils to achieve their full potential, to grow in mind, body and spirit and to serve their local community.  We provide a learning community where our pupils aspire to achieve excellence and develop as confident, respectful, valued citizens. We learn to love God, each other and ourselves through our Christian values of Kindness, Forgiveness, Truthfulness, Love, Perseverance and Acceptance.  These are all rooted in Love. 

Our School Values

Our vision and values are at the core of everything we do. They underpin our teaching and learning, and provide an environment which prepares our pupils as confident, happy citizens.  As a Church of England academy, our vision is deeply rooted in a strong Christian tradition.  We develop happy, young people with enquiring minds, a spirit of curiosity, respect for themselves, others and the environment so that they will have the skills, resilience and adaptability to thrive in a rapidly changing world.   Our School works in partnership with parents, our local church and the wider Diocese and Trust to nurture confident and responsible children who respect other faiths and adopt positive roles in the community. 

Our Christian values are promoted in all aspects of school life and we encourage all members of our community to promote an ethos where care and respect is shown to everyone.  We are inclusive and welcoming to those of all backgrounds and faiths; all individuals are respected, supported and nurtured.

We believe that our school provides a stimulating learning environment, encourages excellence, actively promotes British values and enables children to achieve their full potential.

Our Aims

• To help our young people to strengthen their own faith and beliefs, while developing and showing respect, tolerance and understanding for different faiths and cultures in the school and wider community.
• To create a happy learning environment where all children feel valued
• To encourage children to feel confident to challenge themselves.
• To support our pupils to develop independence, resilience and self-belief.
• To develop a strong relationship with parents, carers, the community and the church
• To value the achievements of the members of the school community and celebrate their successes both within and outside of school.

'Growing in grace and knowledge with God's love.'     2 Peter 3:18

As a school, we value and celebrate the diverse heritages of everybody at Freeman’s. Alongside this, we value and celebrate being part of Britain. In general terms, this means that we celebrate traditions and customs in the course of the year; for example, Harvest Festival during the Autumn term. We also value and celebrate national focusses, recent examples being; Macmillan Coffee Morning, Roald Dahl Day, Chinese New Year and Safer Internet Day, with many more opportunities planned throughout the year to collaborate with the wider community and world. 

Further to this, children learn about being part of Britain from different perspectives. Two specific examples of when we teach about being part of Britain are:

Geographically: Our geography curriculum ensures that children have a better understanding of what Britain is, learning more about:

• its coasts, rivers and mountains
• where Britain is in relation to the rest of Europe and other countries in the world

Historically: Key moments in British history are studied throughout our history curriculum

British Values are an intrinsic part of life at Freeman’s and evidence of this can be found below. 

Democracy

Children, parents and staff have many opportunities for their voices to be heard at Freeman’s. Democracy is central to how we operate. An obvious example is our School Council. The election of the School Council members reflects our British electoral system and demonstrates democracy in action: candidates make speeches, pupils consider characteristics important for an elected representative, pupils vote in secret using ballot boxes etc. Made up of one representative from each class, the School Council meets regularly to discuss issues raised by the different classes. The council has its own budget and is able to effect change within the school; in the past, the School Council has hosted fundraising activities and helped to provide equipment for our school grounds as selected by the children. The Council is actively involved in providing teachers with feedback.

When elected, the school council representatives also vote on which Year 6 candidates they would like to become Head Boy and Head Girl. Again, the election of the Head Boy and Head Girl representatives reflects our British electoral system and demonstrates democracy in action: candidates make speeches, pupils consider characteristics important for an elected representative, pupils vote in secret using ballot boxes etc.  

Another example of democracy is ‘pupil voice’. 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 encourage pupils to take ownership of not only their school but also of their own learning and progress. This encourages a heightened sense of both personal and social responsibility and is demonstrated on a daily basis by our pupils.

Parents’ opinions are also welcomed at Freeman’s through methods such as parent questionnaires, surveys at parents evenings and opportunities to comment on whole school matters.

Rule of Law

The importance of rules and laws, whether they be those that govern our school or our country, are referred to and reinforced often, such as in assemblies and when reflecting on behaviour choices. At the start of the school year, each class discusses the school rules and class routines, principles that are clearly understood by all and seen to be necessary to ensure that every class member is able to learn in a safe and ordered environment.  

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. These values are reinforced in different ways:

• Visits from authorities such as the police and fire service
• Cycling Proficiency lessons enable children to understand the rules of the road and the potential dangers encountered should they break those rules.
• During Religious Education, when rules for particular faiths are thought about
• During other school subjects, where there is respect and appreciation for different rules

Individual Liberty

Alongside rules and laws, we promote freedom of choice and the right to respectfully express views and beliefs. Through the provision of a safe, supportive environment, we provide boundaries for our pupils to make choices safely; for example:

• choices about how they can improve their learning
• choices around the participation in extra-curricular activities

Our pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are taught how to exercise these safely, such as in our PSHE JIGSAW lessons. We use the JIGSAW resource across the whole school which also links to assemblies.

Collective worship is used to both explore and support the school’s values. By teaching the children how to manage and understand emotions they will be motivated and equipped to:

• Be effective and successful learners
• Make and sustain friendships
• Deal with and resolve conflict evenly and fairly
• Solve problems with others by themselves
• Manage strong feelings such as frustration, anger or anxiety
• Be able to promote calm and optimistic states that promote the achievement of goals
• Recover from setbacks and persist in the face of difficulties
• Work and play cooperatively
• Compete fairly and win or lose with dignity and respect for all competitors
• Recognise and stand up for their rights and the rights of others
• Understand the value of the differences and commonalities between people, respecting the rights of others to have beliefs and values different to their own.
• To respect and value our world, and the things, both material and alive that exist within it.

Children in Year 5 and 6 are given key roles and responsibilities such as Play leaders and Worship Leaders. Through opportunities such as our extra-curricular and Lunch Time clubs, pupils are given the freedom to make choices about what they would like to partake in. Children at Freeman’s are encouraged to make choices knowing they are in a safe and supportive environment.

Mutual Respect

We have high expectations of achievement and behaviour at Freeman’s. Children and staff are polite and kind. We listen and respect each other. We teach the children that conflict will be dealt with calmly and fairly. All members of the school family are valued equally. We celebrate each other’s achievements whether that be in or out of school through our weekly Celebration Worship which is held on a Friday.

Teachers plan exciting, interesting, challenging and innovative lessons where everybody is expected to do their best and respect others.

Tolerance

Freeman’s is proud to promote and celebrate our different backgrounds and beliefs. Tolerance, politeness and mutual respect are at the heart of our aims, ethos and R.E curriculum. 

Our central aim to 'prepare children for the future' drives us towards ensuring that our pupils are able to live and work alongside people from all backgrounds and cultures. Our pupils know and understand that it is expected that respect is shown to everyone and to everything, whatever differences we may have. Children learn that their behaviour choices have an effect on their own rights and those of others. All members of the school community are encouraged to treat each other with respect.  

Specific examples of how we enhance pupils’ understanding and respect for different faiths and beliefs are:

• Through Religious Education, PSHE and other lessons where we develop awareness and appreciation of other cultures – in English through fiction and in art and music by considering cultures from other parts of the world
• Celebrating cultural differences through assemblies and displays.
• Children are encouraged to share their own experiences when celebrating their own faith. Daily collective worship reflects and teaches our children tolerance for different faiths and beliefs. We have our school prayer which the children collaborated on and which encompasses a shared belief and value.
• Activities within school support both children and adults of different or no faith, the children are taught respect and tolerance of these groups and the opinions of the groups are taken into account with all activities.
• Whilst instances contrary to our values are relatively rare, each is treated seriously in line with our policies and expectations.