Promoting British Values In Wiltshire Schools

Why is a focus on ‘British Values’ important now for Wiltshire Schools? Why not just ‘Values’?

Ofsted Wiltshire - a school did “not go far enough in making pupils aware of the rich diversity of life in modern Britain”. Kent - a school with a predominately White intake was failing ensure "people’s differences are sufficiently valued and respected". Claims of "political correctness" were rejected by Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector, who insisted all schools had to be "realistic about the diverse society we now live in".

‘Trojan Horse’ Schools Ofsted felt that: the schools had become separated from British society the schools had failed to instil a sense of belonging in a national community the schools had failed to teach about a wider society The schools’ perception was that they were meeting the needs of the particular local community that they served

Teaching about different faiths - Teaching tolerance of different faiths Different faith communities are impacted by global events; it is no longer just about what is happening in Britain or continental Europe Anti-Semitism has recently been rising in Britain and across Europe, and is linked to events outside of Britain Islamophobia is influenced by global, as well as events in Britain Fear of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia has been recognised by the police as significant within the communities affected.

Promoting Understanding of Different Faiths Bringing pupils of different faiths and those of no faith together to discuss their similarities and differences in order to increase understanding of different religious communities and improve community understanding Wiltshire has an active Interfaith Group who are keen to work with schools - Consider the role of extra-curricular activity and whether sixth form pupils could run discussion activities in cluster primary schools Visits from local leaders of different faith communities are important, as are school trips to visit places of worship for minority faiths.

Learning from British History Religious Persecution British History is rich with examples of how religious intolerance has affected our history and shaped our society. Many schools cover the holocaust but UK examples include: Persecution of Protestants during reign of Queen Mary 1 (hence name Bloody Mary) Persecution of Roman Catholics during reign of Queen Elizabeth 1 (priest holes built in some wealthy homes) Under King Edward 1 all Jewish people were forced to wear a yellow star (1270), many were executed and eventually banished from England (1290). Jewish population were blamed for many things including the bubonic plague!

One of the areas highlighted in relation to British Values is mutual respect for other people’s faith and beliefs. This is often encapsulated in the quotation from Voltaire: "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Is this still the case in modern Britain?

Mutual Respect/Respecting Difference ‘Live and Let Live’ (English idiom) "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Voltaire (died 1778) This is the area that has caused most difficulty because of the conflict between traditional religious and cultural views on sexual orientation, the role of women or sex outside marriage, and people who have more ‘liberal’ or ‘progressive’ views The British commitment to Equality is enshrined in law and this is something (while not exclusive to Britain) that has been hard- fought over centuries and is something to celebrate, recognise and appreciate Formal debates; class discussions about school council decisions or disputes between pupils are all ways of addressing this issue – there is no imperative to tackle the trickiest areas!

Individual Liberty What is this? “Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence”. Article 8 of the Human Rights Act Individual liberty is the personal freedom to act as well as freedom from coercion* *John Stewart Mill In a democratic society, the right to individual liberty can only be limited by law when it is necessary to do so for reasons such as national security, public safety, the prevention of crime, or protection of the rights and freedoms of others. Any limitation on this right must be proportionate. This can be viewed on the micro level i.e. if a pupil dominates a lesson or plays too roughly in the playground - or for older pupils looking at law courts adjudicating competing rights. For older pupils individual liberties in Britain can be compared with those in other countries lesson-plans/human-rights-around-the-world/ lesson-plans/human-rights-around-the-world/

Respect for Law and Order Our society is based on the idea that we all abide by the same rules, whatever our wealth or status. As Thomas Fuller said in 1733, "Be ye ever so high, still the law is above you". This is about celebrating the impact of ‘the rule of law’ in Britain which means that even governments can be defeated in a court of law Pupils should learn why and how laws are made, about different types of law, and about the role of Parliament and MPs Children should learn about some of the laws that young people tend to break, and why and how a criminal record can affect an individual's future. There are some great lesson plans that can be used to help pupils appreciate the role of law and order in British society.

Accepting Personal & Social Responsibility Encourage students to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely. One way of doing this is outlining the importance of rights and responsibilities within school policies and procedures, for example: o I have the right to be heard o I have the responsibility to listen to others o I have the right to be safe and healthy o I have the responsibility to keep myself and others safe and healthy o I have the right to learn o I have the responsibility to do my best at all times and look after equipment o I have the right to have friends o I have the responsibility to be kind to others o I have the right to be myself o I have the responsibility to respect others’ differences

Democracy Schools could: include in suitable parts of the curriculum, as appropriate for the age of pupils, material on the strengths, advantages and disadvantages of democracy, and how democracy and the law works in Britain, in contrast to other forms of government in other countries ensure that all pupils within the school have a voice that is listened to, and demonstrate how democracy works by actively promoting democratic processes such as a school council whose members are voted for by the pupils use opportunities such as general or local elections to hold mock elections to promote fundamental British values and provide pupils with the opportunity to learn how to argue and defend points of view.

Collective Worship could… include a rounded programme of assemblies that help to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, providing clear guidance on what is right and what is wrong promote tolerance of and respect for people of all faiths (or those of no faith), cultures and lifestyles include “a balanced approach to the pupils’ RE that is broadly Christian but, where required, takes account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Britain”

School Ethos The best way for schools to instil the British values being advocated is to reflect them in the way the institution is run Schools have to embody democracy in the way they work and within the ethos and culture of the school - within a framework of rules and regulations which are there for the benefit of everyone Some schools have chosen to adopt policies on ‘values education’ as a way of formalising the values they will promote and how they will do this Examples of values that schools have chosen to adopt include tolerance, cooperation, respect, understanding and responsibility (these do not necessarily need to be referred to specifically as “British” values).

Effective Relationships This is easily achieved by selecting named values that are important to the school, for example: tolerance, cooperation, respect, understanding and responsibility. Teaching and learning about these could take place in the following ways: o By teachers explaining the meaning of the value o By pupils reflecting on the value and what it means to them and their own behaviour o By pupils using the value to guide their own actions o By staff modelling the value through their own behaviour o By ensuring that values are taught implicitly through every aspect of the curriculum o Through the work of the school council o By involving all staff, governors and parents in the values programme, through newsletters which explain how school and home can work together to promote positive values There are many ways of achieving this and it is something that schools up and down the country have already embedded.

services/equalities Please share your Best Practice ideas and resources - to be published on the WLT Equalities website. Please send to: