Promoting Fundamental British Values

At Trewirgie Infant and Nursery School, we believe that promoting fundamental British values is an integral part of our curriculum, school culture and daily life. Through our bespoke and progressive curriculum, our relationships and our wider school experiences, we support children to develop the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and behaviours that enable them to flourish as individuals and contribute positively to their community and wider society.

We recognise that, even in the earliest years of education, children can begin to develop an understanding of fairness, responsibility, freedom, respect, equality and belonging. These values are not taught as isolated concepts but are woven throughout our curriculum and experienced through the way we learn, play, communicate, make decisions and care for one another.

The fundamental British values promoted in schools are:

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

We also recognise and promote a wider set of values that reflect the ethos and identity of our school, including We Care, We Help, We Succeed, alongside kindness, courage, respect, equality, responsibility, forgiveness, aspiration, generosity and selflessness.

British Values and our school ethos

Promoting British values is an important part of developing children's personal development, character, belonging and understanding of their place within their community and wider society.

We help children to understand that they have rights and freedoms, but that these freedoms come with responsibilities. Children learn that their choices and actions can affect others and that everyone should be treated fairly and with dignity and respect.

Through our curriculum and everyday interactions, children are encouraged to:

• understand and value themselves and others;
• listen to and respect different opinions and perspectives;
• understand that people may have different beliefs, cultures, traditions and experiences;
• recognise similarities and celebrate differences;
• understand fairness, equality and responsibility;
• make positive choices and understand the consequences of their actions;
• develop confidence to express their views and contribute to decision making;
• resolve disagreements respectfully;
• challenge stereotypes and unfairness;
• develop empathy, kindness and consideration for others; and
• understand how they can contribute positively to their school, local community and wider society.

Democracy

We provide children with meaningful opportunities to experience democracy within school.

Children are encouraged to express their views, listen to others and understand that people may have different opinions. Through our School Council, class discussions, voting and age-appropriate decision making, children experience how their voices can influence aspects of school life.

Children learn that:

• everyone should have a voice;
• people may hold different opinions;
• decisions can be made fairly;
• we should listen to and respect the views of others; and
• being part of a community means both having a voice and listening to the voices of others.

Our children are encouraged to participate actively in decisions that affect them and to understand that their contribution matters.

The Rule of Law

Children develop an understanding of why rules and laws exist and how they help to keep people safe, protect our rights and enable communities to work together.

At Trewirgie, children are involved in understanding and agreeing our classroom expectations and school rules. We help children understand the difference between right and wrong and support them to recognise that actions have consequences.

Through stories, discussion, assemblies, PSHE, relationships and everyday experiences, children learn that:

• rules help to keep everyone safe;
• rules should be fair and apply to everyone;
• we have responsibilities as well as rights;
• our choices can affect other people; and
• consequences help us to understand and take responsibility for our actions.

As children develop, they begin to understand that rules exist at different levels—from classroom and school expectations to laws that help protect people in the wider community.

Individual Liberty

We support children to become increasingly confident, independent and responsible in making choices.

Our curriculum provides children with opportunities to make decisions, take appropriate risks, develop resilience and understand that they have a voice. We encourage children to express their preferences, opinions and feelings while recognising the rights and freedoms of others.

Children are supported to:

• make appropriate choices;
• develop independence;
• express their thoughts, feelings and opinions;
• understand that it is acceptable to be different;
• recognise and manage risk;
• develop resilience when things do not go as planned; and
• understand that freedom comes with responsibility.

We create a safe and supportive environment in which children can develop confidence and self-belief while knowing that adults are there to protect and support them.

Mutual Respect and Tolerance

Respect is fundamental to life at Trewirgie Infant and Nursery School.

We teach children to value themselves and others and to recognise and celebrate the diversity of the people and communities around them. Children learn that people may have different cultures, families, traditions, beliefs, identities, experiences and ways of living, while sharing many things in common.

Our curriculum deliberately exposes children to a broad range of people, places, cultures, communities and perspectives. Through high-quality texts, visitors, visits, assemblies, discussion and curriculum experiences, children are encouraged to develop curiosity about the world beyond their immediate experience.

We teach children to:

• treat everyone with dignity and respect;
• listen to and value different perspectives;
• recognise and celebrate similarities and differences;
• challenge stereotypes and prejudice;
• understand that discrimination and unfair treatment are unacceptable;
• develop empathy and kindness; and
• live and learn positively alongside people who may be different from themselves.

We ensure that our curriculum and resources reflect and value the diversity of modern Britain and provide children with opportunities to develop an age-appropriate understanding of people and communities beyond their immediate experience.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Our promotion of British values is closely connected to our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

We want every child to feel that they belong at Trewirgie and that they are valued for who they are. Children are supported to recognise unfairness, challenge stereotypes and understand that everyone should have equal opportunities to participate, succeed and feel safe.

Our curriculum, books, resources, displays and teaching approaches seek to reflect a diverse range of experiences and perspectives. We deliberately provide opportunities for children to encounter people and communities that may be different from their own.

We recognise that developing respect for others begins in the earliest years and is built through everyday interactions, positive relationships and consistent adult modelling.

British Values across our curriculum and wider school life

British values are embedded throughout school life rather than being confined to specific lessons.

Children experience and develop these values through:

• our bespoke and progressive curriculum;
• high-quality children's literature and our whole-school reading overview;
• PSHE and relationships education;
• assemblies and collective reflection;
• School Council and pupil voice;
• classroom decision making;
• visits and educational experiences;
• visitors to school;
• learning about different cultures, communities, faiths and beliefs;
• celebrating similarities and differences;
• charitable and community activities;
• collaborative learning and play;
• discussions about fairness, responsibility and relationships;
• opportunities to develop independence and resilience; and
• the modelling of respectful behaviour by all adults in school.

Our adults play a particularly important role. Children learn values not only through what we teach but through what they see, experience and practise every day. Staff model respectful relationships, fairness, kindness, appropriate language, inclusion and responsible decision making.

Developing active and responsible citizens

Our aim is not simply for children to be able to name the four British values. We want children to understand them, experience them and demonstrate them.

By the time children leave Trewirgie, we want them to have developed an age-appropriate understanding of their rights and responsibilities, confidence in expressing their views, respect for others and an appreciation of the diversity of the world in which they live.

We want our children to be thoughtful, compassionate and increasingly independent young citizens who understand that they can make a positive difference to their school, their community and the wider world.

At Trewirgie, British Values are not simply something we teach—they are values that we strive to live every day.