British Values

“Values are like fingerprints. Nobody’s are the same, but you leave them all over everything you do.”
Elvis Presley

 

In 2014, the UK Government created five fundamental values that it proclaimed were the unifying values that were fundamental to British society and cohesion. The values were designed to balance freedom of thought, expression and choice in a liberal society with the need to maintain a safe and secure society. There are five values:

  • Individual liberty

  • Mutual respect

  • Tolerance

  • Democracy

  • The rule of law

 

At Kings Langley School, we create opportunities within our curriculum and additional activities to teach and support the development of all of the British Values. Within these, we aim to:

  • Enable students to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence

  • Enable students to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of Britain

  • 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

  • Enable students to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in Britain

  • Further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling students to acquire an appreciation for and respect for their own and other cultures

  • Encourage respect for other people

  • Encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in Britain

  • Encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010.

 

Our character development programme aligns strongly with concept of the British Values and therefore it can be seen threaded through the whole ethos and culture, as well as the workings, of Kings Langley School. Within lessons, staff achieve these aims by blending their subject curriculum with the above ideas, or teach the values explicitly. Other school activities such as PSHE, assemblies, extra-curricular, all support and enhance the messages and information given to students in lessons. A particular example of this would be our registration programme, and the The Day activity. It covers weekly news items, encouraging students to discuss and debate key questions, but also directly links topics to the British Values for staff and students to build into their discussions.

A whole curriculum map tracks where the teaching of the British Values are being completed to ensure all students receive full coverage of all of the areas. The school also, generates if we feel they are required; or take advantages of other opportunities as they arise, to further instil the British Values for students, parents/ carers, staff and Governors.

 

Further Information

DfE guidance on British values for school

DfE guidance on teaching British values through SMSC (Spiritual, moral, social and cultural)